It's late March, time to check the vest and gear and make sure everything is up to snuff for the upcoming turkey season in April. I decided to take some pictures this time and go over the vest, the gear and some of the additions I've made to them.
A bit of background. I've been hunting for more than 20 years with this vest, as shown by the classic Realtree Xtra Brown camo. There have been advances in photorealism since, but I still haven't seen anything better for both close up detail *and* long distance breakup of your shape.
This is the view from the front. I've added a few SneakyLeaves for 3D effect. I've thought about a full 3D leafy suit, but I once had a hen call for 20 minutes so close to me I could have kicked her and once had a squirrel jump onto my hat, so I decided I was sufficiently camouflaged.
http://www.turkeyhuntingsecrets.com/store/store-camo-3d-leaf.htm
This is the back. If you look closely you can see on the left hand side of the zipper where I added a black clip to keep the game bag from unzipping.
This is the Cabela's label. As I recall it was just called a Turkey Vest back then, not a Tactical Turkey Thug Thingy III like they are all named today.
This is the first modification I made, adding a layer of waterproof nylon to the bottom of the seat. As it came from Cabelas this was just twill fabric that would have soaked through in the first ten minutes.
This is the second modification, replacing the 1" thick low density foam it came with that bottomed out instantly with 2" of much denser foam. You can sit on this for hours in comfort.
At this point a few words about the conditions where I hunt are in order. I hunt in the Napa Valley in California. Early in the morning the valley is often covered in coastal fog with temperatures in the 30s-40s F. Around 10 in the morning the fog will burn off and temperatures will rise rapidly until the afternoon, when it can be much warmer. Temperature swings of 40 or even 50 degrees are common, so thermal versatility is crucial.
This is a clasp I attached to hold my camo hat when I'm wearing orange for moving around.
This shows the inner pockets that hold insect repellent in the green bottle, my box call and my bird knife. Note the strap and clip that keeps the knife from falling out. I have a similar strap and clip sewn into the pocket of my hunting pants for my car keys.
Remember when I talked about the need for thermal flexibility? These are three head covers. The orange I wear alone when I'm moving. The camo covers I wear under the mesh cap. There's a thin one for when it's cool and a fleece one for when it's cold. I've worn the hat all three ways, with fleece, with fabric and just mesh on the same day. In the bag is a neck scarf with cooling crystals. It's really nice when it's hot.
http://www.watercrystals.com/nscarf0704.htm
