If you have read some of my other articles and gear reviews you already know I am a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to hunting gear. I am a self-proclaimed flip flopper and ride both sides of the fence with all the new gear and technological advances that seem to come out every year.
I am in my mid-forties, I grew up hunting in jeans, cotton shirts, and surplus army gear from second hand stores (or hand me downs). I remember praying for the sun to rise in hopes that the temperature would bump up just a degree or two so my feet would hurt less from the cold. We had crappy gear and we liked it (really we just did not know any better). Fast forward to today, outdoor gear is a multi-billion dollar industry. The materials that our modern hunting clothes are made of were unheard of back in the early eighties.
I’m not really one to complain…but sometimes I like to get on my soap box and pontificate on how tough we were and how modern-day gear heads are all sissified. I kid you not, less than a week ago I was hunting white tail and wild boar in the Blue Ridge mountains. Low temps in the mid 30’s (at night). Perfect weather. I crossed paths with two young kids on ATV’s on my third day. As I stopped to shoot the breeze with them, I noticed that each of them was carrying a small fortune in gear. I was crossed between annoyed that these kids “out-geared” me and being fascinated at all the cool stuff they had. Let me sum up these two little dudes:
- $5k-$7K ATV’s
- $2k-3k synthetic rifles, stainless barrels
- $700 Leupold Scopes
- $1k Zeiss binoculars on one, the other had Vortex optics….probably $600 or so
- $600 worth of Sitka outer shell camo
- $400 backpacks
- And who knows what kind of GPS, sat phone, or communication devices they had
I was jealous. Don’t get me wrong, I have good gear….now. I have come a long way since hunting in sneakers and jeans. But these kids were dialed in like they were on a Yukon expedition. I walked away wanting to go out and buy some new cool stuff. Hence the flip flopping. I like to tell you how soft you are with all your new, fancy gear….and then I want to go out and buy it and be amazed at how I ever lived without it. I’m not going to change; I have grown comfortable in my treasonous ways. Given the chance, I will eat crow and go with the new, light, warm, and advanced gear whenever possible.
Now, with that little caveat out of the way, let me get to a short review of the BOG tripod and its accessories. I wanted to tell you the story above so you can see my trepidation with this review. I find one piece of this equipment super helpful and downright necessary. The other two I could take or leave. When doing gear reviews, I always want you to know that I don’t get paid for the review. I don’t get free stuff in return for saying it is the greatest. I am an amazon affiliate so if you use my links to buy things, I can get a small percentage…..but I want you to know that I review gear based on my old grumpy “I don’t need this fancy stuff” mentality crossed with my hypocritical desire to have the newest, coolest, lightest, and most space aged hunting gear around. Most of what you need to know is in the video below. Spend a few minutes and reply in the comments or e-mail me at chris@huntfishcook.co if you have any specific questions that I did not answer, I will be glad to help in any way I can.
In a nutshell, the BOG tripod is awesome. I take it with me on 90% of my hunts. Not only is it a perfectly versatile shooting rest that will work in ANY shooting position, but I often rest my binoculars right on top of the shooting yoke to help stabilize when glassing. I go into this a lot more in the video. The Binocular Rest and the Professional Camera Adapter are nice. They work well. They are heavy, take up more space in my pack than I am comfortable with and I dislike swapping them out for the shooting yoke when I am in the woods. But…they are useful and if you spend hours upon hours glassing…they would be VERY useful. So, I am not saying that I think they are bad, they just don’t fit my style of hunting…right now.
Take a look at the video below, let me know if you have any questions, leave a comment if you can help add anything to our conversation. I have included a few links below so you can check out the pricing and availability of the BOG gear.
Thanks