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ATA-Review-1

2017 ATA Show – Recap

The 2017 ATA show was perhaps one of my favorite to date.  Aside from the unexpected, yet appreciated, warmer than usual temperatures, it seems as if there were more products that caught my attention than usual.  The updates Spot Hogg made to their sight lines were incredible! Several boot manufacturers releasing  Optifade boots were a welcome sight.  Some cool new tree stands hit the market, and simply seeing the continued growth and success of such a tight-knit and supportive industry is inspiring.  There was definitely no shortage of new products to check out this year, but perhaps one of my favorite booths to stop by this year was the Fourth Arrow Camera Arms booth.

For years I have carried around bulky camera arms, and hated nearly every minute of it.  While they worked incredibly well, I simply couldn’t justify the money to buy extra bases for each and every tree I hunted.  The constant setup and tear down of my camera arm made filming a real burden at times.  Last year, I decided to purchase a Fourth Arrow Camera Arms Stiff Arm and I couldn’t be more pleased with it.  Not only were they a cost-effective option to replace my previous camera arm, they offered several solutions to problems I faced on a day-to-day filming basis.

Of course, being the first year on the market, there were certain to be a few small things that could be improved on them, but I was shocked to see that there were several products they released at the ATA show to correct those issues.  Talk about listening to your customers.  Not only had they listened to customer feedback, they acted on it…and FAST!  First, the extension arm they have put out extends the Stiff Arm or Carbon arm out to a whopping 47.5 inches.  The other great product Fourth Arrow Cameras Arms had to improve their camera arms was the Cam Lever which replaces the nut previously used to tighten the Shoulder into the Base.  A small improvement, but the thought of not having to struggle to loosen my shoulder in below 20 degree temps any longer brings a smile to my face for sure!  Of course, The Fourth Arrow Rex Arm is another awesome product, but we’ll save that for a more in-depth review in the coming months.

Another great product I’ve been using for several years now is my
Tight Spot quiver.  New and improved for 2017, Tight Spot has released a 7 arrow quiver.  Because who ever said only 5 arrows was enough.  I for one like carrying a small game head or two with me when I go deer hunting, and every once in a while, I get a shot at multiple deer in one sit.  It might not be often that I would need so many arrows, but it’s nice to have them if I do.  The new 7-arrow quiver will definitely be on my list of must have gear for 2017.

Speaking of shooting multiple deer in one sit.  Getting said deer out of the woods is no easy task depending on terrain you are in.  The Crawler Deer Cart by Hawk Treestands was released in 2016, but was something I personally overlooked until this year.  After having an opportunity to play around with it a little bit, I will most certainly be getting one.  Self-filming typically means I have a lot of gear to carry on my own, and this deer cart is made for one man operation.  To make things better, it features a wheel system that allows the cart to be pulled over much of the debris that you would have to move around with most game carts.  Another product I have also overlooked in the past is the new FatKat E-Bike by QuietKat.  I had a chance to speak with the folks at QuietKat and they were gracious enough to explain some of the features of the bike. Best of all, It easily pulls game carts such as the Crawler Deer Cart.  I don’t know if I’m quite ready to make such a large investment on a bike just yet, but the time might be creeping ever closer.  Especially with my desire to more actively hunt public properties where I am going to have to get way off the road in order to find success.

Like every year, the ATA show is far from relaxing for us at SELFILMED, but it is a thing I look forward to each and every year.  There’s no doubt that we will get to see many more great product releases in the future, and maybe if we are lucky, we’ll get a little more of the nice warm weather we had this year.a

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