Gear Review – Kirt Box

Upgraded My Marsupial Bino Harness After Years – Honest Review & Unboxing

Kirt Box — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

After years with my old setup, I upgraded my binocular harness — and it’s a decision that paid off the moment I hit the field.

From 10×42 to 15×56

I ran a Louis Vuitton Cascade 10×42 for a while with a Marsupial foliage pouch. That combo worked. But when I went to Idaho for the elk hunt, I realized I needed more magnification. The landscape was huge, the distances were long, and I needed to see detail further out. I upgraded to Vultures Vortex 15×56 binoculars — and that meant I needed a new harness.

The 15x56s are bigger, heavier, and they demand a harness that can carry them stable and accessible. That’s where the upgraded Marsupial pouch came in.

What I Like About This Harness

The magnetic closure is quiet and stealthy. Opens smooth, closes secure, and it stays open when you need it to — unlike some harnesses where the design works against you. There’s no fumbling, no clicking, no mechanical noise that spooks animals when you’re glassing at dawn.

“Usually pretty quiet, very stealthy. It stays open, and it doesn’t close on you by accident.”

The real difference with a quality binocular harness is stability. When you’re glassing from a hillside or across a valley, you need your binos sitting right where you left them. The Marsupial design keeps them accessible and balanced, so you can move, pivot, and deploy without fumbling.

This is the kind of gear that bridges the gap between field reality and comfort. If you’re serious about hunting, your optics matter — and the harness that carries them matters just as much. It’s not as flashy as a new bow or a broadhead, but it’s the kind of upgrade that changes how you hunt.

American Country Outdoors is about good gear, good land work, and honest reviews. When something makes a real difference, that’s worth sharing.

MoultrieMobile Delivery of a Camera, Mount, and Solar Panel

Kirt Box — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000

A Moultrie Mobile delivery arrived at exactly the right moment — just as I was heading to the lease to put out corn and fresh gear.

The Package

I got a shipment from Alabama, and I knew exactly what it was going to be: Moultrie Mobile trail camera gear. My archery room was under construction at the time (tools and bows everywhere), so I opened it on the ground and started pulling out the goods.

First item: a solar panel. I’ve already done research on these and I’m familiar with the product. We were about to head to the lease in an hour to set up new feeders and fresh camera stations, so the timing was perfect.

Camera and Mount System

Second item: the Outdoor Edge attachment system. That’s the interface that lets you mount your camera quickly and move it if you need to. The whole setup is designed so you can install cameras on the fly without wrestling with brackets or modifications.

“This package could not have come in a better time. I’m about to go to the lease and put out a bunch of corn and feed.”

Trail camera systems are only as good as their deployment. A camera sitting in a box does nothing. But a camera mounted solidly, powered by a solar panel, positioned where animal traffic happens — that’s intel. That’s the foundation of understanding your land.

Moultrie Mobile is a sponsor of American Country Outdoors because we believe in the product and we use it consistently. When you combine good trail camera gear with disciplined scouting (like my 4-month Junction review), you’re building a real hunting advantage.

Real gear, real results, real hunting — that’s what we’re about.

2024 Mystery Ranch Metcalf 75 Unboxing & overview

Kirt Box — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000

When Kurt pulled an Idaho elk tag, I knew we needed serious packs — the kind that can haul gear and game in rough terrain.

From Boy Scouts to Elk Hunt

My experience with backpacking was mostly limited to Boy Scout trips — hauling a small pack to base camp, nothing too serious. But an elk hunt in Idaho is a different animal. We needed packs that could actually work, that wouldn’t betray us on the mountain, and that felt right on the body.

I met the Mystery Ranch crew at the Total Archery Challenge booth in San Antonio. They showed us some gear, let us try a few on. The Metcalf 75 felt right the moment I put it on, so I ordered one through Lancaster during a good discount period.

Pack Features and First Impressions

The Metcalf 75 is built for serious work. It’s sized to haul what you need on a multi-day hunt without being so large it becomes its own problem. The suspension is clean, the load distribution feels balanced, and the pockets are logical.

“We were able to meet up with the guys over at the Mystery Ranch booth and try some on — felt really great.”

I also ordered the Grav 18 pack, which is supposed to be integrable to the Metcalf. The idea is flexibility: a smaller pack for scouting runs and a larger pack for the full expedition. That’s the kind of thoughtful system design that makes a difference when you’re living out of your gear.

This pack will get real testing during the elk hunt. That’s when you learn if your gear is solid or if it’s all hype. American Country Outdoors documents those real-world tests so you know what actually works when it matters.

Check out my binocular harness review for another honest gear assessment. Good gear, good planning, good hunts — that’s the formula.