Gear Thread

I like em a lot
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derrelw said:
I had problems with the Craig Rats so I sent them back and got the Crater Rims, awesome boots. I have 4 pairs of Danners and aside from a very old pair of Pronghorns they are my favorite pair.
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first pair of Danners I got were Crater Rims, but when they showed up I realized they weren't heavy duty enough for my use. Danner got my unending loyalty by allowing me to send them back and exchange them for a pair of Rainforests. When I received the Crag Rats under warranty in exchange for the USMCs, they were unbelievably small, so I sent them back and upped the size by half and got the wider version and they fit perfect. Through it all, Danner took great care of me, although the process was a little convoluted. Basically got the USMCs on sale, and Danner threw in a free pair of Crag Rats when the USMCs blew a stitch, (which I repaired myself)
 
Have any of you tried Kenetrek boots? A number of different guides and outfitters that I've known swear by them as being the toughest boots out there.
 
Lorien said:
first pair of Danners I got were Crater Rims, but when they showed up I realized they weren't heavy duty enough for my use. Danner got my unending loyalty by allowing me to send them back and exchange them for a pair of Rainforests. When I received the Crag Rats under warranty in exchange for the USMCs, they were unbelievably small, so I sent them back and upped the size by half and got the wider version and they fit perfect. Through it all, Danner took great care of me, although the process was a little convoluted. Basically got the USMCs on sale, and Danner threw in a free pair of Crag Rats when the USMCs blew a stitch, (which I repaired myself)
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I had to upsize the Crag Rats I had but the tongue would not ever sit flat under the laces so they were really uncomfortable. They took them back no questions asked.
I think Danner is a first class company, I just wish that all of their boots were still made in the USA.
 
Lorien said:
first pair of Danners I got were Crater Rims, but when they showed up I realized they weren't heavy duty enough for my use. Danner got my unending loyalty by allowing me to send them back and exchange them for a pair of Rainforests. When I received the Crag Rats under warranty in exchange for the USMCs, they were unbelievably small, so I sent them back and upped the size by half and got the wider version and they fit perfect. Through it all, Danner took great care of me, although the process was a little convoluted. Basically got the USMCs on sale, and Danner threw in a free pair of Crag Rats when the USMCs blew a stitch, (which I repaired myself)
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I had a pair of unused Danners from my military days I got for Iraq. Never used them as my other pair of Danners easily made it through 3 years total time over there. Found the new ones in storage and called Danner. They took my new ones back and gave me a full credit towards a different pair even though they didnt make the model I had anymore. Awesome customer service and definitely won my loyalty. I have bought 5 pairs since including for my kids.
 
moparsbob said:
Have any of you tried Kenetrek boots? A number of different guides and outfitters that I've known swear by them as being the toughest boots out there.
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they look pretty nice, as Italian footwear tends to do. Goretex is a known entity to me, Windtex ain't. If I'm going to have waterproof footwear, it'll have a membrane. I think Windtex is a membrane, and they say it's very elastic. I think that's great for outerwear that'll be washed a lot, but I wonder how it would hold up for footwear

Personally, although I'm not against global trade at all, I prefer to spend my money as proximal to where I earn it as possible. Firstly in country, secondarily in region
 
So I just received my OLight Warrior-X Pro which I had bought during their 40% off flash-sale (no pun) on Feb 1st. Holy shyte! I hadn't realized or even read that this thing is huge for a "tactical" flashlight! Oh well, I am not sending it back because they were offering a much smaller mini type of OLight (not keyring size mini but still small) in the deal package (not pictured here), but I gotta tell y'all that this thing is too large and too heavy as something like a weapon light, or long backpacking carry. I think that it's a great vehicle light if you're venturing out on a long trip into the off-the-beaten paths and the wilderness in your trucks/SUVs.

Some size comp pics and let me tell ya that's a friggin Spyderco Military in there which is no slouch! The Warrior-X Pro also comes with a very nice and sturdy molle compatible carry case. I have been on an OLight gathering trip of late, but honestly, the Surefire G2X with the Thrym switchback ring still remains to be my fave EDC flashlight despite its modern shortcomings. The last photo is meant as a comparison pic for those who may be interested (but wait for another possible sale and do NOT pay retail) with the middle one being another much more manageable OLight S2R Batton II model:

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Worth checking out Thorogood boots as well especially people with wide feet. Their sizing is a little different I typically wear an 11 but go for 9 / 9.5 in Thorogood but they have 4E or extra extra wide which makes all the difference for me.
 
Casinostocks said:
So I just received my OLight Warrior-X Pro which I had bought during their 40% off flash-sale (no pun) on Feb 1st. Holy shyte! I hadn't realized or even read that this thing is huge for a "tactical" flashlight! Oh well, I am not sending it back because they were offering a much smaller mini type of OLight (not keyring size mini but still small) in the deal package (not pictured here), but I gotta tell y'all that this thing is too large and too heavy as something like a weapon light, or long backpacking carry. I think that it's a great vehicle light if you're venturing out on a long trip into the off-the-beaten paths and the wilderness in your trucks/SUVs.

Some size comp pics and let me tell ya that's a friggin Spyderco Military in there which is no slouch! The Warrior-X Pro also comes with a very nice and sturdy molle compatible carry case. I have been on an OLight gathering trip of late, but honestly, the Surefire G2X with the Thrym switchback ring still remains to be my fave EDC flashlight despite its modern shortcomings. The last photo is meant as a comparison pic for those who may be interested (but wait for another possible sale and do NOT pay retail) with the middle one being another much more manageable OLight S2R Batton II model:

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I almost bought one during the sale but was lucky enough to realize the size wasn’t what I was looking for, I have enough lights in that size- even though the Warrior Pro would beat almost all of them in output.
I have been carrying a Surefire E1B with the Maxvision reflector for several months and am very happy with it. I like the size of it much better than the 2 cell lights.
When I want more power I carry a Surefire Tactician that I added a clicky tailcap to.
I wouldn’t mind either of them being brighter but 9 out of 10 times I’m just using the 5 lumen low setting to creep around anyway.
 
1AbominAble1 said:
I almost bought one during the sale but was lucky enough to realize the size wasn’t what I was looking for, I have enough lights in that size- even though the Warrior Pro would beat almost all of them in output.
I have been carrying a Surefire E1B with the Maxvision reflector for several months and am very happy with it. I like the size of it much better than the 2 cell lights.
When I want more power I carry a Surefire Tactician that I added a clicky tailcap to.
I wouldn’t mind either of them being brighter but 9 out of 10 times I’m just using the 5 lumen low setting to creep around anyway.
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I'm OK with the size because I didn't have anything Tac-Tee-Cool in that size which throws that much lumens. My other anchor boat flashlights are the cheapo Costco varieties which come in some form of packs of 2-3. Those are almost always stationed dormant around the house for the sake of preparedness when living in CA's quake zone.
 
Casinostocks said:
I'm OK with the size because I didn't have anything Tac-Tee-Cool in that size which throws that much lumens. My other anchor boat flashlights are the cheapo Costco varieties which come in some form of packs of 2-3. Those are almost always stationed dormant around the house for the sake of preparedness when living in CA's quake zone.
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I also use have the Costco/Duracell lights around the house for emergencies. They’re good for the kids to use because if they happen to trash it I won’t be upset.

my boat anchor light is a Nitecore TM26, 3800 lumens bring the daytime to whatever it’s pointed at, it’s just not pocket friendly :)
 
New pair of Danner's in the house.

I ordered up a pair of Rainforest and a pair f Quarry boots about 3 months ago (with the intent of keeping one or the other). Had them for about 15 minutes before going back in the box. Loved everything from the ankles down. Above the ankles the thick gobs of padding on the tongue drove me nuts! Back to Danner. I then had a few bucks laying around and sprung for a pair of hand-made Truman boots (a heck of a splurge, to be sure...). I got the shipping notice for them after a 6 week wait and the very next day I got an email saying a bunch of packaged up pairs of boots were stolen from their dock. So that order got refunded.

Next up, a pair of Red Wing heritage something or others. Fit was very mediocre (odd because I simply love my Irish Setters). Back they went.

(side note - how do these companies make it offering free shipping and free returns?! I've taken advantage of this, and I can imagine some guys will buy 4 or 5 pairs, only to keep one. Shipping 5 pairs out and 4 pairs back cannot be good economics...)

Anyway, what I really wanted was a pair of 6" tall Danners, a little light on the padded tongue, please.

I just ordered and received the Acadia Blackhawk II boots. The all black, black on black with some black highlights, duty/patrol boot was NOT the look I was going for. But in person they aren't too bad, and with a little wear on them and they should tone down the "ready to kick in doors" kind of look, I hope.

But the fit and quality is exactly what I was looking for. Took me awhile to finally get there!
 
TRfromMT said:
Next up, a pair of Red Wing heritage something or others. Fit was very mediocre (odd because I simply love my Irish Setters)
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It really depends on which last is used I believe. I've tried on a bunch of Red Wing boots and only certain ones worked for me. Also with the heritage line, you need to size down a bit to get the right fit and they take awhile to break in.
 
I have been trying to kill a pair of Salewa Mountain Trainer shoes for three seasons just so I can buy the pair of Salomon Quests I tried on once. Damn things won’t die. They are tough but they are stiff. As long as you’re going up or even you’re fine. As soon as you descend like two three miles on rocky terrain, which is all we have, your feet feel like ground beef.
 
my favourite/most useful leather boots almost always started out uncomfortable. It took a whole season to break my Vibergs in- 16 years ago. A little pain in exchange for perfectly fitted boots is a price I've grown accustomed to paying
 
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