Wes Littlefield 05.08.26
The opening weekend of turkey season started heat and dry however rapidly turned cool and moist, the proper time to check the Badlands Magazine Turkey Vest. It promised to maintain me cool with its light-weight design, however might it deal with the loopy Oklahoma springtime climate shifts? Or wouldn’t it fall flat just like the dropping barometric strain? I hit the turkey woods to push this vest to its limits to see if it’s well worth the funding or should you ought to cross on this premium turkey vest. Spoiler Alert: On this Badlands Magazine Turkey Vest assessment, I share why this is among the greatest vests available on the market, however I additionally bumped into a number of main hurdles whereas looking with it.
Badlands Gear on AO:
Specs & Options
- Light-weight, breathable, water resistant outer cloth with a brushed end for stealth
- Adjustable shoulder straps and waistbelt for a variety of sizes and physique sorts
- The magnetic seat connection makes releasing and attaching the seat fast and simple
- Cordura strengthened, triple foam seat is sturdy, comfy, and folds away for low bulk
- Two zippered, safe slate name pockets with a stretch accent pocket connected
- Protecting field name pocket with fast, simple, and quiet Fidlock magnetic closure
- Ventilated mouth name pockets for breathability and fast drying
- Zippered storage pockets with shell and striker loops
- Aspect water bottle pockets match a variety of bottle sizes
- Adjustable rear fowl carry or gear bag
- Material: 100% polyester (Major Material), 100% Nylon Cordura (Trim Material)
- Weight: 2 lbs 8 oz
- MSRP: $250
The Greatest New Turkey Searching Vest Round – Badlands Magazine Turkey Vest
Execs & Cons
Execs
- Strategy GT blends in very nicely towards tree trunks
- Light-weight
- Extremely adjustable (Suits plenty of physique sizes)
- Loads of pockets and storage
- Seat cushion is tremendous cozy, even throughout lengthy sits
- An orange security flag helps you turn out to be seen whereas strolling by means of the woods
- Unconditional Lifetime Guarantee
Cons
- Costly
- The field name pocket is small and ripped whereas looking
- Straps loosened on their very own
- It’s nonetheless heat/made me sweat
- Zipper slate pockets aren’t silent just like the magnetic pockets
Badlands Magazine Turkey Vest First Impressions
Once I pulled the Badlands Magazine Turkey Vest from the field, I used to be stunned by how huge it was, given how little it weighed. The vest has pockets for every little thing, and I particularly love the breathable mesh pocket for mouth calls as a result of it has quiet magnetic clasps, and my mouth calls dried out faster than in conventional cloth pockets. The remainder of the pockets held all of my gear, although my field name was a really tight slot in that pocket, which finally turned an issue.
I used to be excited to check out the seat as a result of it has a thicker cushion than different vests I’ve used, and it has a singular method of folding and latching to remain out of the way in which. I needed to watch a YouTube video and do it myself a number of instances earlier than it turned intuitive, but it surely wasn’t troublesome. I had it found out earlier than I left for my first hunt of the season.
Lastly, as a smaller particular person (5’6”, 160 lbs), I appreciated that the vest match me very nicely, however had loads of strap size for a lot bigger people. It’s, very a lot, a one-size-fits-all vest, however the changes make it really feel extra custom-fitting.
In-The-Woods Expertise
It doesn’t matter how impressed I’m with the vest out of the field. The one true opinions that matter are fashioned after looking with it. I headed on a number of Oklahoma turkey hunts with a buddy to see if the vest might stand up to the pains of looking.
Certainly one of my first hunts with this vest was shortly after a rain, within the cool, humid air. The downpours totally soaked the bottom, and water nonetheless dripped from the leaves as we made our first sit. My butt remained dry due to the thick cushion of the Magazine Turkey Vest. The Strategy GT camo sample blended in very nicely, whether or not I sat towards hardwood or pine timber.
As we moved to a brand new spot, I almost forgot I used to be sporting the vest as a result of I wasn’t weighed down, regardless of having all of the gear I would want for this hunt within the vest. Whereas strolling, the cushion remained out of the way in which, and as soon as we discovered a number of spots to sit down, it was fast and simple to deploy. We struggled to listen to a gobble, so a few of our sits have been for much longer than others, but I remained comfy, and my legs and butt didn’t go numb.
The day warmed, and I started to sweat somewhat. Nevertheless, I can’t blame the vest for making me sweat greater than regular. At simply over 2 kilos, it’s very light-weight when empty, however as soon as my gear was loaded, it was heavier; nonetheless, it carried the load nicely, and I not often seen it. I didn’t instantly discover the straps loosening on their very own as we moved from spot to identify, however as soon as we made it again to camp, I noticed the unfastened straps and rapidly tightened them.
I found my largest frustration after simply sitting below a tree. I leaned again to chill out for a second and pull my field name from the pocket, after I noticed a tear already forming across the magnetic clasp. I used to be stunned and pissed off {that a} $250 turkey vest would already start ripping with lower than one season of use. Heck, I’d solely worn it a handful of instances whole. One cause I imagine it ripped so rapidly was as a result of my field name stretched the pocket to the max. A straightforward repair could be to make the field name pocket barely greater and extra accommodating to bigger field calls.
The opposite saving grace for Badlands is their unimaginable Unconditional Lifetime Guarantee. So long as you pay for transport ($15 as of this writing), they’ll repair the gear and ship it again to you. The issue is I didn’t need to ship the vest in throughout turkey season and have to attend to get it again (doubtless after the season ended).
Total, the Badlands Magazine Turkey Vest has been an ideal addition to my turkey gear, and regardless of the small tear, I see many extra seasons of use forward (particularly after I get it repaired).
Parting Photographs: Badlands Magazine Turkey Vest Assessment
The most important preliminary hurdle to recover from is the worth, however if you issue within the Unconditional Lifetime Guarantee and knowledgeable design, you may considerably justify the worth should you’re a critical turkey hunter. I wouldn’t advocate the Badlands Magazine Turkey Vest to younger and novice hunters as a result of it’s too huge for youths and too costly for somebody who doesn’t know in the event that they’re gonna love turkey looking. The Badlands Magazine Turkey Vest is an effective funding for devoted turkey hunters who need to be comfy within the woods whereas carrying every little thing they’ll want for a profitable hunt.
