My birthday is coming up and I thought it would be a good occasion to get some new hunting gear, I wanted an early season hiking boot and a good spotting scope.
Being on a budget of $500 it was tough to find quality items for this price range. I found a used Leupold gold ring 15-30×50 spotting scope and bought it for $250 on ebay, new these beautys go for 400-500 bucks so I thought I got a good bargain. Leupold gold ring optics have lifetime warranty so no fear is needed when buying used. I found this item to have the best value as it is reasonably affordable and Leupold Gold Ring are top echelon optics. Thanks to the online hunting forums I was informed about this neat line of compact spotting scopes. When looking for spotting scopes you want to get something decent especailly if you are hiking as there is no use packing junk weight!
here is the spotting scope I bought: http://www.opticsplanet.net/picture-2-leupold-golden-ring-15-30×50-compact-spotting-scope-kit-58390.html
For the hiking boots, I have researched for a while and have finally come to try out Kenetrek’s Hardscrabble Hiker. It is a 7" boot weighing in at 3.6lbs as a pair, The boots are waterproof, full grain leather, with a breathable membrane. These beautys are made in Italy with top of the line material. I am very excited to try these out on my next hunt. Here is where I bought them from: http://store.carterscobblershoppe.com/ke-420-hk.html
My criteria for boots is: Light, tough, waterproof, and comfortable. I will try these items out soon enough and post a review here: Hunting gear reviews