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Jesse's Hunting > Hunting Articles > Hunting Gear > Making a List and Checking it Twice - Christmas Wish List
Making a List and Checking it Twice - Christmas Wish List
Dave Blake - JHO ProStaff
- Southern CA
December 18, 2005
With Christmas just around the corner I've been thinking about what would be on my Christmas list. I can remember some of the things on my St. Nick list when I was a kid. If there was one thing I got really good at it was come up with a doozy of a Christmas list.
There was the BB gun I never got and the BMX bike that I did get and the G.I. Joe with the Kung Fu grip (not the little one from the 80's, but the full sized one with the fuzzy hair). Man I wish I still had him.
I was lucky in that I did score a few of my top picks throughout the years.
These days I enjoy the giving as much as the receiving. Part of the fun of the holiday season is the hunt for the perfect gift. There are a few things, however, that I would love to see in or around my stocking this year.
I have been to a couple of trade shows recently including the Off Road Show in Pamona, CA and the ICAST fishing show in Las Vegas, NV. There were several items at these shows that I really liked.
Jumping Jack Trailer
The Jumping Jack provides a portable camp that can be set up anywhere, and can go almost anywhere... except maybe under the Christmas tree. |
There are plenty of goodies to go with it such as a propane rack, cooler rack, lantern post, kitchen unit, awning and more. This would be a great rig for getting into those back country spots that R.V.s just can't get to. The basic package costs just under $5000.
The ICAST fishing industry show was huge. Everyone who made anything even distantly related to fishing was there with their newest and brightest… from highly specialized carp fishing rigs to flotilla-sized offshore boats, one could find everything they were looking for.
I had a great time exploring and talking to different vendors about their new stuff, but what really caught my eye in the end was the ODC Super Sport 9 pontoon craft by Creek Company.
9 foot by 15 inch pontoons would keep me high and dry while I paddle my way around the calm waters of a trout pond. The comfortable molded and padded seat would make for a comfortable extended sit, while the roomy gear platform holds my cooler with lunch and other consumables. Suggested retail price for this outfit is $299.
In addition to attending trade shows, I do a lot of web surfing looking for things that catch my eye and seem useful. I came across a pair of Minox binoculars the other day that would pretty much cover every glassing situation.
The Minox 8-14x40 vario BRD are a great looking pair of binoculars packed with a lot of high quality, multi-coated glass. The 8-14 zoom feature packs the power of two pair into one without loss of clarity. With a 4.6 degree field of view at eight-power and 3.7 at 14-power, a hunter could cover a lot of ground without a lot of movement.
Add to this a 40mm objective lens and 5mm exit pupil for awesome light gathering, green rubber armor and argon gas for water and fog proofing, and you have the total optics package for just about any hunting situation. These babies retail at most online optics shops for about $1200.
We could all undoubtedly come up with some really cool stuff for our Christmas lists every year. For me, the number one item on my list is always the smiles on my family's and friends’ faces as we get together and celebrate the reason for the season.
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