Pantyhose.  It's  one of those dark secrets real men just don't talk about.   But if you took x-ray glasses into half the duck blinds and deer  camps in this country you'd find more sexy stockings than you see at the  Moulin Rouge. Ultra-Sheer, nude, black, fishnet, lacy,   control-top, we've worn 'em all, skulking around the woods   worrying that our wives are gonna get really pi**ed if we get a  runner in  their L'eggs.
 
But no longer.  Because the time has come for...Mantyhose.
 
No,  seriously. It really has.      
 
From the press  release:
Hunters  Turn to Mantyhose for Relief From  the Elements: GRANVILLE/OHIO, USA – July  28, 2009 — When fall is  in the air and hunters take to the woods,  temperatures also begin  to drop. By the time deer season rolls around, it  can get bitter  cold after all those hours in a treestand. If you’re like  many,  you’ve worn your long johns under your Carhartts® in an effort to fend   off the chill. The trouble is, they can feel pretty bulky under  the rest of  your clothes—not to mention the trouble with clothing  containing cotton  fiber...So what’s a guy to do?...An Ohio-based  company has a solution to  allow all of us to keep warm and still  retain the title of manly-man.  ACTIVSKIN® sells opaque and sheer  tights designed specifically for men.  Their legwear is tailored to  male body proportions, including a fly opening  to eliminate any  question of this being a truly masculine alternative.  

The company even has a blog at http://www.nylongene.com/. To be  honest  I don't know which is more disturbing: the fact there's a  blog out there covering (so to speak) men's pantyhose, or that it's already attracted 58 followers.
 
OK, so now that the issue's out of the undie drawer,  the question is: if it's  specifically marketed toward men, does that make it manly enough  to wear without shame? Would you wear it, and more importantly, would you admit you're wearing  it?
 
Who knows, but here's some marketing advice for the company: if you want men to feel  comfortable and manly in your tights, then lose the models built like ballarinas and go find some hairy legs and beer bellies...  

If you’re like me, you probably get pretty tired of lugging sets of real or synthetic antlers into the woods so you can hopefully rattle in a buck. Rattling antlers not only take up too much space in your hunting pack, but they also tend to clack and clank together as you walk, alerting any self-respecting buck in the area that something isn’t right.

So, I got one of these Pack Racks in the mail from Knight & Hale the other day. At first glance, I was thinking, Yeah right, this will work. But you know what? It does. I haven’t tried it in deer season yet, but this thing sounds incredibly realistic. All it is, is two pieces of plastic, different consistencies, tethered together with a piece of rope. It carries as one unit, so it’s silent (and compact) in your pack. And when you want to use it, simply pull the two pieces apart, flip them around, and start turning them in different directions. You can change the tone with more or less pressure, and it really does sound like two bucks fighting. $24.95. www/knightandhale.com - Jay Cassell

I recently had the chance to check out Motorola’s newest Talkabout two-way radio.  I’ve always been skeptical about the claims made by all walkie-talkie makers…”50 Miles Capability”…stuff like that. Then I take them up to my hunting camp in New York’s Catskill Mountains and they won’t reach a buddy who’s a mile away. These things work when you’re on flat ground, but in heavily forested, rolling mountains and hills? Nah.

So, when I took out the new Talkabout (Model MR355R – catchy, huh?) and tried calling my turkey hunting buddy Bill, who had walked out of the cabin five minutes earlier, I got no response. So much for this unit, I thought. But then I remembered that the new model has a Power Boost button. I pressed it, and damn! There was Bill on the other end, telling me he wasn’t hearing any turkeys. The company claims it has a 35-mile range, and while I didn’t try to contact Bill 35 miles away, I will say it is definitely more powerful than its predecessor.

Another feature I like is the 11 weather channels, including 7 from NOAA. (It said it was going to rain on the second day of my recent turkey hunt, and they sure got that right.)

The new Talkabout has an emergency alert feature, 22 channels plus 8 repeater channels; a vibrating alert; 10 call tones (now you can sound like a duck), large buttons for use with gloves, plus an LED light. The unit comes in Realtree AP HD camo – which is fine, except I dropped mine in the woods and couldn’t find it. That’s the second walkie-talkie I’ve lost in six months. The units come with a belt clip, but maybe some kind of Cordura pouch with a magnetic closure wouldn’t be a bad idea.

The suggested retail price is $89.99 for two units, charger, belt clips and ear buds; not bad at all. motorola.com – Jay Cassell

Editors Note: Hunting and fishing equipment manufacturers are always sending our gear editor, Jay Cassell, their latest gadgets to test on his trips. We figured you'd enjoy reading regular reviews of this stuff, so here's his first.

I got a gobbler up at my cabin in the Catskills last Sunday (May 3). After taking some photos I went to work on gutting and plucking the bird.

When I take apart a turkey, I always saw off the legs first; and, guess what? I didn’t have my saw. But what I did have was Gerber’s new multi-plier, called the Crucial Tool. The blade is sharp and better, half of it is serrated – perfect for cutting bone. Some sawing here, a bit of hacking there, and legs were off. After that came the neck. I used the fine edge of the blade to trim and cut.

A good tool. It’s small, folds up neatly, and has pliers, wire-cutters, a flat head screwdriver, a Phillips head screwdriver, a bottle opener, and a caribiner. It’s 5 1/2 inches long, less that 4 inches when closed. It comes in a black belt case; too bad it isn’t camo.

The Crucial will be available in stores July 1, for $50. Gerbergear.com – Jay C