The Great American Outdoor show in Harrisburg, PA has been a staple for outdoorsmen in the region for a very long time. This 9 day event is touted as being the largest consumer outdoor show in the world. The National Rifle Association became the show’s sponsor 3 years ago and has revitalized this show and its impact on the deep roots of America’s outdoor traditions. While the show has a large variety of things to see, it is hard to see it all in one day. There is everything from hunting, fishing, guns, ATV’s, boats, RV’s and hunting & fishing outfitters from all over the world. Here’s a rundown on some of our favorite gear at this year’s Great American Outdoor Show.
Tree Stand Up – Ladder Tree Stand Setting Aid
The Tree Stand Up product is a great little tool for hunters that use ladder stands and are tired of fighting them while erecting them on the tree. The device slips over the 2 bases of the tree stand ladder and then acts like a stake as it is pushed into the ground which holds the tree stand base in place. It’s swiveling action is able to rotate 180 degrees and work in a variety of ground conditions. It can even be removed once the ladder stand is in place. But overall, it makes setting up a ladder stand a lot safer, easier, and efficient. $24.99
https://www.treestandup.com/tree-stand-up/anchor.html
Snyper Trail Cameras
Snyper 3G Commander Trail Camera
Snyper Hunting Cameras is a new trail camera company that is offering some of the most affordable cellular trail cameras on the market. With their Commander 3G selling for $249, and monthly cell plans from $5-10 per month, these may be worth looking into. Snyper has also developed their own app which allows pictures to be sent directly to the app and even shared among users with permissions.
https://www.snyperhuntingproducts.com/
Ultra Light Bino Harness – Rick Young Outdoors
This lightweight and inexpensive bino harness was an eye-catcher because of the simplicity and functionality. It is a bit of a change from the normal bino straps we see, but surprisingly distributes weight very well and the tension created when raising the binoculars to your face actually works as a stabilizer. Unlike normal elastic straps that wear out, this small bungee-corded strap will last a long time. It has optional accessories like a whistle or rangefinder and GPS attachment as seen below. And best of all, it folds up when not in use. No more pile of mess with straps everywhere tangling in your pack! $24.99
http://rickyoungoutdoors.com/bino-harness/
Ultra Light weight bino strap can be wrapped up nicely and doesn’t get tangled up like normal bino straps.
Trail Camera Lock – Guardian Hunting
The Trail Cam Guardian fits most trail cameras that use nylon securing straps.
Guardian Hunting offers a new approach to a trail camera lock that replaces the nylon straps that normally come with a trail camera with steel banding. The company says those typical nylon straps are better referred to as gift wrapping for a thief. Guardian offers a 0.5 in and 0.75 inch design that is designed to be secured tightly to a tree trunk by using the plastic loops that are standard on the backs of most cameras. Due to the metal band being secured tight to the tree, it creates difficulty for a thief to get leverage on the strap with cutting tools. $27.99
https://www.guardianhunting.com/
Sherpa Game Cart – Tree Stand to Game Cart Converter
Sherpa makes a variety of models to fit 2 piece climbing tree stands.
Sherpa Hunting ran with a novel idea, especially for public land hunters who get back into the sticks. They designed a wheeled attachment that hooks between the two parts of a climbing tree stand and creates a game cart with your tree stand. Simply genius. They now make models for a variety of tree stand manufacturers as well as some other new products for 2017, like wheel kits for moving ladder stands and wheel kits for coolers and kayaks. $119.97
http://sherpahunting.com/products.html
Bullet HP Bluetooth Predator Call – Convergent Hunting
Convergent Bullet
The next generation of predator calls is here, and it operates from an app on your smartphone. This little bullet shaped device is a high definition quality speaker that has a 200-300 foot range for calling predators. It folds up cleanly for storage and features a stake and a bi-directional visual predator motion flag which is also controlled by the app. It recharges in 4 hours with an internal Lithium-Ion battery that does not need replaced and is good for about 10 hours of use. The best thing though, is that you can rock out to AC/DC with it when not calling predators. $249
Tree Stand Wingman – Tree Stand Safety Descender
A close up of the Tree Stand Wingman system.
The Tree Stand Wingman is a re-usable device that attaches to your safety harness and will allow you to descend slowly to the ground if you were to fall from a tree stand. It is designed to help reduce the risk of compression injuries or suspension trauma that can occur with traditional safety harnesses. Company owner, Wayne Bogardus, was showing how the product works at the show, and jumped thousands of times during the week with the same device. If you have children, and want to feel safe with them tree stand hunting, this is a cool device. $110-$125
We watched the owner jump over and over, replicating a safe decent to the ground from a tree stand fall.
Truck Topper EZ Lift
EZ Topper Lift makes adjusting your truck topper a piece of cake.
We couldn’t skip this awesome electric truck topper lift. It was originally designed to lift the topper without removing it to fit a four wheeler into a truck bed, but it proved that it has a lot more uses. As we saw at the show, it can turn the back of your truck into a truly romantic getaway and therefore could easily justify the cost to your spouse. Working off the truck battery by remote control, it can be lifted up and down and even has insulated flaps that fit between the top of the bed rail and the truck topper to form a truly cozy campsite. $1,300
