I had a midday appointment right in the middle of the Gold Hall, so I figured I might as well spend the day there—or as much of the day as it would take me to get through it.Although NSSF euphemistically calls the Gold Hall a “sprung structure,” the simple fact is that it’s a huge tent. Or rather, three tents set side by side. There are a lot of small booths out here—and in those small booths, often set up by first-time vendors—is where I found the really interesting stuff.At last year’s show, I found seven companies making women’s camouflage clothing. In the Gold Hall I found three new ones, each a little different from the others.
Prois Hunting Apparelwww.proishunting.com calls itself “Serious Huntwear for Real Women.” This is definitely technical gear with a feminine flair, and with some features that the men’s lines would do well to emulate. Instead of Velcro pocket closures, the pockets have magnetic snap closures, which means no rrrriiiipppppp…….. that scares off a big buck you can’t see coming when you open a pocket. Zipper tabs also are magnetized, so they don’t rattle when you move—another plus. Although the line isn’t extensive, it’s complete, with pants, jackets, T-shirts and accessories. I’d call this one a definite winner.
Gober Sportswearwww.gobertex.com is sure to raise some eyebrows. This isn’t hunting clothing, but is “fashion” sportswear in military camo patterns. And some of it is pretty scanty. I have a feeling this one would be more at home in a lingerie store than a gun shop. And geez, they’re right in Tampa where I live. I guess that’s appropriate in an ironic sort of way, since Central Command is located at MacDill in Tampa. It’s great to see a wonderful American cutlery company come back from near disaster. After a very tough couple of years, Hallmark Cutlerywww.hallmarkcutlery.com has emerged much smaller, much leaner, and much stronger. From their Kissing Crane deer stag handled knives to their Chief jigged bone handled knives, the company has a group of brands of which they are justifiably proud. Their tactical knives from UZI round out a healthy family of brands; expect good things from Hallmark Cutlery in the future. We certainly had our share of overseas knife makers this year! Mcusta knives www.mcustausa.com are made in Seki City, Japan, which has been at the center of Japanese cutlery production since the middle of the 13th century. Blades are either VG-10 stainless steel or 33 layer Damascus steel with a VG-10 core. Some limited edition knives are produced in numbers of less than 100. Decadent is the only word to describe the knives from the A&R Companywww.zlatoust-air.ru, from Russia. Many of these knives are definitely for the serious collector, not for the meat and potatoes hunter who just wants a good knife to skin his deer and cut out the backstraps. Yet, some of the knives, while still beautiful, are functional field knives that should be getting a lot of attention. Many of the blades are patterned or engraved, making them absolutely elegant. Some of the more elaborate pieces have handles encrusted with a goldtone overlay and synthetic gemstones—they’re almost into the category of fantasy knives. I just wish they would print the catalog in English so I could read more about them! Quote this article on your site | Views: 171
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