Smithey Cast Iron Skillets- $100-$295 (smithey.com)
Reviving the American tradition of cast iron manufacturing, Smithey Ironware offers beautiful heirloom quality skillets that your grandchildren can give to their grandchildren. Hand-forged in the USA, these skillets range from 8-14 inches in diameter, meaning you can sear a steak for one or roast game birds for a crowd. The inside of a Smithey skillet is pre-seasoned and smooth as glass, creating a polished finish perfect for anything you can throw at it. We tested it to cook eggs, delicate trout fillets, whitetail backstraps, and turkey tenderloins with no problems. Smithey skillets are a pleasure to look at, yet tough enough for everyday use.
Orca 58-Quart Cooler- $340 (orcacoolers.com)
A cooler shouldn’t be a status symbol. It should keep your catches, kills, and drinks cold while taking a beating. That’s what coolers are for. The Orca 58-quart cooler does exactly that with industry leading ice retention, a lifetime warranty, and a compact design that is easy to handle while holding more than enough supplies for a week of hunting, fishing, or camping. Other great features include a well-designed drainage port, flexible carry handles, and cargo netting tailor made for holding the things that seem to be constantly cluttering your boat. Considering Orca coolers come with a lifetime warranty (as opposed to a 5-year warranty from other brands) and are made in the USA (other coolers are not), Orca is arguably the best cooler for all your summer adventures.
Camp Chef Mountaineer Two Burner Aluminum Stove- $300 (campchef.com)
If you’ve been using your dad’s old camp stove, you probably don’t realize how far portable stoves have come in the last few years. The Camp Chef Mountaineer has roughly twice the heating capacity and 1.5 times the cooking surface compared to stoves of old, but being aluminum, it’s less than twice the weight. It’s also designed to hook up to any size propane tank, so you can stop filling your camp trash with disposable propane cylinders and hook up to a larger tank for long trips. Its suitcase-style latching lid makes it easy to transport, whether your traveling by vehicle, canoe, raft, or on foot.
Peak Design Camera Cubes- $50-$90 (peakdesign.com)
Peak Design is known for creating innovative, well thought out products that defy categorization. A perfect example of their innovative thinking is the Peak Design Camera Cube. While “camera” is in the title, these cubes organize and protect anything you can stuff into them. Available in three sizes with a tearaway top opening and side pockets for instant access, we’ve found these cubes to be perfect for traveling with fly reels, spare spools, and terminal fishing tackle. Peak Design’s FlexFold dividers offer efficient modular storage that is completely customizable and the cube’s padded, weatherproof design will keep your gear safe and sound.
Sea to Summit Tek Towel-$13-$40 (seatosummitusa.com)
As hunters and anglers, our adventures often take us a long way from high thread count sheets, expansive wine menus, and room service. On a wilderness trip, a towel can be a luxury. The Tek Towel from Sea to Summit is a soft, durable, and super absorbent microfiber towel ideal for adventure travel, car camping, or drying your bird dog after a day in the field. The towel is lightweight, comes with a snap-on loop for hanging, and packs into a molded pouch with vents to promote drying and avoid mildew. The Tek Towel comes in five sizes ranging from an oversized beach towel to hand size. This machine washable, fast drying towel is a welcome comfort on any hunting or fishing trip you can dream up.
Ignik Gas Growler- $150 (ignik.com)
An estimated 48 million single-use propane bottled end up in landfills each year. You’ve probably seen them overflowing out of camp site trash bins or fished their charred remains out of campfire rings. Ignik’s Gas Growler is a refillable no-waste solution for camp cooking. The Gas Growler has a five-pound capacity and comes in an attractive and rugged case with room to store the included hose, wrench, and hookup adapter. The exterior of the case is stitched with Molle webbing for attaching accessories or strapping it down for transport. Best of all, refilling the gas growler costs roughly the same as buying a single use bottle but holds five times the amount of fuel.
Ursack Allmity+Opsack- $147 (ursack.com)
The Ursack AllMitey protects your food from critters big and small. Not only will it keep out a bears’ teeth and claws (IGBC approved), but it thwarts mice, raccoons, squirrels, or any other sharp-toothed creature. The Opsack interior is a sealable plastic 17,000 times more odor-resistant than standard plastics which greatly reduced then chance of a bear winding your cache. The Ursack Allmity carries five days’ worth of food and comes with reflective strips on its exterior as well as reflective guidelines for easy retrieval in the dark. At 13 ounces, the system is less than half the weight of the lightest bear canister on the market, making it perfect for long hikes into national parks that require bear-safe storage.
JetBoil MiniMo Stove- $150 (jetboil.com)
Built with speed and efficiency in mind, the MiniMo cooking system brings Jetboil’s reputation for reliability to a stove designed for backcountry hunters and anglers. The MiniMo reaches a boil in just over two minutes with half the fuel consumption of traditional systems. Unlike other lightweight stoves, the MiniMo can be adjusted from a light simmer to full boil, perfect for searing meat, sautéing greens, simmering sauces, and more. Metal handles and a redesigned cooking cup—optimized for both cooking and eating—means less dishes to take care of at the end of the night. At under 15 ounces the MiniMo is ideal when traveling fast and light.
RubberMaid Action Packer- $50-$100 (rubbermaid.com)
Organization has its perks. For one, when your friend invites you on a last-minute adventure, all you have to do is grab your gear and go. But low-quality storage bins are notorious for cracking, snapping, and warping in the sun. RubberMaid’s line of Action Packers are a storage system that doesn’t fall into the “disposable” category. Made of impact resistant material that can withstand harsh temperatures and are fitted with a double-walled weather resistant lid, these storage totes are made for the outdoors. We’ve used them for dry food storage on long float trips, storing our equipment in hunting camp, and for staying organized on long road trips. Four sizes ranging from 8 to 48 gallons are stackable, durable (you can stand or sit on them), and lightweight.
Messermeister Adventure Chef 6 Piece Summit Set- $250 (messermeister.com)
Messermeister, known for producing extremely high-quality knives for nearly forty years has come out with an Adventure Chef Set that should be the envy of outdoor cooks everywhere. The six piece set includes a 6” folding chef’s knife, 6” folding fillet knife, all-in-one folding fork, bottle opener, steak knife, and spoon, folding peeler and parer with fish scaler, and a sizable folding cutting board all packaged in an attractive and durable waxed cotton case that easily packs into a glovebox, backpack, or backpocket. The result is a chef quality kitchen kit you can take with you anywhere.
BareBones Living Beacon Hanging Light- $45 (barebonesliving.com)
The Beacon Hanging Light from BareBones Living is equipped with a dimming feature that allows you to completely illuminate your surroundings or just set the mood. With a carabiner top, hanging the lantern style light is simple, but if you prefer to keep it close at hand, its sturdy base is made to be set anywhere. The Beacon comes with a 30-inch cord for its rechargeable battery—which lasts 200+ hours on low or three hours on high. And thanks to a convenient battery life indicator, you’ll never be left in the dark. Whether you’re rigging up your fly rod in the early morning hours, plucking birds at the end of a long day, or setting a table for two, the Beacon can light up whatever you throw at it.
Black Rifle Coffee- $10-$75 (blackriflecoffee.com)
Too often companies promote a halfhearted “commitment to veterans” just to sell you something. Black Rifle Coffee, owned and operated by the veteran community, is the real deal. Not only are they committed to supporting veterans, deployed service members, and law enforcement, but they also make some damn good coffee. Black Rifle Coffee imports high quality coffee beans from Colombia and Brazil and roasts them to order. Their coffee club lets you pick your preferred roast, and ensures you’re well supplied with coffee each month. Their instant coffee is some of the best we’ve ever tried so you can enjoy an awesome cup of coffee wherever you are without having to pack an espresso machine, beans, and a grinder with you.
Duck Camp Hooksetter Shirt- $79-$89 (duckcamp.com)
Part of Duck Camp’s new fishing line of apparel, the Hooksetter shirt has you covered whether you’re on the bow of a skiff or casting poppers at your local bass hole. Available in long or short sleeve and in a variety of colors, we’ve found Hooksetter shirts to be thoughtfully designed and extremely comfortable. Their Nylon Supplex construction makes them breathable, light, and quick drying while maintaining UPF40+ sun protection. Hidden inside the bottom hem, a microfiber sunglass cloth keeps your shades in working order for reading the river or spotting tails.
STRUNG MAGAZINE is published quarterly and remains the only publication made by hunters and anglers
for hunters and angler. Pick up a copy today or Subscribe here.