Camelbak Upland Vest Product Review

My goal is to post some more thorough reviews of various upland gear products that we sell through Uplanders Warehouse. The last review I did on the Badlands Upland Vest was fairly well received, and turns out to be my most read blog of all-time, so I figure I must be on to something. Keeping with that theme, I’ve evaluated a few more vests and written up more thorough reviews. This next review in the series is the Camelbak Upland Vest.

The front view of the Camelbak Upland Vest. Note the black hydration hose - this can go over either shoulder

Most outdoorsmen and women will be familiar with the Camelbak name and their advancements with hydration systems. But the big question is how well they can they combine on-the-go access to water and a rugged upland bird hunting vest?  

First off, the fabric is tough, and very water resistant. This is a bonus when drizzle, wet brush and snow squalls greet you in the field. There is also just enough blaze orange on the pocket flaps and back of the vest to keep you safe and noticeable by your hunting partners.           

What Can it Carry?

The Camelbak Upland Vest has just enough pockets to keep you stocked on necessities during a day chasing birds. There are three on each side, but one of the “pockets” is more of a zipper to aid in accessing the game bag in the back. The outermost pocket has a Velcro flap, and is just big enough for a pair of gloves or a compact digital camera. There is also a back pocket, located and accessed from the outside, near your lower back. It will hold lunch, or compact rain gear easily.

Badlands Upland Game Vest Review

Side view showing the shell pocket with a full box of 12 guage shells inside. A bit of a tight fit due to the height of the box, but it does zip closed and there is extra room in the pocket on both sides of the box. Better solution is to dump the shells out of the box and into the pocket. Note the position of the pocket in relation to the shell loops above on the belt.

I received an email from a guy asking about the Badlands Upland Game Vest - a product I added to Uplanders Warehouse just about a month ago after hearing some good feedback from a friend of mine.  He specifically wanted to know what the front of the vest looked like, and how many shells could fit in the front/side pockets of the vest. 

I decided to post a blog about it instead of a one-off email back to this person – because I’m guessing many of you – if you’ve hear about the Badlands upland vest – may have similar questions. 

To start with, Badlands is a great manufacturer who has made quite a name for themselves with their big game packs (they are especially popular with bow hunters).  They make a great pack and know how to distribute weight within a hunting pack for maximum comfort while carrying a load.  I must admit, I’ve never hunted with their upland vest, but, after doing a thorough review for this blog post, I am quite impressed with the quality of construction and the many features it has.

So here are some of features of the vest as I see them:

Lots of pockets.  There are two shell pockets on the sides, plus an additional 7 pockets on the back of the vest of varying sizes.  This does not include the mesh basket-type pockets that are on the outside of most of the other pockets.  Confused? Just know there’s lots of pockets.

One of the pockets mentioned above is for a water bladder.  This vest will hold a 100 oz. water bladder.  The vest does NOT come with the bladder, but it is built to hold one.  I also just started carrying water bladders on my site in both a 70 oz. and 100 oz. version – both of which would fit in side the Badlands upland game vest.

An additional pocket mentioned above (one of the 7 in back) is a water-resistant, welded-seam bag that hangs from two clasps inside the gamebag part of the vest.  There are a couple ways to interpret this bag: 1) you could use it to store your lunch or anything else you didn’t want to get blood or feathers on, 2) you could use it to store your birds for the hike back when you’re done hunting, or 3) throw some ice in there with a few of your beverages of choice   Or, I guess you could just fill your hydration bladder with your beverage of choice as well. However, short of actually using it, my initial impression was to take it out to give you more room in the gamebag for birds.  But it all depends on your hunt, and how much you need to pack with you. And fortunately, this extra bag is extremely easy to take off or add back in.

Same view with box of shells in pocket zipped closed

Another interesting and unique feature is that the side pockets slide backward to expand the gamebag. It’s a kind of rail system made from web straps that I found impressive.  The more you pack in the back, the further back your side pockets slide.  The downside is your shell pockets are less accessible the further back they slide.  There are 5 shell loops on each side as well that don’t slide (they’re attached to the belt) – so if you keep them loaded, you still have easy access to your shells. 

Note the position of the shell pocket after it slides backward to accomodate a larger load in the gamebag.

The straps on the vest are all adjustable to get the right fit. However, the vest only comes in one size, which doesn’t quite fit me.  I am 6’2”, 250 lbs. and it felt small and the natural waist of the pack rides higher than my waist. Most people smaller than me shouldn’t have a problem.  It is a very comfortable pack, and I like that the shoulder straps lie flat and don’t obstruct the butt of your gun when you’re shooting – obviously constructed by someone who has actually shot a gun with a pack on.

Overall, I give the Badlands Upland Game Vest a thumbs-up. I’d give it two thumbs up if Badlands would make it in a larger size.

If any of you have used this vest, I encourage you to comment on this post and share your experiences.

A view from the front showing the belt and clasp. Note also the chest strap.

Making lemonade from lemons

Working with customers in the retail business can be a mixed bag at times. Sometimes things don’t quite go as planned, such as a recent order from a customer named Petey. He ordered a pair of Gamehide chaps which were showing in-stock on our website – www.uplanders.com. When we went to pull and ship the chaps, there were none on the shelf in the size he ordered. Ouch! Incorrect inventory in our system usually provides the best opportunity for us to upset a customer – and we try really hard to avoid this. It’s just a bad experience and more often than not, causes a negative reaction from the customer. And rightfully so in my opinion – I’m a consumer too, and I have little patience for retailers who don’t have their stuff together.

Well, in this particular case, Petey was more than patient and understanding. You can read the story here on Petey’s blog.

When we do screw up, we do try to make it right as best we can. Everything turned out great in the end, but I think Petey’s response to the situation is more a reflection on him and his personality than it is from anything we did. Thanks for being a great customer Petey!

It’s all about the cup holders…

I find it amusing when people comment about how many cupholders a vehicle has when shopping for some new wheels.  This feature doesn’t even come close to the top of my priority list when evaluating a car or truck.  

 

Yet, I hear the exact same comments when people are shopping for a new hunting vest (“I like how it has two water bottle holders…”). I hear other people comment on the size of the game bag being the most important feature.  I’ve also heard that front-loading bird vests are an absolute must.  Then there are those who will only wear the traditional style and won’t give a strap vest a second-look.  So I thought I would throw these questions out to you and get your feedback.  What are the most important features of a good hunting vest in your opinion?  Take the poll below and share your opinions!

“Bird Camp” Canvas Tents

I grew up sleeping in a Springbar brand tent.  I still own a Springbar and absolutely love them – they are nearly indestructible (trust me, I have 4 kids).  I’ve slept many nights in my Springbar, through rain and snow storms, and severe winds – and made it through unscathed in all kinds of sketchy weather. 

 

So I was a little skeptical when Aaron Hill – a good friend of mine – told me he was going to get into the tent business and build a tent that’s better than a Springbar tent.  But sure enough, he’s done it.  Not so coincidentally, his new tents have the same basic frame technology as the Springbar tents.  But he has upgraded and added several features to his tents that I like much better than the Springbar tents.  Aaron called his company Kodiak Canvas Tents and has now been in the tent business for a few years.  You can get his Kodiak Canvas tents in several different retail outlets now as well (Cabelas, Sportsmans Warehouse, etc.) – but obviously I prefer if you buy it from Uplanders Warehouse  

 

He’s been bugging me for a while telling me I need to sell his tents on Uplanders.com.  I kept resisting, thinking that it wasn’t really a product that bird hunters would use.  Well, this past fall, guess who I went hunting with, and guess what we slept in?  We called it “bird camp.”  Turned out to be a great hunt in central Utah chasing chukkars around and up and down mountains.   Given that I actually used his tents on a bird hunt, I could no longer argue that the product wasn’t for bird hunters.

 

So now I offer them to you.  Kodiak Canvas tents truly are wonderful tents.  Being an owner of both a Springbar and a Kodiak Canvas tent, I have to tip my hat to Aaron and his tents – in my unbiased opinion (still being a Springbar lover), he has a better tent.

 

Mind you, these tents are not backpacking tents.  These are serious “bird camp” (or deer camp if you prefer) tents – or what other call “base camping” tents.  The materials used (heavy-duty canvas) are not light by any means.  Which is partly why you feel so safe and secure when sleeping in them – they are the ultimate heavy-duty tent. 

Family Fish & Game Magazine

You may have noticed that there are some new articles in The Roost section of Uplanders Warehouse (www.uplanders.com).  We just did a deal with Family Fish & Game magazine where they are providing us with some new articles for our Roost and we are promoting their magazine.  They also provided us with a special offer for Uplanders Warehouse customers – only $9.95 for 12 issues of their magazine.  Being a family man with a wife and 4 kids, I think it’s a great publication.  There is a little in there for all of us – and I’ve noticed my kids enjoy reading through it (and looking at the pictures as much as I do.  I think you can see by the few articles we’ve posted that the magazine has some quality writers.

 

While I pulled out a few articles that were upland related, the magazine covers all types of hunting and fishing.  And like myself, I’m betting that birds are only one of the many species you hunt.  Give it a look, and give the magazine a try.  I’m betting you get more value out of it than the $9.95 it will cost you for a full year.

Back from Pheasant Fest

JT working hard, or hardly working???

Wow!  What a week we had!  7 states in the last 7 days (Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado).  February 4th we left for Pheasant Fest in Madison, Wisconsin.  We had great weather the whole way out there – and when you’re driving a truck pulling a trailer, you pray for good roads.  The ride home was a different story.  We had a good stretch of white knuckle driving across South Dakota.  Rain in Minnesota turned to snow in SD, and that last stretch of 100 miles to Rapid City took quite a while at 35 mph.  We were a bit more fortunate than the 4 vehicles we saw that slid off the road.  After a detour to Mt. Rushmore (we had never been there before – and were highly impressed), we finally made it back to Montana Tuesday night.  Just in time for me to fly to Denver at 6am the next morning on other business.  Right now, I don’t care to travel for another year – until we leave for Des Moines and next year’s Pheasant Fest!

Anyway, the show was great.  We made several new friends and met tons of great people. The show was a success and we stayed pretty busy all weekend.  There are literally hundreds of new people now sporting our “i chase tail” t-shirts and hats.  It just warms my heart to see it

Here’s a shout out to a couple new friends from the show:

The Kratzke’s and their metal sign business called Metalcraft (www.metalcraftbyk.com). It’s a family business (Jim, Cathy, JJ, Michelle, etc.) and they have a great product.  They make and sell some cool signs for your yard or business.  Their signs are wind-powered and have some animation (like a pheasant taking off).  Neat stuff – go visit their site and put a sign in your own yard (and tell them that Jared and Dixie sent you).

Travis Akin from RoosterTail Hunts in Mellette, South Dakota.  Travis tells some great stories and has the pictures to back it all up.  If you ever want to hunt wild roosters in South Dakota, check out Travis and Rooster Tail Inc. (www.roostertailhunts.com).  He’s definitely on our list to visit next season!

Corey and crew from Sutton, NE. Self proclaimed "uplanders.com-a-holics"

Here’s another side note that made me laugh. On our drive out to Wisconsin, we got an email from one of our customers (Corey from Sutton, NE) who sent us a picture of him and his gang.  He mentioned that he passed out our t-shirts to all of his buddies on their last hunt of the season.  He said Uplanders Warehouse was his unofficial sponsor of the hunt – and sent us this picture to prove it.  A self-proclaimed “uplanders.com-a-holic” and we love him for it!

Left to Right: Dixie, Gayle (our Benelli winner) and me (JT)

I also need to mention that we took our monthly product giveaway up a notch and we gave away a Benelli Nova shotgun at the show.  The winner was a very ecstatic Gayle from Janesville, WI.  I’ve attached a picture of us in front of our sign promoting the contest.  Congrats Gayle!  And happy hunting with your new Benelli.  The contest was definitely popular and generated a ton of new leads for me to email   A highlight of the show for us and definitely for Gayle.  I’m pretty sure the shotgun giveaway will be back next year for any of you planning to stop by our booth in Des Moines.

Finally, I need to give a big thanks to my wife Dixie (who many of you met at the show). She put in a ton of work to make the whole show happen for us.  She’s a great face for our business not only cause she’s a hottie, but because she’s an outgoing and fun people person (and a great contrast to me – the quiet one).  Thank you and I love you!

Prepping for Pheasant Fest!

I admit, I am a horrible procrastinator.  So here we are – exactly 3 weeks away from the day we’ll leave for Pheasant Fest, and I still have a ton of things to do to get ready. 

 

Let me back up a minute though.  I got a call last summer from Pheasants Forever asking if Uplanders Warehouse would like to buy a booth at Pheasant Fest and be an exhibitor there.  Price was only $900 or so for the 3-day event.  I had heard of the event, but had never attended previously.  Back when I committed and purchased the booth, we had only been in business for a few months, and Pheasant Fest sounded it like it might be a great opportunity to promote the business and reach out to 30,000 fellow pheasant hunters, so we jumped in.

 

Little did we know the $900 for this show would be the cheap and easy part   I don’t even want to add up the expense of everything we’re shelling out to show at this thing or I’ll get sick.  The time and effort is even greater than the financial investment.  This show is consuming all of our time right now as we come up on the final weeks before we leave.  We’ll take off on Wednesday, February 4 to start our cross-country trek (Bozeman, MT to Madison, WI – approx. 1,200 miles each way).  The show itself runs Friday-Sunday, February 6-8.  Thankfully, gas prices are cooperating; I was seriously considering dropping out of the show back when gas was $4+ per gallon.  We’ll be hauling a trailer with our exhibit décor, inventory, supplies, etc.  It has become quite the project.

 

Initially it was going to be my wife (Dixie – my booth babe and I at the show, but after talking to other businesses that have participated in Pheasant Fest in past years, I’m thinking we might get swamped (again, potentially 30,000 attendees).  So I bribed my son that if he had straight A’s in school at the time we take off, he can come too.  I’m really hoping he has the grades, cause I think we’re going to need a 3^rd person at the show.

 

If you’re in the Madison area, or already planning to go to the show, we’d love to see you! Our booth # is 748 – I’ll have something for you to make it worth your while.

 

I’m hoping to find time at the show to write a couple blog entries and keep everyone up to date on how things are going for us.  Hopefully the weather cooperates for the road trip, and we don’t run into any mechanical issues.  See you at the show!

The Big Move

Whew!

 

The last few weeks have been rough ones.  We just finished moving the family and Uplanders Warehouse north to Big Sky country - Montana!!!

 

I think my bird hunting prospects just increased 10 fold - and that must be the silver lining, cause moving has proven to be quite painful.  The logistics of moving a family and business - let alone the kennels and dogs - is enough to cause migraines for weeks (and back aches for months).

 

Fortunately though, we’re here, getting settled in, and really enjoying the area so far.  We found a great home here in Bozeman, and the dogs have a full acre fenced yard to run in.  We’ve had a bit of Indian summer here as well, which has definitely helped the transition.

 

I’m working with our programmers right now to get all references to our mailing and shipping addresses on the website updated.  These changes should go live any day now - just one hiccup in changing the shipping logic in the FedEx rate calculation, but that part should be fixed by now.

 

If you’re interested, and just can’t wait for the address update on our main site, here’s our new mailing address:

 

Uplanders Warehouse

PO Box 1829

Bozeman, MT 59715

 

All phone and fax numbers stay the same.

 

To all you uplanders in Montana: give me a call or shoot me an email (jared@uplanders.com).  I need to figure out where to go hunting in this state.  Tips and directions are always welcome – and good information is rewarded with free hats and t-shirts!

 

Here’s to happy hunting in Montana.  –JT

MAP Pricing Stinks!

Have you heard of MAP pricing before? It stands for “Minimum Advertised Price” and is a lousy practice in my opinion that is forced on retailers by certain manufacturers.  MAP pricing borders on price fixing (which is highly illegal by the way) – where the manufacturer sets a price and the retailer cannot go lower than that price if they want to remain a dealer for their product.

 

I’ve dealt with MAP pricing in my prior lifetime in the golf industry, but I’m now being forced to deal with it in the upland hunting industry as well. The way it works is that the manufacturer creates a MAP policy that the retailer has to sign and agree to – stating that I (the retailer) won’t advertise their products below the minimum prices they set.  If I do advertise a price on their product below the minimum price they set, they can choose to terminate me as a dealer.

 

From the manufacturer’s perspective, they say they enforce MAP pricing to “protect their brand” from off-price retailers - specifically Internet retailers/discounters.  They also say that they do it to protect their “brick & mortar” retailers (those with physical store locations) who they feel get hurt by Internet retailers.  Somebody please call the waaaahhbulance!  Being a ‘free market’ supporter, MAP pricing just stinks – for me the retailer, and for you the customer.  Yes, I benefit from higher margins, but I would rather pass a good deal along to my customers.

 

Also, with the manufacturer controlling the price, it puts me in direct competition with them.  Take for example Filson, Beretta and Turtleskin - all manufacturers whose products I carry and who enforce MAP pricing (which is why you don’t see any discounts on those brands on my site, and shouldn’t find the products any cheaper on other sites on the Internet). All 3 of these brands also have websites where they also sell direct to consumers.  Which creates an interesting relationship - I am a dealer for them and they want me to sell as much of their product as I can, but they also compete directly with me for sales – they’re my competition.  The latter part of the relationship drives me nuts. 

 

So how do I compete with my own manufacturers when lower price isn’t an option? Service.  I guarantee I’ll take better care of you than the manufacturers.  Case in point: an Uplanders Warehouse customer recently purchased some Turtleskin chaps that he wore in the field and determined that he didn’t like.  The product can only be returned to the manufacturer if it’s defective and/or in new condition (not used).  However, I gladly accepted the used product and exchanged it for another brand of chaps that will work better for him.  Granted, I can’t re-sell the used product on my site either, but I’m more interested in creating a happy customer who will come back the next time he needs upland hunting gear.  My primary concern is creating a good customer experience.

 

There is one other way to compete against MAP pricing.  CALL ME to place your order.  The MAP policies to which I’m bound say I have to “display” or advertise a certain price, but it doesn’t say I can’t “sell” it for less.  If you call me on the phone, I’ll cut you a deal  ;)  -JT