DIXON, CALIFORNIA (April, 11, 2013) – Today KUIU announced the release of their new Icon 1850 Day Pack on their Building KUIU blog found at blog.kuiu.com. The new 1850 cubic inch bag provides a unique design that allows for the pack to be used with or without KUIU’s carbon fiber frame. This versatile 21-ounce bag allows hunters to customize the pack’s performance based on one’s individual needs. Preorders are now being accepted for the first shipment on June 15th.
“I am excited to introduce the Icon 1850 to the market,” explains Jason Hairston, founder of KUIU. “This was a year long development project driven by input made by our Building KUIU blog readers, and is by far the most versatile day pack ever created.”
The Icon 1850 Day Pack, has two primary set-ups: with or without the carbon fiber frame, each with their own benefits, exceling in comfort and performance in either set up. Attaching the 1850 bag to the frame allows for use of the external load sling in conditions where hauling a heavy load, such as an elk hindquarter, is necessary. Removing the frame reduces weight and provides a comfortable fit perfect for day hunts or scouting.
Providing even more versatility, the bag’s structural carbon fiber stays are removable, allowing the bag to compress down even further and reduce even more weight. The bag is available in four different color ways: their original Vias Camo, green-based digital Verde Camo, or a solid two-tone Phantom Grey/Major Brown.
The pack has already generated lots of excitement from customers on Hairston’s
“Building KUIU” blog. One customer, Seth, wrote, “I’ve been waiting for this pack ever since it was first announced. Passed on many tempting packs knowing that this would hit the sweet spot in every aspect. You have not disappointed.”
ABOUT KUIU: Based in Dixon, California, KUIU was founded in 2011, with one goal: bring the finest ultralight technical mountain hunting gear possible to the market. KUIU provides a layering system that is light, packable, and dependable in all weather conditions. They sell all of their products exclusively online in order to provide competitive wholesale pricing with the best customer service and highest product quality possible. For more information visit http://www.KUIU.com or call 1-855-367-5848 Monday- Friday from 9:00AM-5:00PM PST.
The first day of the hunt was an exciting one. We spotted several buffalo as well as a few scrub bulls and wild donkeys. We passed on all the buffalo because both Barry and Kim had seen larger bulls during their pre-scouting trips. This initial trip into hunting country gave us a feel for what was to come – Rough four wheeling for two hours or so, following by 5 to 6 hours of walking and spotting. We generally walked 10 to 14 miles per day.
On the second day of the hunt we had a little excitement. After fording the Milton River we came upon a small group of wild hogs. They were all walking in single file, into the wind, and oblivious to our presence. Bill and I were able to run right up to the last hog in the line when she whirled and gave a grunt that stopped the whole procession. We launched our first volley of arrows hitting two of them. Bill’s arrow completely penetrated one boar and hit a small piglet running with the group. This piglet took great exception to an arrow in its side and began to squeal with a volume the likes of which were disproportionate to its size. This squealing had a very unsettling affect on the rest of the group. Bottom line is that they started charging Bill and me. In unison, we both looked for a tree to climb and discovered that there were none! Barry and Kim were observing all this through binoculars at several hundred yards distant. Although I’ve certainly seen larger hogs in my day, I don’t remember any being more determined. We were both equipped with very heavy arrows made for the buffalo hunt and they became very useful at this point. Bill turned one boar with a well placed shot which left the sow that was coming directly at me. My choice was to run or shoot and I decided on the latter. Thank God I actually hit her where I was aiming. The 860-grain “Grizzlystik” tipped with a 190 grain Grizzly head entered the hog right between the eyes and exited behind her ear. With their numbers greatly reduced that rest of the group decided to run off which pleased us greatly.
This whole fiasco made for a real confidence booster regarding our equipment. Bill was shooting an 80-pound Black Widow and I was carrying my trusty old 80-pound Stotler longbow. Both of us carried arrows made for this trip by Bob Burton of Whispering Wind arrows. Bob had made some Purple Heart shafts for Bill’s previous trip for Cape Buffalo in Africa. Since they worked well on that trip (nice buff and giraffe), Bill ordered more for this hunt. Bob could not find additional purple heart shafts for me so he came up with an option of resin impregnated Poplar shafts that produced a finished arrow weight of 1140 grains. In addition to these arrows, I was field testing some new heavy carbon shafts called the Grizzlystick from Alaska Bowhunting Supply. I really liked the advantage of the heavier wood arrows, but the Grizzlysticks are almost indestructible, which means a lot on a trip where you can’t run downtown to get more arrows. I’ve purposely hit a granite bolder with a Grizzlystick and had it recoil 20 yards in the opposite direction. In fact, I’ve broken three Judos on one of the arrows I’m still shooting. True to form, the one I shot through the hog’s head is still in my quiver. No matter what shaft I use, the business end always carries the 190-grain Grizzly broadhead when I hunting dangerous game. This one inch wide, three inch long head has served me well over the years.
While Barry and Bill continued to pursue one large bull they saw the second day of the hunt, Kim and I struck out for some new territory that was not previously hunted. The chance to hunt truly virgin territory really appealed to me. From the topo maps for the area, Kim found a long string of small ponds all connected and that eventually drained into the Milton River. From the map, it was apparent that we could walk over twenty miles from the first pond to the river. We drove (if you could call it that) as far as the terrain would allow and logged in the waypoint on our GPS’s. Then we struck out on foot towards the coordinates pulled from the map. Once we reached the water holes we started seeing buffalo in large numbers. One impressive bull was traveling with over 20 cows and calves, which made the ensuing stalk even more difficult. With so many eyes and noses covering his backside, this bull simply grazed with impunity. Finally the inevitable happened when we spooked an unseen cow and the whole herd bolted in a thunder of hooves and a billowing cloud of dust. Back to the string of water holes, we parted some of the dense vegetation to reveal a large group of buffaloes all circling a small pond. While I was busy looking for a trophy in the bunch, Kim stabbed me in the ribs and whispered that the herd bull was in the water ten yards below me. Sure enough the entire herd was watch His Nibs take a bath. All I could see was his nose and horns above the water. Slowly nocking an arrow, I figured all I had to do was wait for the King to walk out of his tub and I would smack him. After a mere 5 seconds, one of the cows grunted in alarm and this peaceful scene erupted into utter chaos. The bull dog-paddled to the opposite side and lunged onto the bank. Standing completely broadside he stared right at me with his nose held high and on full alert. I could see Kim’s 500 Jeffery come to bare and heard Kim whisper “take him”. The distance (around 30 yards) was a bit more than I had hoped for and the fact that he was on full alert, looking right through me made me uncomfortable with the shot. Years of disappoint has taught me never to take a shot that I was not completely comfortable with. Hence, I passed on the shot and was immediately second-guessing the wisdom of what I had just done. I could tell that Kim was disappointed as well.
We had been hunting hard for four days and this was the best opportunity to date. It was with a heavy heart that we finally returned to camp well after dark. Two gins and tonics helped a lot as Bill and I compared the day’s excitement. Bill and Barry had spotted the big bull they were looking for but it had given them the slip after a long hot pursuit. After one of Sonia’s great meals and several glasses of fine Australian Cabernet, I was prepared for a good nights rest and whatever tomorrow might bring.
On the fifth day of the hunt, Kim and I decided to retrace the route of the previous day and continue on into uncharted territory. We did stop on the way to make a stalk on a group of wild donkeys. This heard was more curious than spooked at our presence, which probably attests that we were the first humans they have ever seen. This was their undoing, because I smacked the biggest jack right through both lungs. We watched him fall within sight. The Grizzlystick had struck again. Once we got close for the photo session, I was surprised at the size of these donkeys. The one I shot was in very good flesh and not a tic on him. I was soon to discover that this was true for the water buffalo as well.
As we continued our hunt I knew the donkey had been a real confidence builder. I was now determined to find a good bull and put him down. I’ve found that this feeling happens to me a lot in the field. Sometimes it takes several days of hunting to get into sync with nature and the correct frame of mind for what had to be done. I was now hunting with more intensity. Kim was in the lead weaving his way through heavy palm fronds and low brush. I was scanning the country to my right when I turned to see Kim frozen at mid stride. He was looking right at me with his index finger pointed to our left. As he slowly brought the big Jeffery to his shoulder; my eyes shifted to the direction that the half-inch bore was pointed. There taking a nap in the mud was a fine water buffalo.
He was only 20 yards below me and looking at Kim which gave me an opportunity to nock one of my 1140-grain woodies. I remember thinking- “If he would only stand up”. As if on command the bull slowly came to his feet, still looking directly at Kim. Then I was thinking- “ Just turn a little, so you will be quartering away”. Again, he obliged. It was like my friend Monty Browning likes to say- All the pegs were dropping in the right holes. The only thing left to fill the final hole was for the buff to move his front leg forward to expose a chance at the heart. I could tell he was about to bolt, but I forced myself to wait. Finally he turned his big head in the directly of his exit. In doing so, he made one step with his front leg- Time to drop the hammer! I was already aimed and at half draw when he moved that leg, so it only took an instant to come to full draw and release. As luck would have it, the arrow hit exactly where I was looking. I could hear the metallic click which is the tell tale sign of hitting bone.
When the bull exited the small mud hole he had only one inch of white crown dip visible below the fletching, which meant the arrow had penetrated 22 inches (it’s a good thing to know exactly how long your arrows’ crown dip extends and the distance from the nock to the end of your fletching). It was all over in a split second and now it was time to be silent and wait. I was determined to wait a full 30 minutes. At the end of 12 minutes we heard the bellowing of an animal in distress. After four long bellows, all was silent. I continued to wait out the full 30 minutes before taking up the blood trail. Kim was in the lead with the Jeffery extended. After walking exactly 63 paces, I saw Kim drop to one knee and on full alert. Through the thick brush I could see the head of a buffalo on the ground looking at his back trail. Kim motioned for me to move slowly to the left while he stayed in position for a shot if necessary. Kim wisely had me move to see if the buffalo would move his head to follow my motion, indicating he was still alive.
Thankfully, he stone dead! It’s hard to express my feeling at that moment. During the caping process we did a little autopsy and discovered that the arrow had completing blown through a rib (which was sizable) and pierced the top end of the heart.
Somehow the trip back to the vehicle was not as grueling as I had imagined and back at camp, it was cigars around with scotch substituted for the gin and tonics. Cathy and I spent the next day fishing for Baramundi, which is a great sport fish similar to our bass. These fish get up to 30 pounds in these relatively small ponds. We were successful with the Baramundi and also saw fresh water crocodiles and five-foot sharks all in the same pools. We were 80 kilometers from the coast, so that is some indication how high the water gets during the wet season. That evening Bill and Barry were late of the cocktail hour so that was determined to be a good sign. When they finally arrived, Bill announced that he had finally hit the big bull they had been chasing all week. He felt the arrows’ entry angle was a bit back but a lethal hit. They tracked the bull for over six miles in four hours. Each time they jumped bull it would run again. Not wanting to loose the bull or make it suffer, Bill asked Barry to bring it down with a rifle. This was a very ethical gesture on his part because unlike Africa there is no wounding policy in Australia; you simply carry on with the hunt. Anyhow, Barry hit the bull four times with a 404 and it still refused to stop. When it was too dark to continue the track, they had returned to camp. The next morning the whole camp went out to help pick up the spore. It was hard tracking with very little blood. We were starting to get that sick feeling of loosing a fine trophy when Barry gave a shout. He had found the bull dead, approximately 2 miles from where they left the track the evening before. The Purple Heart shaft was still in him and it had penetrated deep. The arrows’ entry was right behind the shoulder, but our speculation was that bull was angled a little towards Bill when the arrow hit. Regardless, it was a happy ending and we were all grateful that we didn’t give up on this magnificent bull.
The whole experience was something I will never forget and will be forever grateful to Barry, Kim and Sonia for showing us the wonders of Australia’s Top End. Now if I can just sleep for the rest of this flight it might make it more tolerable.
This is quite a broad subject and a subject that depends a lot on personal preference, but what I hope to get out of this article is an idea of what I go for in a shoe that I’ll use for stalking. I’m quite picky with what I use for hunting. It’s interesting that shoes are often something that bowhunters overlook and yet it is something that’s so important. This article does not cover specialist shoes or boots for a specific bowhunting purpose (e.g. what shoes you should wear for a backpacking hunt in the Mackenzie Mountains), it’s more around what I’ve found to be silent and what I look for in a shoe that I’ll use for stalking.
Whether a shoe is a good stalking shoe or not is largely dependent on whether you can walk quietly in them or not. With a degree of concentration, you can walk quietly with MOST shoes, however it might pull your concentration off focusing on the animal that you’re stalking. I choose my bowhunting shoes very carefully and try to find the most quiet shoe that’s durable so that I don’t have to concentrate as much on keeping my steps quiet when I stalk.
To a certain extent, what the top of the shoe is made out of doesn’t make a big difference as long as it’s comfortable and durable. Here are two of the main things that I look for in stalking shoes that I use for bowhunting:
Flat sole with as little grip as possible
Soft sole (Not too thick and not too rigid/stiff. This is dependent on what/where you’re hunting.)
Flat Sole
The best stalking shoes that I own are this pair of Buckskin boots, which are based on an African shoe called a Veldskoen. They’re excellent for arid climates that have a lot of thorns. Because of the thick leather, thorns don’t penetrate like they would a lot of artificial materials. Their biggest downfall is that the leather perished very quickly when they’re wet and therefore I don’t use them for hunting anywhere that there is a lot of water on the ground or where there are many rivers that you need to cross.
As you can see, the sole is almost totally flat, apart from some ridges for grip. There aren’t big griping points on the bottom of these shoes that displaces soil as you take a step. There is something about the design and the shape of these soles that causes them to be very quiet. From my observations, when I’ve worn shoes that have a lot of grip on the bottom it seems to displace soil, stones and sticks more than when there is a flat sole. Also, I’ve found that a flat sole doesn’t break sticks as quickly as a non-flat sole – it pushes them against the ground and because there are no high points on the sole that put pressure onto one part of the stick, it seems to not break them as often.
Soft Sole
As I mentioned above, this is largely dependent on what/where you’re hunting. Obviously, if you’re hunting very mountainous conditions and stepping on sharp rocks, you may need a rigid sole to protect your feet. I look for the sole to have some give. This is important so that you can roll your feet and put them down carefully. When I’ve hunted where there is a lot of dead leaves on the ground that cover fallen branches/sticks I find a soft sole useful as you can displace your weight, when you can feel a stick under your foot, to avoid breaking the stick as you stalk. Whereas with a rigid sole you may not know you’re standing on a stick until it breaks.
Some of the types of shoes I use
Here’s a pair of Converse boots that I’ve used a lot for colder climates and where I’ve wanted a bit more of a rigid shoe. By “mountaineering” standards, these are still a very soft soled shoe that doesn’t offer much ankle support, but I’ve used them for cold weather and mountain hunting (e.g. Elk) with pretty good success. They’re reasonably flat on the bottom to still be quiet when you stalk, but not totally flat so that you slide around all over the place. The sole is reasonably soft as well. They’re insulated and the tongue is connected to the rest of the shoe past your ankle, meaning that they’re waterproof for creek crossings, etc.. which is important in colder climates.
Hunting Elk in Colorado.
This is a pair of Keen Coranados and is the type/design of shoes that I do most of my hunting in. They’re very flat and soft soled and I find them extremely quiet. Because there’s no leather, there’s no concern with getting them wet and they’re very light. I’ve tried a few of the “volley” type shoes including Converse and Dunlops, but found these to be the most comfortable for my feet as they’re a bit wider. They’re the closest shoe that I’ve found to my Buckskins, that can get wet and be worn wet. I’ve used this type of shoe for hunting in spring, summer and autumn time in Europe and also in Australia where I needed to be able to get my feet wet.
Here’s a photo of one of the MANY river crossings that we did hunting Water Buffalo in Northern Territory, Australia. I used a combination of a pair of Keens and Dunlop Volleys for this trip.
This is another shoe I’ve started using recently – the Merrell Barefoot Run Trail Glove. They very comfortable to wear wet and because they’re so snug fitting, they’re very quiet. Their sole is very soft and has minimal grip on it, I’ve found this makes them very quiet. I would wear these shoes on a hunt where the temperature is not too low and where you have potential of getting feet wet often (e.g. swamps, river crossings), but where there is no thorns. These are the type of shoe that would be great for hunting in Cape York, Australia. In my opinion, they would not work for Africa due to the thorns penetrating the sides of your feet.
I’ve recently purchased what is possibly the best jacket I’ve owned to date, from KUIU. The name of this jacket is the Super Down Hooded Jacket.
The Super Down range of clothing is ground breaking technology in the clothing industry, with it’s advances in waterproofing of the down. For MANY years, the textile industry has put immense effort into developing a material that is as lightweight and that has the same or improved insulation properties as down, but this has not yet happened – down still has the best insulating property we know that is lightweight and relatively affordable.
I purchased the KUIU Spindrift last year and have hunted very successfully with the jacket and was very impressed with it, which is why I was so chuffed when the Super Down came along as my expectations for KUIU gear was already high and I’m pleased to say that I wasn’t let down!
The properties that make this such a good jacket:
Water Resistant Down
Lightweight
Warm
Well Built
I’m going to elaborate a bit on the points mentioned above…
Water Resistant Down
The water resistant properties of Toray’s Quixdown which is treated with their Industry Leading Kudos DWR treatment that is used in KUIU’s Super Down range make this jacket ideal in the extreme conditions that you would find yourself as a serious mountain, adventure hunter. I use a down sleeping bag, but keep it in two dry bags to make REALLY sure that it doesn’t get wet. Getting your gear wet is the single biggest risk that you take when you use down and KUIU have identified Quixdown as the solution to that problem. Quixdown allows you to maintain warmth, even when it’s wet, which could mean the difference between life and death, if you find yourself in extreme weather conditions up in backcountry Colorado, USA or hunting in the mountains in Canterbury, New Zealand.
Here’s a YouTube video where Jason (founder of KUIU) demonstrates the water resistant properties of Toray’s Quixdown:
Lightweight
As mentioned above, down is still one of the best weight to warmth ratio insulations available. I have made extensive use of KUIU’s Spindrift jacket on a Water Buffalo hunt in Australia, Chital Deer hunt in Australia and Elk hunt in Colorado, USA, which weighs 368 grams (13 ounces), whereas the Super Down Hooded Jacket weighs ONLY 283 grams (10 ounces) – bear in mind that the Super Down has the hood as well. It might not seem like much at the face of it, but when it comes to mountain hunting, every ounce of weight makes a difference.
Not only is the weight of the Super Down nice because it makes it easier to pack, but I believe that it improves your performance in terms of the fact that it doesn’t restrict your movement. It’s almost so light that you don’t even notice that it’s on. This for me is a major bonus. You have a very warm, well insulated jacket that is very light and doesn’t affect your movement. There’s nothing worse than hunting and your performance being affected by the clothes you wear or the gear you use. That being said, I’m not saying that you can justifiably blame your gear for lack of success all the time, what I’m saying is that KUIU have thought this jacket out so well that there is no evidence, that I notice, that it would ever contribute to affecting my performance by weighing me down or restricting movement due to the weight of the jacket.
Warm
By now you’ve got the picture that down holds excellent insulation properties. Obviously, you wouldn’t wear this jacket as the outer shell in extreme weather (rain, strong wind, snow) and I believe that Jason did not intend for the Super Down, with it’s “water resistant” properties, to be the outer shell to be used in extreme weather conditions. It is made as an insulating layer to go under an outer shell in extreme conditions and make no mistake, it is warm and serves it’s purpose very well as an insulating layer. This being said, I would happily wear the Super Down in cold, clear weather. For example, when I hunt Red and Fallow deer this year in Australia, if the weather is cold, but clear, I’ll happily wear the Super Down as my outer layer because it’s so light and warm and I don’t need to keep rain/wind off. My preference, since I started using the Spindrift and now that I use the Super Down, is to use it as the outer shell where the weather permits over using the Guide DCS Jacket as my outer shell in clear, cold weather.
Well Built
One of the things I like about KUIU is their quality. You KNOW that you are paying for TOP quality products. When you’ve used KUIU, in my opinion, there is no question that there has been any skimping on the quality of the raw materials.
The Super Down is well thought through and well designed. I’m sure you know how horrible it is when you try something on in a shop and the sleeves are slightly too long or the hood is just too small to fit over your head properly, etc.. You don’t have that with KUIU. The hood is deep enough to cover your head properly, but is not too big that it drowns you. It has a velcro strap on the back of the hood that allows you to adjust how deep it is. The sleeves are tight, so they don’t affect movement and catch things, but are not restricting. They also have a flexible material at the end that allows you to stretch it over your hands, watch, etc.. easily (see photo below). There is no insulation on the inside (part that makes contact with your abdomen) of the pockets so you’re not carry “unnecessary” weight around and also any items you put in your pockets will receive your body heat, which in extremely cold weather this is a good thing for electrical items.
As part of the Well Built section I feel I must mention the price of this jacket. The Super Down, at the time of this writing, was priced at £166 ($249), which is about what your would expect to pay for a jacket of this material and with this sort of technology. I did some looking around and although they are not hunting brands, I found a North Face, priced at £180 ($270), and a RAB, priced at £160 ($245), down jacket of a similar design and nature as this Super Down and actually both priced very similarly to the Super Down. The technology will be along similar lines to that of this Super Down, although I must admit I did not spend as much time researching how good their waterproof treatment of down is. This is after all a review of the KUIU Super Down.
Here is a shot of the inside lining of the pocket (the part that will made contact with your body), showing that it’s just one layer:
Closing
Obviously, you’ve noticed that I purchased the Verde camo pattern as soon as it became available. I quite like this pattern. This is the first KUIU item I’ve purchased in Verde and certainly won’t be the last. I love the Vias camo and probably prefer it, purely from an aesthetics point of view. I think the two different camo patterns will marry well in different terrains/scenarios.
Overall, this is an outstanding jacket for any type of hunting and I think Jason and the rest of his KUIU team have done themselves proud on this. I also think Toray have done something really great in their technologies!
The Vapor is the new ILF Riser that Vantage Point Archery have released earlier this year.
I have been testing, shooting and hunting with it for a few months now and Im impressed!
Strait off the bat…as with the “benchmark” of broadheads VPA are producing today, the Vapor is bombproof.
Its built for the serious hunter that values reliability and versatility in their gear.
The Riser is machined from 6061-T6 bar stock aluminum, and is 13″ long. With the versatile ILF to accommodate both recurve and longbow ILF limbs. The Limb combinations available can make this bow anywhere from 52″ to 60″ long. I have it at 58″ and draw 29″
My bow is set up with Recurve limbs, built by Jim Belcher of Sky Archery. (again another bomb proof yet high performance limb build)
There are a few things I really like, Firstly All hardware is Stainless steel, that will withstand the worst weather a hunt can throw at you.
Then the Grip, This is available from VPA in Low Medium and High. Its a locator style grip with a Non slip rubber back, helping keep it warm in cold weather and Slip free in wet or hot sweaty weather. The Locator type ridge feels unusual at first, but I Really like it, amazing how consistent your grip is shot after shot. Which is key for accuracy.
The bow is very well balanced, dead in the hand….and FAST! The speed is the first comment everyone makes after shooting it.
Im shooting it strait off the shelf with an adjustable hard stop. This is just how I like it. But you can put on a rest or plunger…Lots of options here, its very versatile.
I went ahead and put a TightSpot quiver mounting bracket on there and have the quiver that I can interchange with some of my other bows in seconds.
Here getting it ready for the hunt with Jim on 5 Pines. Which was great and my first chance to take it hunting properly.
Never did get a crack at a big buck that week, but killed this Big doe, arrow passing strait through after a nice tight heart shot. Bow performed flawlessly under the conditions, easy to handle in the stand and in the field. Tuning was a breeze, with the adjustable features.
Overall very impressed with this rig and Im looking forward to putting it through some hard hunting over the next season.
If there are any specifics Iv missed or questions feel free to ask…there are going to be some happy Vapor shooters out there.
When I first saw this product I figured it was some kind of joke, but it isn’t. The Double Barrel Arrow Loader is a product that holds an arrow in a position where it is easy to get for a second shot. Once the first shot is taken the second arrow is nocked on the string and placed on the arrow rest with minimal movement and noise.
I have not used the product myself, and wouldn’t while hunting big game or while on a backpack hunt. This is just because I already have enough stuff on my bow, I don’t feel the need for one more thing. Also, it is just another thing to think about and to worry about, which is not needed. The place where I think this product would be great is small game hunting. I think if you were out hunting rabbits or similar game this would be a very handy tool for getting a good, and quick second shot.
