Over this past winter, I purchased Under Armour’s Under Armour ColdGear 3.0 Base Series Legging for Men and the 
Under Armour ColdGear 3.0 Base Series Crew Top for Men – Long Sleeve. Of course, this was driven by attempting to stay warm on those long cold days in the woods in late winter.   I have been very happy with other Under Armour base layers I own and many of their other products.  I decided to give some added warmth and try their 3.0 which is intended for extreme cold.  The first thing I noticed with this product is that it is noticeably thicker than other Under Armour base layers I own.  It is also fitted rather than compression which was one of the things that interested me in this selection.   I was able to  use this product for the last couple months of this past hunting season and I have also used it since for some other outdoor activities.  I have been very impressed by just how warm it keeps you.  In extreme cold coupled with other good layers, I would say it kept me 20% warmer than standard Under Armour Coldgear.

Pros:

Of course the biggest advantage is it’s warmth.  It is certainly warmer than most any other base layer I have used and just as, or more comfortable. They fit well, are not itchy or scratchy like some other base layers.  They offer the same great benefits as other Under Armour Cold Gear in that they wick moisture away while keeping you warm in the coldest conditions.  It also offers   ArmourBlock anti-odor technology, which is great for keeping your human odor down when hunting. Flatlock stitching, and ergonomic seam placement for free, easy movement

Cons:

I only found one real complaint about these products, and that is that they are rated for cold to very cold with moderate activity.  However, I found that when getting in and out of the woods or climbing a tree they actually made it too hot even in the coldest temps.  I learned that you must real keep your activity slow and passed in order to not sweat.  Now whether this is really a bad thing I am not sure about, but they certainly work better for sitting still or at least lighter activity.

Final Thoughts:

My final thoughts on this product are that if you are tired of being cold whether you are sitting out in the woods hunting, sitting around a hole in the ice, ice fishing, or just spending time outdoors in cold tempts these are a great addition to anyone.  They keep you super warm when looking at the warmth to bulkiness ratio.  They are comfortable and very well made and even offers the ArmourBlock which is Under Armour’s anti-odor technology.  They are a little pricey as the crew top is $74.99 and the leggings are $74.99 as well. However, they are worth every dime in my opinion.  I would highly recommend these to anyone looking for a base layer that likes to stay warm and dry while not being weighted down or itchy from wool.

 

Do you own  either or both of the Under Armour 3.0 base layers? What’s your opinion?

Recently, Fuse Plus You was nice enough to send us one of their Realtree iPhone 5 camo phone cases.  First of all, any phone case that is camo is cool in our book.  So, once we received it, I put it on my phone for the past week or so to see just what I thought about it so I could give all our readers an honest assessment.

The first thing to know about this particular case is that it doesn’t cover the front of your phone in anyway, it just protects the back.  This was the style case we choose to review based on what we like and the phones we have.  Fuse Plus You has a number of different style cases that fit all different phones.  They also offer a number of different camo patterns depending on what your preference is.

After putting the case on my iPhone 5, I found that this case some great things about it and a few things I am not sure about, but we found it to be slim, doesn’t seem to scratch real easy, doesn’t pop off like some cases do, and looks great at an affordable price.

Pros:

The pros are a lot of the things that most people look for in a phone case, it’s slim and very light weight.  It allows your phone to slide in and out of your pocket without resistance.  It looks great and doesn’t seem to scratch very easy.  Stays in place on the phone and doesn’t pop off every time you pull your phone out of your pocket or set it down on table.  great price at just $24.99.
Cons:

The cons are more depend on what you are looking for in a case.  Some of the things that normally draw us towards a case is what this case lacks.  Such as, protection should you drop your phone. Yes, it will protect the back, but it offers no real cushioning.  However, this is a trade off for having a nice sleek slim case.  It also lacks a screen protector, so you would need to purchase a screen protector separately should you want to protect your screen.

Final Thoughts:

After a week or so of use, we really like this case based on it is nice looking, slim, sleek and slides in and out of your pocket very nicely.  The cons that we found about this case are trade offs, many cases that offer cushioning and a front screen protector all within the case make your phone much larger, bulkier, and also tend to be very price.  Whereas, the Fuse iPhone 5 case is slim, sleek, and priced great at $24.99.  For many people this would be a great case, and if you are like some that are very hard on cases Fuse offers a number of other cases that offer some of those other features the case we reviewed lacks.   They also offer it camo patterns for both men and women.  We think this is a good phone case for what it is and should you be looking for a different style Fuse has something  to fit most everyone’s needs.

Looking for a camo Phone case, Check Fuse Plus You Camouflage Phone Cases  Out.  At check out enter the promo code BHM10 to receive 10% off your order!

At the beginning of this hunting season (2012) I decided to get a good pair of early season boots.  I decided on the Under Armour Speed Freek 6 Non-Insulated Waterproof Hunting Boots for Ladies – Timber Realtree AP.  In previous years I had either worn cheap early season camo duck boots or used my hunting boots for winter which made my feet very warm with 1000 grams of Thinsulate.

Well after looking around at different choices of non-insulated early season hunting boots, I decided on the Speed Freak 6′s and boy am I glad I did.  These boots provide a lightweight, breathable,  100% weather proof, as well as a rubber sole made for moving fast through the woods with great traction.

Pros:

First and foremost, these boots are the lightest pair of boots I have ever had on, they only weigh 2.2lbs.  They are very comfortable and really do allow you to move faster.  They are 100% waterproof and breathable with the GORE-TEXA fabric.  The rubber sole gives you great traction in the worst of conditions.
Cons:

I can honestly say I haven’t found any cons as of yet.  If I had to pick one thing about them that I felt was negative, I would say it would be the price.  At a retail price of $174.99 they are a bit pricey for a non-insulated boot and certainly more than their competitors. I also would love them to make an insulated version of these boots, if that counts as a drawback.

Final Thoughts:

These boots are lightweight, breathable, extremely comfortable for a hunting boot.  They offer everything anyone would want in an early season non-insulated boot.  They keep your feet cool while allowing you to move quickly through the woods without worrying about slipping thanks to the tread pattern on the soles.  They also keep you dry since they are 100% waterproof, and I can honestly say after sitting out in rain storm a few weeks ago, my feet were the only thing dry.  These boots are backed by a warranty from Under Armour which you do always see for footwear of any type.

I would highly recommend these boots to anyone looking for extremely lightweight early season non-insulated boots.  If you don’t mind the $174.99 price tag, which I personally think they are worth every bit of that once you use them. I would get yourself a pair!
Do you own the Under Armour Speed Freak 6 Non-Insulated Boots? What do you think of them?