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Marmot is a great brand that we have always been able to trust in providing good quality gear at a reasonable price. In this post, I wanted to share with you all some of the things that we covered in our employee gear training clinic that our Marmot Rep put on for us. They covered a lot of things including the new 2016 Sleeping Bags and Tents,  the Universal Temp Rating System that they use for testing Sleeping Bags, Goose Down Specs, and Lifetime Warranty. To briefly go over who they are, Marmot began as a sleeping bag company, but have evolved into a company that covers a lot of essential camping gear. They continue to pioneer new concepts in camping gear, and have a great role in building value and insulation standards in the outdoor industry. Marmot Down & Synthetic Hybrid Sleeping Bags (Quark & Ion) Marmot has added a new insulation concept to their 2016 lineup. They have created a new set of down/synthetic composite bags, including the Quark and Ion. This combines the lightweight warming and insulating power of goose down, and combining it with the durable and moisture wicking ability of a synthetic insulation. It's a great new concept and may very well become a new standard in sleeping bag insulation.   Marmot Goose Down Sleeping Bags Down is the cornerstone of Marmot as a company.  Down sleeping bags were the first Marmot products produced.  No synthetic surpasses the lightweight, compactability and longevity of down. Marmot has cornered the market in Eastern Europe on some really high quality geese. These geese are much older than the geese normally raised for market.  Older geese produce mature down with larger, stronger and longer lasting down clusters and this is the down they use in their 800, 850 & 875 fill power bags. Fill power:  The number of cubic inches an ounce of down occupies. Down rated 800 fill power is loftier, which means warmer per ounce, than 600 fill power down. Continue reading →

There's a lot of hype nowadays about the new Crispi Hunting Boot lineup, and there are a lot of them to choose from. With this post, I wanted to do a side by side comparison so that you can see which one might be the best choice for you. I split them into insulated and un-insulated boots because within those families, there are a lot of similarities. There are advantages and disadvantages to each and there are places that you would use some, and not others. Insulated Crispi Boots The Insulated boots are: Nevada, Guide, Hunter, and Wild Rock. All but the Wild Rock use the Gore(tex) insulated booty which provides insulation and breath-ability, and the wild rock uses a Primaloft. One thing about the Crispi/Gore-Tex insulation is that they do NOT use a Thinsulate insulation. Rather, they use a proprietary Gore Insulation which is a premium insulation that is much more breathable and efficient than Thinsulate, and all can compare to about a 200 - 250 Gram Thinsulate insulation. It's going to be a lot more breathable than Thinsulate because of the adhesive they use. It's not as thick and allows both the insulation and the Gore membrane to remain breathable. Continue reading →

So we have been seeing a lot more of our customers getting bear spray to take with them on their outdoor adventures so I thought I would weigh on the subject and see if I can add any value. I am fortunately someone that has never had to use bear spray, but it is something that I have carried with me for years while in the outdoors. In this post I want to cover why it's important to have bear spray with you whenever you are in bear country and answer some of the more asked questions we get about bear spray. Then I want to cover some of the accessories that Counter Assault has come up with in order to make it easier to carry it. Why it's a good idea to carry Bear Spray... Bear spray quickly becoming a necessity for anyone that ever ventures out into bear country. Whether you're camping, hiking, hunting, or just out for a drive in the mountains, bear spray is a great way to be prepared in the event you need to have a method of defense against all large predators or potentially dangerous animals like wolves, cougars, moose, and obviously bears. The nice thing about bear spray is that you don't really need to aim. If you're on an early morning hike to your blind and not able to aim a handgun or a rifle, you just need to point it in the general direction and let the spray work from there. Another nice thing is that it doesn't do any lasting harm to the animals. Especially with limited animals like moose, they have been known to be aggressive, but they are definitely animals that we want to see more of so we need to do what we can to keep them around. For me, carrying bear spray is really all just about the peace of mind of knowing that I would be able to defend myself and those that I am with in case I need to. Here are some answers to some of the more common questions. Continue reading →

Alaska Guide Creations binocular harnesses are possibly the most sought after binocular carrying systems on the planet.  There are a million and one reasons why the Alaska Guide Creations is the top dog in the industry and we strongly believe the biggest reason why is that there are different options for your own hunting style and that each and every...

The unique thing about Kryptek is unlike other camo companies, their concepts and ideas were all forged overseas in the mountains of Afghanistan to the scorching deserts in Iraq.  The Combat Forces that tested and beat this gear into a pulp are the foundation that churned the brand in to the hunting company that it is today.  If there is...

The idea behind the pattern Badlands Packs has been a fun company to follow. They have really done some great things with a lot of their designs, and are coming up with innovative concepts to their line of hunting gear on a regular basis. Take for example their 2200 pack. That is a pack that really changed the way people think about a...

Today, I wanted to cover some of the features of the TightSpot quivers because we have had a lot of customers wondering about some of the features/designs, and whether it's worth the extra investment. That's definitely a valid question, and hopefully this info can help answer some of those. Tight & Modular Fit One of the main things that TightSpot wanted to do in their design is manufacture a quiver that sits tight to your bow. Adding any bulk to the bow adds inconvenience and can throw off balance and stability. The TightSpot quiver mounts to the bow where it is located very close the bow frame, and mounts in a modular fashion so you can adjust the quiver to almost any angle you would want. The quiver also mounts to the rear which sets it closer to the shooter, and makes it so there is less of your quiver sticking out to get caught. Balance and Shock Reduction Continue reading →

We get a lot of gear questions about what the different labels mean for Hilleberg Tents. I'll go through it in a bit more detail below, but Hilleberg created the labels to separate the tent according to their purpose. Here's a Hilleberg Comparison Chart to cover some of the basics:   Black Label Red Label Yellow Label Purpose Extreme Versatile Lightweight...

Check out the Solid.HUNTING.Gear that the staff here at BlackOvis uses and are familiar with. Thinking of buying a product but not sure how it performs? Check out if any of us use it and give us a call! Details Hunting Style: Archery Favorite Species: Mule Deer Dream Hunt: Red Stag Next Gear Purchase: Swarovski 95mm Objective Other Pursuits: Fly...

There are so many different brands of stabilizers out there in the market today, so what makes Stokerized so different? For starters the company is 100% Made in the USA with its facility based in Annville, PA, not only is it made here on our shores but every single stabilizer is hand-made and looked over multiple time for quality and...

For the past 85 years the Zamberlan family has been making boots that are designed for rugged mountain use, including their dedicated hunting boots. Yes, I said family. You see, Zamberlan boots is now under the direction of Marco and Maria Zamberlan, third generation family to run their grandfather’s Italian boot company. That they are now emerging in the North...

Havalon has taken the hunting and more specifically the hunting knife world by storm, and over the last few years their surgically sharp removable razor blades have quartered likely thousands of elk, deer, and other game. As there have been more users of the original Piranta Edge, Havalon has taken hunter's feedback and recently made a couple of changes to...

I remember when my friend and hunting buddy first introduced me to the Havalon knife, my first exposure to a removable blade knife for skinning and field dressing game. It blew my mind, and aside from the razor sharp blade that scared me to death at first thought of changing out blades, I was sold! With time and a bit...

Scouting season is upon us and the opening season is just around the corner. It is time to dust off those trail cams and make sure they still work, and stock up on batteries (more than you expect!) When scouting for a big mature mule deer you need time, patience, focus, and a good set of glass. Let’s face it, trail cameras are just another fun hobby.  I look forward to putting out trail cameras every year but I am not convinced that they will help you kill a mature buck. There are plenty of great trail cameras out there on the market. Honestly, I personally can’t choose one brand. Unless you are hunting private ground, my opinion is buy a camera that you can get a smoking deal on, that way when you place your camera on public ground you won't be stressing about your $400 trail camera you just put on a heavily used trail. Remember, when putting out trail cams, you alway risk getting your cameras messed with, broken, or even worse, stolen. For me, I can't beat the value of  Stealth Cam, Bushnell trail cameras, or even the Wildgame Innovations and Cuddeback Trail cameras. If you are in the market for a higher end camera make sure to check out Spypoint and Covert trail cams. They definitely help on finding bucks and what size of bucks that are in the area. Unless you have the same buck on the same trail or same water hole consistently than it’s all just a crap shoot. Now personally, if I do find a good buck on one of my cameras I will than pull cameras from other areas that are not doing so good and flood the area with the good buck to try and find the bucks favorite path. Alright, so you have placed your cameras and been able to pattern a few really nice mature bucks, now it is time for homework.You really have to do your homework on when you get the pictures back from your cameras. It will seem as if you are enrolled in law school for deer hunting. Check how often he is coming in and what times of day. Checking the times of day is so crucial, make sure you plan your hunt accordingly to when he is using what trails/watering holes. If legal in your state try and use a salt lick if you can in your state. I prefer the Trophy Rock brand. This will slow the buck down so you can get some good pictures of him, and also get him to keep using the same trail more frequently instead of using a trail that’s 20ft up or 20ft downhill from the trail you put your camera on. This is so important! DO NOT check your trail cameras too often, or else you can leave so much human scent the bucks will vacate the area completely. Give the area at least 2 weeks (3 weeks is better) before you check on it. I know it’s really hard to wait, but if you can’t wait, than get a few more and spread them out in different areas at different days of the week so you are constantly checking different cameras to keep tabs on your deer. Continue reading →