Thread: How much do you spend on gear?

Other than your rifle, what's your most expensive bit of kit, where do you draw the line on the price of gear, will you pay more just because its a "hunting" brand.

I wear nylon swim shorts from the Warehouse and wont replace them until they fall apart ( still going 4 years now) I still hunt in and wear the same Swazi singlet I've had for nearly 20 years, my Doite day pack is about 10 years old and is still going strong and I have carried some insane weight in it as well. My next purchase will be a good pair of boots as mine are just about falling off my feet from over use syndrome. In other words apart from a rifle/scope and knife/boots which I'm happy to spend the dollars on for quality, I'm not interested in big name clothing and equipment with a big price tag.

Expensive flashy looking gear doesn't make a hunter, if your like me, you can look like a homeless person in the bush and still have pretty good success rates

I splashed out on some 700 dollar boots once, didn't suit my foot shape and had to sell them on.
Gps is probably my next most expensive bit of gear.

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I tend to buy basic gear as it suits me. Looking at old photos and stories the guys were not wearing/using flash specialist hunting gear but still doing the business.

I was watching Solo hunter videos on youtube, I love their video work, but my god they wear and carry some seriously expensive gear! just kinda seems strange to me that a lot of newer hunters these days see stuff like that and think they have to buy all the latest gear to be a hunter? or have I just been watching to many American hunting clips.

I admit to being a gear freak.
Have spent many years in the military all over the globe in shit equipment.
Comfort is key for me. There are some amazing items on the market to ensure you are comfortable in the bush and if it is good gear I don't care who makes it or what it costs.
Boots and a down jacket would be my most expensive things clothing wise, although I do most of my hunting in $100 dollar boots.

I always hunt alone and have maybe unexpectedly bumped into 9-10 other hunters in my whole life in the hills.
I have never taken note of what they are wearing or how capable they are.
I just get on and do my own thing and do not care how I look doing it☺

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Im learning the hard way that hunting brands dont always mean practicality or durability. I have forked out enough to last me a while
Good binos, rangefinder and gps are my next things

Some of the modern lightweight gear esp tents and shelters can get seriously expensive for shaving off small amounts of weight - reminds me of guys who spend $40k on a pair of stereo speakers - not my thing but I'd love to hear them.

Anyway, my most expensive thing other than the rifle/scope is my suppressor followed by PLB and boots

Originally Posted by 308

Some of the modern lightweight gear esp tents and shelters can get seriously expensive for shaving off small amounts of weight - reminds me of guys who spend $40k on a pair of stereo speakers - not my thing but I'd love to hear them.

Anyway, my most expensive thing other than the rifle/scope is my suppressor followed by PLB and boots

Some of the funniest guys are the ones that try and save grams in their hunting kit, but are kilograms overweight themselves


As for gear; truck, quad, trailer, rifle/s, dog, binos, rangefinder, sleeping bag, tent, cameras, boots, jacket, pack, rest of gear.


I just try and buy the best value and quality for my money that I can afford. Big ticket items I usually research and ponder over for a long time. Generally "hunting" brands work ok, but a lot of my gear is more tramping/hiking/mountain branded gear.


Very easy to accumulate a lot of crap though. I still try and keep what I carry to an absolute minimum, and only take what I need.

Originally Posted by R93

I admit to being a gear freak.
Have spent many years in the military all over the globe in shit equipment.
Comfort is key for me. There are some amazing items on the market to ensure you are comfortable in the bush and if it is good gear I don't care who makes it or what it costs.
Boots and a down jacket would be my most expensive things clothing wise, although I do most of my hunting in $100 dollar boots.
I always hunt alone and have maybe unexpectedly bumped into 9-10 other hunters in my whole life in the hills.
I have never taken note of what they are wearing or how capable they are.
I just get on and do my own thing and do not care how I look doing it☺

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Yep same here.

Even though some of the old timers gear doesn't look flash now days, it probably still cost them a lot in those days. My grandad was a guide on the glaciers and told me he used to buy a new pair of boots every year and the crampons he bought cost him a months wage. I still have his axe and crampons. Good gear lasts.

There is a point though, I take a small amount of gear but have made the investment to have very good quality so it will hopefully give me years of trouble free use.

No kids, mortgage or missus and I don't go out on the piss so I spend money on good gear rather than trail and error with cheaper stuff ( which always ended up costing me more in the long run anyway).

Certainly don't baby my gear though. It's all made for a purpose.

Most expensive after rifle is spotting scope. Would never pay more for a hunting brand if they don't offer an advantage. Would never pay more for camo than solid colour.

A lot more than what I let on to the Mrs…..

Bino’s and range finder would be the next big ticket items for me and actually cost more than my rifle.

I used to buy the middle of the road cheaper stuff but more often than not it ended in disappointment and usually when I relied on it the most. If I add up how much I’ve spent being a tight arse I could have just brought the best quality gear. Now I just buy the best and tend not to worry about the cost so much. Buy once cry once as the saying goes.

I blame K95 for my current obsession with Kuiu and Sitka……

Wish i could afford a helicopter if thats any use ?

shit i am not going to comment for fear of being seen as a bling hunter LOL

All i can say is i walk out the door and there are a lot of $$$ spent coming with me but i don't care

Each to their own really

Hamish

After years of doing things as cheaply as I could out of necessity I now take pleasure in buying more expensive gear if I see a benefit, eg weight,longevity or just working better.
Most of my stuff is not made for hunting. I only own one item of camo-a jacket for duck hunting(my mates told me that I had to if I wanted to keep sharing there maimai).

Originally Posted by HNTMAD

shit i am not going to comment for fear of being seen as a bling hunter LOL

All i can say is i walk out the door and there are a lot of $$$ spent coming with me but i don't care

Each to their own really

Hamish

All that retail value in leather gears I wont skimp on boots and blades, both will keep you alive and moving. Probably my Bino's are the next priciest after my rifle. It does surprise me that hunting specific clothing and equipment is highly priced when normal mountain and tramping gear is in my opinion generally superior. I have had tree hugger backpacks that can out perform hunters packs when it comes to heavy loads.