By Lance Schwartz

2012 Polaris Sportsman Touring 550
MSRP: $8,699
Final Thoughts + Polaris Sportsman 550 At a Glance

I recently logged approximately 150 miles aboard the Polaris Sportsman 550. I tested the unit by towing a landscape trailer around my property, meandering down tight, high-speed trails, giving it the occasional mud bath, and using the machine in the same way most owners would. The Sportsman 550, in my opinion, is a comfortable ride that delivers like the larger Sportsman 850. And it won’t hurt your wallet as much.

To the untrained eye, the Sportsman 850 and 550 look nearly identical. It’s only when the engines fire that the subtle differences emerge. The 550 has less horsepower than the 850, and is about 40 pounds lighter. However, the 550 feels heavier because it doesn’t have enough power to float the front end to avoid obstacles. Drivers can make the 850's front end feel light by stabbing the throttle.

Performance wise, 550’s Engine Braking System (EBS) performed flawlessly when I took it down steep, winding trails. The EBS felt natural, like the engine was actually doing the compression braking itself rather than relying on electronics and clutching.     [ Read Full Post ]

By Lance Schwartz

2012 Yamaha Rhino 700 FI Auto
MSRP: $11,499 – Hunter Green, Steel Blue; $12,049 – Real Tree AP Camo

Yamaha entered the Side-By-Side (SxS) market with the venerable Rhino 660 in 2004, and introduced the world to the first sport-utility machine equally capable of both hard work and hard play. The Rhino 660 helped spawn the SxS racing craze and jump-started a host of new aftermarket companies that blew custom Rhino parts out the door as fast as they could produce them. In 2007, the Rhino 700 FI Auto took the platform to a new level with the enhanced fuel-injected 700-class engine. Since then the Rhino 700 FI Auto has remained virtually unchanged, and is still one of the toughest and most reliable machines on the planet.

Additionally, one of the coolest things about the Rhino and numerous other Yamaha ATV’s is the fact that they're all built in Newnan, Ga., using parts sourced from vendors all over the country. [ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal

It occurred to me that I haven't done anything on knives in a while, so here goes. As a brand, I’ve seen more Knives of Alaska cutlery in the hands of guides and outfitters than any other maker’s stuff, which is probably due to the fact that Charles Allen, who heads the company, has been a game biologist for something like 40 years, and is an Alaska guide, and knows what he’s doing.

Latest in the line is a series of small slip-joint knives that are just about right for carrying in your pocket. My favorite is the Ranger (pictured here), a drop-point with a 2.3-inch blade made of D2 steel, an orange-and-black micarta handle, and a price tag of $69.99. It’s a very strong little knife that can do just about everything except clear a path through the jungle, and if you went to Princeton, or your kid goes to Princeton, the Ranger’s handle is in the school’s colors.
[ Read Full Post ]

By Mike Calabro

Quad Missions Worldwide is a collection of long-distance rides via ATV that aims to raise money for UNICEF. These missions are run by Paul Varty, who hopes to raise 50,000 pounds ($80,668). He just completed a 1,739-mile ride from London to Marbella, Spain on his street-modified Yamaha Raptor 700r. The next leg of his journey will be to the Western Sahara and back on his Suzuki King Quad 700. [ Read Full Post ]

By John Merwin

I don’t often get very rhapsodic over low-end fly rods. Some of them are okay, and I recommend those frequently to anglers on a budget. But they just don’t perform as well as many of the high-end sticks.

But recently I’ve been field-testing a new-for-2013 fiberglass model that is just the nuts. I love it. The rod is Cabela’s CGt fiberglass, an evolved and improved version of the 100th anniversary glass rod they began marketing a couple of years ago. My 7-foot, 3-weight version is 3-piece and costs $149.99.

Light-line rods, meaning less than a 4-weight, have usually felt mushy to me in casting because there’s so little line weight to actually bend the rod. This has led to some overly soft rod tapers. The new CGt rods are anything but mushy, which is even more surprising considering that glass is less stiff than graphite.
[ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau

Okay, I’m done with the sixth-sense topic, but I need to reference it once more to make an entirely different point. Searching on Google before my last post to make sure Bestul’s “Sixth Sense” column had not previously run on the site, I came across a discussion on a popular whitetail forum in which one reader slams the article for mentioning the HECS StealthScreen suit, designed to insulate a human’s electromagnetic field, and the next reader then says, “Yes, I read that article…but kind of blew it off as a marketing piece….”

This brings up what I think is an unfortunate trend: a growing distrust of the outdoor media, which is not exactly unfounded in general, but I want to speak to F&S specifically.

Unlike the reader above, I know all of you have enough feel for nuance to realize that Bestul’s mention of the HECS suit was tongue-in-cheek, bordering on derisive. But I think it is worth pointing out that we do not do “marketing pieces” and try to pass them off as columns, reports, or gear reviews. [ Read Full Post ]