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Hooyman 10ft Saw – Hooyman Saws Review

June 21, 2011

Hooyman Saw Review – Hooyman 10ft Saw

I’ve had the Hooyman 10ft Saw for about 10 months, and thought I’d share with you Freaks what I think about it. I like the Hooyman saw, and it works well for its purpose – but it is not perfect.

Advantages

  1. The first, and biggest advantage in my opinion is that it is extendable out to almost 10 feet. It’s very quite, and packs well. The 10ft model retracts down to 28”.
  2. The Hooyman Megabite blade is sharp, and works well – but does not keep an edge forever, like most blades. After a day or two of heavy use, it would behove you to take 10 minutes resharpen the blade. The blade is made out of premium high carbon steel and is a good blade for the price of the saw. It features a four edge tooth design
  3. The Hooyman 10ft Saw comes with a very nice carrying sling, that makes carrying easy and simple over your shoulder.
  4. The saw portion of the Hooyman Saw detaches to use as a handsaw, and works ok, while not overly comfortable to use, it does work.
  5. The saw is not exposed all the time, and does fold in to protect the blade during transport.
  6. The telescoping saw is very strong, and does not bend or “give” when sawing big sized limbs or branches. The aircraft grade aluminum features an I-beam design this is tough and works well.
  7. The positive locking mechanisms on the Hooyman Saw work very well, and does not slip or slide when sawing.
  8. The Hooyman Saw is lightweight and weighs in at 2.95 pounds.

Disadvantages

  1. The Hooyman 10ft Saw, is not 10ft. I’m not sure how in the world you can call a saw 10ft, when it’s not 10 feet long?
  2. The Hooyman Saw is OK when it comes to using it strictly as a handsaw – but it could me more comfortable and ergonomic to use. Although it does suffice.
  3. The Hooyman Saw does not feature a pruning or lopping device that would be beneficial in cutting the smaller diameter branches that “give” when force is applied from above. This would be a great feature to have, and would allow for quicker, and quieter cutting of limbs and branches.

 

Overall, while NOT perfect – it does suffice and I do believe is Outdoor Freak worthy. It will be interesting what features Hooyman adds in the future, or what other folks in the industry will come up with to address the shortcomings. This saw is an acceptable saw that would work for a bowhunting saw or deer hunter that needs a light saw for mobility.

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StarrFlight FOB Review – Starrflight Archery

June 15, 2011

Aaron Constantine was kind enough to do this review on the Starrflight FOB’s. He did a great job, and we wish him the best of luck this coming Fall!

I actually came a cross these Starrflight FOBs by accident. I was trying to do some research on a different product, but you all know with the power of the internet one click you could be in the USA and in the very next click you may be in Japan. Don’t worry… this product is made in America, but its just amazing how you stumble across things while your looking for something completely different.

As I mentioned, I was looking for a different product when I happen to find all this information and web sites leading to something called a FOB. If you’re like I was, you are now thinking what the ‘H’ ‘E’ ‘Double Hockey Sticks’ is a FOB? With a couple more clicks of the mouse I learned that FOB stood for Fletching Only Better. Ok, something to do with bow hunting obviously…I was interested! I ended up on their web site starrflight.com and did some more reading and research. The wheels started turning. After spending a fair amount of time on the website I turned to my trusty friend youtube.com, and typed in FOB. I was amazed to find that others had already been using something that was brand new to me and something that I had never even heard of. Watching video after video I became very curious and interested in this product. So I picked up the phone and called. A man by the name of Paul answered. I soon found out that Paul was the inventor of the product. After asking some questions, I told him that I didn’t think I was interested yet, more or less just curious about his product. I told him that I would call him back if I was ever interested in ordering these FOBs.

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Leatherman Skeletool CX Review

June 7, 2011

Manufacturer: Leatherman

Product Name: Skeletool CX

Product Description: The latest Leatherman tool comes packaged in a nice little black and yellow box complete with a User’s Guide booklet.  This knife has many features:

  • Pliers
  • Drop Point Knife
  • Wire Cutters
  • Bit Driver
  • Carabiner/Bottle Opener
  • Pocket Clip
  • Extra Bit Holder

Pros

I have owned this product for nearly four months have put it through many tests.  I have found this knife to be very tough and rigid.  The knife is very sharp and the carabiner keeps it attached to my turkey vest or D-loop on my fanny pack.  It also comes in handy when you need to open a cold beverage!  The bit driver is very helpful and works quite well on small to medium sized projects.  The pliers are helpful strong, though a bit small.

Cons

The cons of this tool are far and few between. I lost the extra bit out of the Bit Holder, right off the bat.  I ordered another one, and Leatherman’s customer service was very cooperative. I do like the extra bit feature, thought I believe it could be more secure. Also, I found the pliers to be a bit small, but perfect for many uses in the field, or in the shop.

Overall Impression: My overall impression of the Leatherman Skeletool CX is very good. I would recommend this tool to anyone looking for a tough, simple tool for everyday use.

 

Rating: 8 of 10

Contact info: www.leatherman.com

 

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Strapper Gear Retriever Review

June 7, 2011

Product Name – Strapper Treestand Gear Retriever

Product Description – The strapper gear retriever is designed to hoist your hunting gear up while hunting out of a treestand.  The nylon strap is 30’ long and quite sturdy.  The strap is housed in a black plastic cover, accompanied by a plastic reel.  The whole object clips on to you, or your treestand so you can asend and desend with both hands.

Pros

This product does exactly what it says! It brings up your gear without having to deal with knots or any tangled mess.  I found it to be strong and well built.  I’ve been using mine for around 5 years, and to this day it has never failed me.

Cons

While the strapper gear retriever does do exactly what it is advertised to do, it does have some setbacks.  It is bulky to carry, and takes up important room in my backpack, or fanny pack.  Much more then a rope.  I find the plastic case to be rather noisy.  It always seems to find a way to clank on my treestand, or the buckle of my safety harness.  Another setback is that it does not have height markers on the strap.  I painted my own on, but it still would have been nice to have right off the bat.  These are the only cons I could find, after using it for 5 years, however I do believe these to be somewhat major.

Overall Impression – My overall impression of this product has diminished after having it for so long.  It does bring up your gear very well, and in a neat way. But, in my opinion the space that it takes up and the noise that it produces outweight the positives of this product. It ain’t like a reconyx trail camera!

Rating: 5 of 10.

Purchasing info – click here

 

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Orvis Ultimate Fly Fishing Guide App Review

June 6, 2011

Orvis “Ultimate Fly Fishing Guide” iPhone/iPad App Review

Product – Orvis Fly Fishing Application

Cost – $14.99

Where – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id380322999

First off let me say that I aspire to be a polished, educated, and gentle fly fisherman. The type that tuck their shirts in on the stream and use the sophisticated jargon. Most often my fly fishing trips are full of snags, knotted leaders and dirty language. Orvis is to fly fishing, what Tiffany’s is to my girlfriends jewlery collection. Orvis is known for having top quality products, at take-a-loan-out-for-a-fly-rod prices. Many, many people justify their cost and lifetime guarentee, and many others don’t. To each his/her own. Being a branding and marketing junkie – I’m fascinated with the company, albeit from afar.

I bought and downloaded the Orvis Fly Fishing App in hopes of making my fly fishing trips a little more smooth, and a lot more enjoyable. For the most part, I think it’s been a solid addition to my meager fly fishing educational library.

Pros

  1. You get a $10 Orvis Gift Card with purchase and registration of this app. That’s pretty sweet.
  2. Perhaps to neatest thing about this app is that it literally walks you through everything from tying flies, to tying knots, to how to cast properly. It also has a number of instructional podcasts on it to listen to, which is great for bringing sexy back to the fishing water.
  3. You don’t need 3G or Wifi service to watch and use the instructional parts of this app. This is huge for someone like me, who lives Where The Wild Things Are.
  4. It has a glossary of fly fishing terms. Literally. It’s like the creatures of this app knew that there was a young, dumb midwestern dude out there who thought a “false cast” was something for April Fool’s day.
  5. You can search and shop right on the Orvis online store straight from the app. I’ve never personally purchased anything from there, but it’s very easy to navigate, and well designed, in my opinion.

Cons

  1. It’s expensive. $14.99 for an iPad/iPhone app is certainly something that I wasn’t too excited about. I mean, that’s a case of Busch Light. That said, I do think it’s worth the cost. After all, it’s basically a fly fishing how-to book, on your mobile device.

That’s it. Being expensive is really the only bummer I experienced with the Orvis Fly Fishing App. Which I believe is really the only bummer with Orvis products in general. I hate to be one of those online reviews that only gives positives about the products that they review, but that’s what you’re getting here.

Overall, props Orvis.

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