Banded Gear is a company that it is in bed with a TV show called "The Fowl Life". The Fowl Life's figurehead is Chad Belding, who also happens to be a prostaffer for the company, Avery outdoors. I don't know the man personally, but I do have an opinion. Prostaffers like Chad Belding, as well as companies and shows like Avery, The Fowl Life, and now the up and coming "Banded Gear" are not what hunting is about for me. Nor do I ever want my son to think of it in this fashion.
These individuals and the companies they represent give a whole lot of weight to the gear you wear, calls you blow, who you are sponsored by, and number of bands around your neck. If you dont have all that...you ain't worth a damn. Don't get me wrong...I love the decoys, calls, and bands alike....it's the commercialization of it all that just leaves me feeling uneasy. I was raised hunting, and it never was about all that for me. I am bothered to see many young hunters thinking that all of the commercialized hype it what makes hunting fun. It's not...it's a connection with the outdoors...with what is wild.
It is getting tougher to find companies who don't get caught up in all the drama... but I like to seek them out and support them. Hunting is a tradition and a heritage.