Transcript
Speaker: You are listening to the Tricer podcast, where we talk all things hunting, gear, and the great outdoors. Before we begin, let's start things out right and put God first. Lord Jesus, I thank you for Tricer, and I ask that you can use this podcast as a way to bring joy to all of our listeners.
Speaker: We lay Tricer and this podcast at your feet. Amen. All right. As you can tell, i have my marsupial hat on today because I have my good buddy, Jim, the face, the guy, the myth, the legend, ah Jim from Marsupial on the pod today. Jim, how are you doing?
Speaker: Good, man. How are you doing? Thanks for having me on. I'm doing great, dude. ah I'll do an icebreaker. One icebreaker story is kind of funny. You have kids, right? Oh, yeah. I got three. and through I have five.
Speaker: Wow. So, um, my oldest is in college. went to college this week, but I do have my youngest hasn't been Disneyland yet. He's six. and My wife is like, I've been gone all the time. So whenever my wife asks, I'm just like, okay.
Speaker: Right. Like I've been the most anti Disneyland. I haven't been in Disneyland in 12 years since my daughter went and she crapped in her dress. She was two years old. It was giant mess. And was like, I'm never going back to this place. I hate this place. So anyways, i was in ala i was in Alaska with the hushing guys and, um,
Speaker: I can't go Disneyland. I'm like, okay, whatever you want. Right. I mean, yeah you can't say no. And you're like the wise. No, that she's starting to learn how this game works. Right. Yeah. Um, So I'm like, yeah, I'll go to Disneyland, right? So we go to Disneyland yesterday and we took my 11-year-old and my six-year-old. Six-year-old's the first time going. Okay. six-year-old's a psycho. He's awesome. But he dude, he like jumps dirt bikes, jumps all through for the house. Like he just never stops.
Speaker: Flips. He's doing parkour. Like he's doing flips off of like hills. So we're sitting there. We're online for in line for Thunder Mountain. Okay. And... ah And he's sitting on the rail, the handrail. And like the handrail has like rod iron.
Speaker: Well, he's just sitting there for a couple of minutes. We're waiting to move. And I go, Hey man, we got to go. So he's like in his mind, I think he just thought it was a solid wall. So he swings out and kicks his feet against the rod iron to, take to jump off of it. Right. And take 360 or something.
Speaker: And his feet go right through the rod iron. And he just goes face first into the concrete. spitting teeth out like chiclets. I mean, just blood everywhere. I'm like covered in blood.
Speaker: And, um, and I had told my wife earlier that day, like, I'm like, I, there's, there's no a chance in hell you'd ever just be wearing a Disneyland t-shirt. Like I'm just never going to wear Disneyland t-shirt. So I'm covered in blood. You got to buy a shirt. You got to buy a shirt. I'm like, I'm not going to buy a Mickey Mouse t-shirt. I'm sorry.
Speaker: He'll find me. Cause he didn't want to go home. So we ended up going the nursing station, spitting some teeth out. And this kid wanted to stay. my we saying But I ended up finding this shirt. and It says like protect your forest. It's like Smokey the Bear. And I was like, I'll wear that shirt. not what i'm good with i'll go buy your new disney shirt yeah That's funny. good So that was, that was my day yesterday, dude. It's a lot. It's a lot.
Speaker: Dude, it's a lot. And like, you know, what's really weird but so is like the vast majority of people at Disneyland are adults now. It's creepy. It is weird. Like they should make a law. I told my wife, like they should make a law that if you're over 25 you don't have a kid, you can't go, but it's literally like, so he he's covered in blood as well. Right. We're all covered in blood. Like it looked like he got punched in the face. Cause he pretty much did, but way harder.
Speaker: it's i by my shirt passes The rest of the day. No, they gave him a free shirt, though, and they did call me a couple rides, couple couple of fast passes, yes. But they're about to own Disney over here. But anyways, they... ah you can't even find a kid's shirt at Disneyland because it's all adult crap. cause The whole place is just full of these freaking like weirdos, man. like You want to do like Catch a Predator? Go to Disneyland.
Speaker: Yeah, i swear there's an interesting crowd. We've gone a couple times in the last few years with our boys. And yeah, and I mean, there's some odd employees too who work there as well.
Speaker: There's some employees that I was like, oh. Yeah. So it's good in doses. Go there once a year, maybe something like that. Kids get their fill, kind of usher them along to bypass the interesting crowd. But it's a it's a vibe there for sure. Yeah.
Speaker: And you drove there and back? Or did you fly? What did you guys do? i drew I live in San Diego, so I just drove up. I mean, it's two hours away from me. An hour and a half to Disneyland. and So I told the wife, like, the last time I went was 12 years ago. was a toy. never go again. went yesterday. That happened. And it just, it's like, I'd much rather go hunting or go camping. We were mammoth. We'd go fishing.
Speaker: Anything but Disneyland. Right. So I told her like, I'll go back when we have grandkids. So, I mean, honestly, I'll probably be a granddad in the next 10 years. I'll probably go back for the next 10 years. Right. Yeah. Yeah. But you got your fill. Yeah. With some teeth. That's, that's like my one bugaboo too. I don't like loose teeth. I don't like any of that. I can deal with the other cuts, but man, when my kids start wiggling their teeth, I'm like, to your mom.
Speaker: Yeah. Dude, he spit one out and then all four of his top teeth are all loose and crooked and pushed. So he would so the cool thing was – I'm sorry. This is the Tracer podcast about marsupial.
Speaker: But we're doing kid stuff first. The cool thing was is randomly he had a dentist appointment this morning at 8 a.m. So i was like, cool. We're not going to the yeah ER because the ER r is a nightmare, especially in like – Oh my God. In LA, you know, 10 o'clock at night. The last thing I want to do is go to ER up there.
Speaker: So was like, cool. You just go to Dennis today. So he went Dennis today. They were going to glue all of his teeth together, but they said like they're, he's too swollen because he's gumdropers. Come back and I cut like next week and they'll glue his teeth. So hopefully those top ones won't like fall out.
Speaker: But the whole thing is they're all baby teeth. Yeah. Yeah. It did a little bit, but they're all baby teeth anyway. So it's kind of like, whatever, I don't care. Like he's, you know, just totally. Now that you say that last time I went Disneyland with my kids, which was in January, my oldest son we ripped out his tooth there. Cause it was the whole thing. His tooth was like loose. And we were just like, he wouldn't eat anything.
Speaker: i finally got it on the nasty pizza planet pizza. I got him to bite into that. And his tooth came out. So we lost the tooth last time was at Disneyland too. Yeah. That's funny. yeah He had no choice. He lost his first tooth last week. And this one, the next one came out right next to it Just, but it was done after hitting the ground. hit He hit hard. Like we knew this kid doesn't cry. Like he's the toughest kids. Our fifth kid, four boys, fifth kid. Like this kid's been getting pounded since birth, right. By brothers.
Speaker: And when he starts crying, like you're like, Oh, this is bad. And he was also like just spit. I mean, we're in the middle of Disneyland. He's just drinking water and spitting blood everywhere. Like a freaking, you know, prize fighter over here, you know, but,
Speaker: but it was fun. to It was fun. Yeah. That'll, uh, I'll sub you up real quick. Kids are awesome, dude. And then, and the kids freaking so tough, dude, he stayed, he did it. We went and rode, we went back on that ride, did it and, uh, had a night of it and got home. So yeah, it was a good time. He did get a sucker out of it and they did gi did give him a free t-shirt. So Disneyland, that's my story.
Speaker: I was, I was camping last week with them. I'd much rather do that 10 out of 10 times than go to, then go freaking to Disneyland. Screw that place. So dude, um, best battle hearts is in the game.
Speaker: Friend of tricer. Love your stuff. Not only your final heart is dude, like your cases, everything you guys have just crushed it, dude. Um, what's marsupial? I mean, let's give us a little thousand foot view of this thing.
Speaker: Um, we are a pouch company and hence the play on words, marsupial, but it all started with the bino pack. Um, that's our bread and butter kind of what put us on the map. Um, I had an idea to make a binocular pack that function. I feel like the correct way, which is basically folding away from your body, open pouch, drop your binoculars in and out.
Speaker: I was tired of the ones on the market back 10 years ago that would open towards your face. You kind of have to deal with the lid in your face, put your binoculars in it. It was frustrating. i wanted something that folded away, stayed open. And I can just drop my binoculars in and out.
Speaker: um What was just started as like an idea, passion project, basically something just to scratch an itch to be connected to the outdoor industry and maybe pay for a hunt or two um has turned into our full-time business. Like you, I'm a family guy. We got a wife and three kids.
Speaker: um All of our kids are actually younger than the business. So they've all grown up in the business. And that involves shipping orders off our living room floor forever. um Now we have our own facility here in Phoenix, Arizona, 85 employees.
Speaker: It's ah way bigger than I ever envisioned it would be. And we specialize in making hunting equipment. And we like you said, we kind of our bread and butter is chest packs and accessories, but we make spotting scope cases, we make upland bird bag systems, we make shotgun cases, rifle cases, if it's anything nylon,
Speaker: Cutting so we can make it for the most part. So we specialize in building gear, trying to solve problems just like you and and build things really well. And then we back with a lifetime warranty.
Speaker: um So what's cool because we make all of our stuff right on the other side of this wall. um If anything comes back in, you know, I get packs that are nine years old, sometimes broken zipper stuff does break. We can go put a new zipper on it, send it back to them and take care of them, you know, and and have that product for years and years more use.
Speaker: So that's that's high level view. There's a ton that happened in that past 10 years for us to get to this point. um And a lot of that was basically working out of our house, multiple jobs to make it work. So it kind of was a step of faith instead of a giant leap of faith when we went to the point to go full time in 2020.
Speaker: And, uh, yeah, and ever since we went full time, it's just kind of also been gas on a fire and just trying to keep up and scale business, learn. We're constantly trying to figure out how to do this, um, improve, and improve efficiencies, how to manage this many people.
Speaker: It's a lot. So, um, but it's fine. We get to make hunting equipment for a living. So it's hard to complain. Yeah, dude. um i want I want to go into like the quality your stuff always have at some point in this podcast, but I love you know the origin stories. I love entrepreneurship because I'm similar to you. like I went full-time last May, but it' just like as soon as you did it, you're like, oh I should did this two years ago. on a fire, like you said. right you Yeah, sink or swim. You have to do it. Drink drink drink it from a fire hose. It's going crazy. Yeah.
Speaker: so What were you doing? it's probably safe to assume you weren't like a seamstress. What were you doing before, dude? Um, so our family had a commercial roofing business. That's what I was kind of always primed to do after college.
Speaker: Um, I went to college for a business management degree. The idea to run our family roofing company. i was fourth generation, um And did that right out of college and worked with my dad got to a point where the business, the industry changed. We were doing hot tar roofing, Phoenix, Arizona.
Speaker: kind of a dying breed. Everybody was going to a different style roofing. That's not what we were great at. And I didn't love roofing in Arizona, unfortunately. I mean, it's. it Sounds great. 120 degrees.
Speaker: ah co And then doing hot asphalt. What's that? With tar as well. Oh yeah. So, um, transitioned from that. My dad closed and sold the business. Um, and then I worked for the state of Arizona for about a year and a half as kind of an in-between job when I started doing, um, the, I had the idea of doing marsupial and, um I thought that was only going to be a couple of months job. I ended up doing that for a year and a half. I was trying to get hired by a sewing facility in that time.
Speaker: um And to fast forward, i ended up starting a sewing facility with another gentleman to where we were a contract sew shop. And so we sewed for 20 or so different companies. I was one of those companies that we sewed for.
Speaker: um so I got to oversee my production while sewing for a bunch of different companies. So I learned a ton of, in the three years that I ran a sewing facility and that's when marsupial started also. Um, cause the rewind the place that did my original prototyping and first two production runs went out of business.
Speaker: So I had a point where I had to figure out what to do. So I picked up the pieces of that sewing facility, um with another gentleman and then ran that one for three years before going fully on our own.
Speaker: So I learned a ton in those three years running a sewing facility, just the do's and don'ts, learn different sewing processes, all the machinery equipment that was involved in it. um Got to learn from, you know, we sewed tactical bags, plate carriers, backpacks. We actually sewed some stuff for Mystery Ranch.
Speaker: um We did a lot of medical bags, soccer balls for horses. There's a wide variety of things, a contract sewing facility. And then we would make marsupial gear, And so then would soccer soccer balls for horses. Yeah, it kind of gets everybody. So there used to be like an exercise ball. So you get a big exercise ball and then they would sew, we would sew a nylon exterior fabric sleeve. You put the ball in there, blow it up. And then it would be, i guess, in the the horse industry, you need to run your horse. out of it it was there was giant three foot.
Speaker: soccer balls that you would be able to the horses would kick around bite and play with it was fun because i i had a couple that we would take home for christmas for our kids and you know i mean it's gonna play soccer with a three-foot soccer ball it's pretty fun so we sold the most random stuff um and so we did all that prototyping and that got to a point where the guy i was working with he wanted to go a different direction towards doing apparel i needed more production for marsupial and we parted ways i took like two or three of the sewers with me And then I hired a couple more. I think we started with seven employees when we went full-time, full-time.
Speaker: um And that was right. That was January of 2020. COVID hit and like March of 2020, really. And then that's where everybody was like essential businesses, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker: We stayed open. You know, we talked through it all with our staff, navigated that nightmare. um but i was running a facility in California with 80 employees at the time. Yeah. Nightmare.
Speaker: Oh, it's horrible. union facility on top of it. you get like that double. In California too. union facility in California during COVID. Dude, imagine bro. Oh my gosh.
Speaker: So, um, we but yeah as you know, and with the hunting industry, the hunting industry kind of boomed around COVID. Everybody was getting checks from the government. Everybody was locked up at home, needed something to do. They want to get outdoors.
Speaker: That's when we came out with our flagship product, our enclosed pack, um, that really also put us on the map. And so it was kind of a perfect storm of exposure, us being full time and, um,
Speaker: yeah, it kind of just took off more from there. And then over the years we would, you know, as we could afford to hire more sewers, we'd hire more sewers, buy another sewing machine, do that. And then come out with more, more products as we would get either customer requests, or we were trying to solve some problems.
Speaker: um You know, we've kind of I didn't envision making as many products as we do. I'm sure you probably didn't envision making it. Never in a million years. handling thing making bipods How many heads you making? Yeah. I mean, it's,
Speaker: But um we have the infrastructure to build basically anything. I mean, I'm sure you're the same way, right? You have that pipeline to build these products. um And so we just listen to our customers and try to solve problems where we see them and just try to improve stuff and then just overbuild things. And so... um That's kind of where we're at now. we moved facilities in the five years that we've but gone full time to our own building, but we're running out of space. we're trying to always constantly figure out how to scale, how to grow, how to do things right. You know, you make a lot of mistakes and that's kind of how you you grow over the years. I'm sure you've made plenty, unless you're the exception. into starting your own business dude no uh i call them expensive learning learning experiences is what i call them yeah mistakes right so like i've made a lot of mistakes a lot of mistakes and they've been expanded when you're when you're doing something at scale of like marsupial tricer we're getting bigger it's expensive sometimes right you make a mistake and um but you just learn from them right you just say like i learned from that and i'm gonna move on and like
Speaker: I think that's really what separates like a really good entrepreneur from like people who just fail and quit is like you, you make that mistake. You're like, okay, I'll learn from that and go forward. Right. it ki like but almost motivates you to like, not do that ever again. Right. right so like Yeah. My mindset definitely has shifted over the years. Cause I don't get, I mean, I get frustrated, but like you, you treat it as a learning experience.
Speaker: And so you can, you try to find the the silver lining and everything. It's like, okay, well that was horrible. what are we going to different the next time? Right. So we don't do this again. And so I've tried to shift to that mindset and mentality versus just panicking and thinking about how much money we lost in that ordeal or whatnot. So yeah, you just have to, you have to adapt and and evolve for the next time around.
Speaker: A hundred percent, dude. and And I would tell like when I was running, cause like similar to you, i was running an 80 person crew. I actually came from the construction industry as well. Family business, third generation. I left last year, still controversial. We're still barely talking. Me and my dad, yeah he didn't sell the company.
Speaker: But um anyways, like I would tell my guys, like you need to expect every day. So when you have that many employees, something's going to go wrong every single day. Something's going to get sewed wrong. Something is going to get packaged wrong. Something's going shipped wrong. And I tell my team that too, as well. Like when we're we're shipping out the scale of order, we're shipping out now too.
Speaker: We're doing nationwide. We're doing worldwide distributorship now at Tricer. We're doing, you know, countless orders a day, especially right now during hunting season. Like, Things are going to get shipped out wrong. Things are going to happen. We're going to do, you know, things are going to break.
Speaker: Like you said, things, things break, right? Like, I mean, you sell, you sell 10,000 tripods. Trust me. A couple of tripods are going to break. You sell 10,000 vinyl harnesses. A couple of zippers going to get stuck. We won. You know what I mean? Like, it's not like it's like, they but you know, sometimes things just happen.
Speaker: And it's just, you just have to, you almost have to expect it. And then as long as you expect it and know it's coming, you're fine. Yep. Yeah. The running joke in here, I call it the wheel of misfortune because it's always who's going to have an issue. And then what's the random thing that's going to happen? I mean, we have machines breaking. We have car accidents in our own parking lots. We have, you know, it's I love our team, but we have, you know,
Speaker: 50 different sewers. I kind of joke that I have like 50 different wives. It's just there's a lot of getting people to work together as teams and that i mean, there's always someone bickering about something or when you have as much equipment as machinery stuff breaks, you know, like you said, you're shipping that many orders, something's going to go wrong.
Speaker: And it's all about how you handle it. And what we We've stressed super hard into our team and our our customer service team lives it as you always try to take care of the customer. And if you just are honest with people, you answer their questions and you treat them how you would want to be treated, which is just very basic principles.
Speaker: People are so easy to forgive. And like, as long you make it right, you have a customer for life. And so we've kind of built are company on taking care of your, your customers and our employees too. And just no matter what, we'll always solve the problem.
Speaker: Um, And it's not rocket science, but it does take a lot of time sometimes. And, you know, ideally we're improving from that each and every day. Yeah, dude. My dad's place, when we when I finally left, we had grown to like a 55,000 square foot facility with this all manufacturing machinery. So every day a machine is going to break because have 100 machines in there.
Speaker: Just all of them intricate, all lot of CNC. Like some things, gears wear out, bearings wear out, you know, over time. And like, it's just, you got to be, it's just, you're always dealing with something like that. The monster, yeah. I don't i don't envy the 80 person employee manufacturing facility anymore at all on your end.
Speaker: But you guys are doing it and you're crushing it. Do you know that this kind of off topic? I'm going an Arizona resident next year if you guys. Are you really? No, I didn't know that. Where are you moving? So I was coming to Phoenix. I was going to go Desert Hills with you guys and hang out.
Speaker: Okay. But I think we're going to go to Yuma. Okay. We live in San Diego. I know Yuma's an armpit, but I just got to get out of California. Yeah. And it's still close enough to where we can see our kids. Right. And my, like, I'm back every once in a while, see your friends.
Speaker: Right. two-hour drive from home. Yeah. But yeah, I got to get out of California. And we're going to be Arizona residents. I've got, like, 15 elk points, dude. That's awesome. 15 deer points. So I'm stoked. Yeah, as soon as you can, buy your lifetime license because then you'll be set.
Speaker: 100%. And in case you ever do live... leave not that you should but yeah you keep those resident draw outs the rest your life yeah mean maybe we'll maybe we'll move to yuma and then we'll slowly creep your way like ideally for me i mean we've grown we've have properties out there my whole life my family's place at the river there martinez lake um so we'll be we'll be like you know 30 minutes from the river go the river the boat do that for the kids But, and we can hunt you know what I mean? You can do archery. There's ah tons of upland out there, coyotes, predators, all that stuff. it's going be great. And the dirt bike, dirt bikes out my door, san Diego. Now you cannot ride like within the County.
Speaker: Like, so like to go riding, we have to drive like an hour and a half two hours to go riding. And I'm like, and I want to get up in the morning with my kids, go to the dirt bike and go ride. And so we'll do that in Arizona now, which would be nice. and And it's just a, yeah, it's a big move, dude. but That is a big move. And you've been a California resident your whole life.
Speaker: Oh, whole life. I've lived in the same 10-mile circle my whole life you know in these like little three little cities right here. so yeah yeah, this is it. So we'll be moving over there, doing that. And then we'll keep this house open here so we can come back. Maybe I'll come back couple couple weekends a month and yeah know go to church and do that stuff. But yeah, we got to get out of here, man.
Speaker: It's real. Everything here is real. That's our problem. We have all these Californians coming into our state and bringing their nonsense with us. So as long as you don't do that. we oh We welcome you. yeah i will I will proudly tell you i will not be voting for Gavin Newsom in 2028. You will get a solid J.D. Vance vote for me.
Speaker: in 2028. That is for sure. Yeah. That's the thing to the politics. They leave here because they're pissed off and they bring their politics to yeah Arizona or Texas wherever they're going. It's like you morons. Like, how do you not see this? But whatever. Yeah. It's a dumpster fire here. We left it and then we're going to to make it what it was. So I know I'm not going to, I'm not going to group you into that crowd, but you know what I'm talking about?
Speaker: I get it, dude. But yeah, so I'm going to come over there and hopefully be hanging with you guys a little bit. I was hoping to be like living in the same neighborhood as you guys, but then now the wife, put a kibosh on it because she's like it's like six or seven hours a away to drive for us you know from to sit to our house and i kind of like phoenix because you have you have an international airport right there right but yeah yuma i'm probably gonna drive back to san diego to fly and i do fly a lot so i'm hoping to kind of cut my flying back Yeah, I'm trying to think what would be a faster drive. i don't know.
Speaker: I mean, Phoenix is great. All the little surrounding cities around it are great. I don't like internal Phoenix, but all the surrounding stuff is awesome. So, yeah, Peoria, Surprise, Desert Hills, Gilbert, Queen Creek, all those pretty Yeah, I think i think Tucson's still too far. mean, San Diego's closer than Tucson to fly out of, but we'll see. Tucson's awesome, though. So ah Tucson always got a bad rap, and then um my wife's family's from Tucson, and so I've grown to love and appreciate it down there because it's beautiful. Tucson, we always joke, if you could flip Phoenix...
Speaker: if you put Phoenix in Tucson scenery and like all the surrounding area, it would be the best city ever, but like Tucson's a little rough, but I mean the, the hunting opportunities right around Tucson, that whole area. i mean, it's gorgeous. The mountains, all that it's, it's incredible. So Phoenix is a little ugly, awesome city, but it's kind of, kind of meh until you get outside of it.
Speaker: So in, ah in and around, i don't want to give away too many details, but in around Tucson is like where I cut my teeth on coos deer. And that's what started tricer. Like I absolutely love the desert, desert hunting yeah desert, especially desert coos deer, desert mule deer a little bit. Like my boys do have a tag over there this year by you guys. Okay. Mule deer tag. Yeah.
Speaker: So we'll be open desert. I mean, you would never think a deer lives. there That's a cool thing by Arizona. Some of those units, like I don't, whatever, like the stuff with the kind of abs cool stuff up there, you know, it's nice 18 and stuff, but like, I like the desert ski looking for deer.
Speaker: one deer per mile i love that game and that's what started yeah trace i mean you you live behind a tripod here and you glass until your eyeballs fall out and uh it's fun and then like you said coos deer hunting is fun especially down south it's a target rich environment you see a ton of i mean you can see 100 deer a day so many deer yeah and then the cool part down there you can see mule deer and coos deer at the same time depending on where you're at um you always got the chance of seeing lions you know, Arizona is an awesome state. And every time I leave, you know, I always kind of have that wanderlust of wanting to go out of state, move somewhere else. Everybody looks to Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, all those states. Right. But I mean, i always, Arizona is such a cool state to live in it and to hunt. So I try not to take it for granted.
Speaker: It's gotten harder and harder to get tags, but as a resident, you still can do ah a bunch of over the counter stuff. So yeah, if you become a resident, you can go back to just buying a deer tag over the counter. so Yeah, 100% buying the archery tag. This year I got on 20 minutes late because you guys are an hour ahead of San Diego and I was done. I was smoked.
Speaker: 20 minutes late, could not get a tag. Yeah, I think they sold out in five minutes this year. it was It was wild. And I had it in my calendar, but the calendar was like an hour off and I was like – everyone started texting me and I'm like, son of a bitch. And I freaking jumped on and it was already over, dude.
Speaker: yeah But, uh, yeah. And you know, and the thing for me too, with Arizona is like, I just don't love the snow. Like I don't love, like, I mean like, I don't love like coming from San Diego, like the best weather in the world, literally except for the politics.
Speaker: Uh, like I don't mind the heat. Like I can go to the lake, I can go to the river. I can do that stuff. Like I don't mind the heat so much, but I don't want to do is, and like you get this awesome, like in Arizona, people don't realize it from like October through like april it's just wide open do whatever you want i mean you can go ride dirt bikes you could go hiking you could go hunting there's there's freaking the you know the predators are going crazy and after you know and then you got bird hunting like it's just you just you pretty much can hunt every day because it's not and you like a little monsoony here and there you know in some rain but like there's something to do within an hour of your house all the time in arizona and the weather it just doesn't get
Speaker: No, and I agree. Yeah, the heat. And ah now that I've visited more places now, too, I just don't mind the heat as much. I mean, like, I'll be the first to admit I'm in a bad mood when it's that hot out. But when I've been traveling these other places with the high humidity and it's like, oh, that's way worse.
Speaker: And then like the winter, snow is cool to go see and visit. But like when you got to shovel snow every freaking day out of your driveway, you know what mean? And you got defrost your car. Yeah. Then again, you can get branded by your seatbelt in Arizona when you put it on in the summer. But like, I don't know. there's It's just different.
Speaker: go Go swim, go to the lake. You can find things to do in the three months where it's disgusting. So, you know, nine nine months out of the year, Arizona's awesome. Exactly. Exactly. My thoughts. And those three months, you might spend those in San Diego anyways. So maybe we'll do that. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: Anyways, dude, the freaking Marsuvia podcast where we talk about my kids' teeth and and yeah weather. but that's And that's, I mean, part of it one thing that I always try to tell people and, you know, like we're just normal people at the end of the day. yeah Like we're like everybody else, you know, we're, we're just family people. We try to make good gear and we're doing, you know, we're not flying around the world, go hunt and do all this crazy stuff. Like we're just building gear here.
Speaker: I'm, you know, before I started this business, as just a hobby. I'm just like every other consumer who buys from us. So I feel like we relate with everybody, all of our customers, because at the end of the day, like i said, I got the same family I'm going home to here, local. And, um,
Speaker: i don't know. We're all living the same thing with the kids going up and going to Disneyland, losing their teeth. I got all those crazy stories, too. you know what i mean? It's just what it is. I got to take my my family on their first official hunt this past weekend. And it was but the time of our life. It was awesome.
Speaker: So and ah you've got to do that quite a bit with your kids. Right. Being that they're a little bit older than mine. And so I'm just kind of getting into that phase. And so it's it's the best thing ever. Um, it's there's nothing, there's nothing better. Like literally like I, I just got back from Alaska two weeks ago, week ago.
Speaker: I don't have a tag again until January coups here on one of Jay's ranches. Like it's literally, I'm just guiding my kid. My kid has a statewide bull tag in Utah. Okay. My, then, then they go straight from there. Like two days later, we go to new Mexico for both. My boys have deer tags.
Speaker: Wow. Back from that. I'm going to Kenya with the kids to go do missions work. Come back from that. It's like Arizona deer. Arizona elk and it's like so I'm just guiding and my father most got the elk tag up there uh north up by the Mogollon Rim so one of those guys so I'm just guiding but like just being out there if you move to Arizona you got to learn how to pronounce Moguon Moguon Moguon is that what it is really yeah hey at least I didn't say cow's deer it's also saguaro not saguaro saguaro I got that one I see you what do say it again my my on Moguon Moguon
Speaker: Mogollon? Dude, I've been saying Mogollon Rim forever. live in El Cajon. That's how you know you're from. That's how weve we can sort out the Californians from Arizona people.
Speaker: Mogion? I'll have to say Mogion. I'll put that on my thing. At least I didn't say cow's deer, dude. If you say cow's deer, I'm out on the podcast. like dude yeah you you pompous You pompous prick. Get off my podcast. You're cow's deer.
Speaker: i so ah Anyways, dude, speak to that. so You talk about being a guy. it all the time to my team as well. right like i like that's tell we have two things. right um We have quality gear and good customer service. And I tell people all the time, like when someone buys a $350 tripod or $500 setup, that's an expensive investment. And I realized that the majority my consumers are just like construction workers, dudes like me who, you know, don't have a ton money. They're making that commitment.
Speaker: And we go above and beyond for our customers. Like we have guys who will, whatever, drop their backpack off of a, you know, 10 foot out of the air and smash their, you know, their panhead. We'll give them a new panhead. Well, guys, sometimes we'll lose their panhead. We'll send them new panhead. Right. Just because it's just like, I just understand like,
Speaker: but it's a big investment and I want to take care them. Yeah. And you have the empathy and you know, you try to take care of them. There's things that we've, you know, we have a lifetime warranty. If you like your pack on fire, it's not covered, you know, and technically getting chewed up by your dog isn't either, but you know what?
Speaker: We just go above and beyond sometimes. And, and we fix it. I, there was one on the other day on the, uh, production for the other day. And I like looked at this pack. I mean, it's chewed to crap. I'm like, this one's dog eat it. And he's like, yeah, you know, and we're, we're fixing it and sending it back to him.
Speaker: Um, You just go above and beyond to do that. And then those you just don't get that kind of customer service anymore, which isn't really rocket science. You know what I mean? You just take care of I mean, I'm a consumer. I buy stuff. And how many times have you been burned by a company that you buy something? You spend a lot of money, and then you deal with customer service, and it's a doo-doo. And it's just like, are you kidding me? Like, you can't help me out.
Speaker: You know, and obviously the product's at fault. And it's like, oh it's... You know, because it's a week past whatever. Sorry, we can't help you. And you're like, are kidding me? You know, it's just, it's frustrating. But so just try to the opposite of that. yeah There's another tripod company industry that I used to use and spent a lot of money on their stuff, dude. And I'd have like panheads break the first couple of months.
Speaker: And then they charged me 150 bucks to fix it. And I'm like, dude, your panhead broke. Like, what the heck? You know what I mean? It's like you ran over. Yeah. Yeah, no, like it's like it's seized up and your threads seized. And, you because you know, and i don't i don't want to get too much of the details who this tripod company is, but I'm just like, man, never. Like, we will go above and beyond because yeah it's like when you do that for someone, like you can't get that kind of publicity. Right. And that's one thing I can say about Tricer and.
Speaker: marsupial all in these other brands are kind of like in our space is like there's just people who are behind the brand and really support marsupial want to be a part of it and talk about and you get them having a customer service when you're a dick and you're like oh nope you bought it you're out like you're gonna get that rock side review that just gets you hammered and you those are the worst you know what i mean like you just got this rock side reviews no matter what i mean people are just stupid and People. Yeah. If you could go through our inbox and see some people who are just totally unhinged. i mean, we should do that mean tweets thing sometimes because it's just comical and like we still take care of them.
Speaker: And, but it's just like, people are insane versus on email. you know what I mean? And I think unfortunately Amazon has ruined the world. Online shopping has ruined the world. Giant corporations who, you know people are just demanding. And my favorite thing to do is when I used to answer all the emails myself with my wife is like, people would just send these unhinged emails and you call, them and they're just like oh ah well oh but you like like I love doing it. I still do it to this day sometimes.
Speaker: Yeah. And, and, and we're not, I'm not even calling them to like be a deck. It's just like, let me solve the problem. But like, before you start freaking out, like give us a chance to take care of you. And then like, Oh, I'm sorry. I just, you know, blah, blah. And then you, you get a fix for them, but then they're your biggest cheerleader also. And so, son and not that you're doing it for that reason. You're doing it because it's the right thing to take care of them. But people are just like,
Speaker: And people are brave behind the keyboard and sometimes behind the keyboard instant instant, like, dude, we have stuff. This is crazy, but, uh, and we have three sort customer service reps. We have, you know, I do do some calls still as well.
Speaker: Yeah. Not often anymore, but like I have my current and don't need both make phone calls. We're like, you know, unheard of customer service right now in the industry. that will Like actually talk someone the phone if you need to but dude, I'll give you an answer. It's like, yeah, if someone's being like, if someone leaves like a crazy review about our stuff,
Speaker: yeah Like I will call him like, Hey man, that was of an asshole move. Like what? Oh, you know, like, and then they'll like instantly switch. Well, you know, this, this, this. And I'm like, you know, i'll sometimes dude, like I had a guy who was trying to modify something on his tripod. So he'd like cut the center column apart. Cause you want to take a part out of it and glue it here.
Speaker: And then like, and then he wanted me to send another one of these parts. And I was like, well, I could sell you a center comb. I need just this part. I'm like, I don't have just that part. They're all built. And dude, I'll never effing use your stuff again. I'm like, dude, you cut your tripod apart with a saw.
Speaker: And I don't have that part, but I'll give you another center comb. Like, i you know what I mean? Like, I can't like yeah like, but dude, like some stuff you get. I mean, we get guys sometimes who will put their tripods together upside down with the hang hook.
Speaker: They can't get their panting on the hang hook. Cause it's upside down and like, and they will flip out and you know, and a lot of it is too. Like if you have female customer service reps, which we do, we have two of them.
Speaker: They really will treat them poorly. Some dudes. Yes. Right. So yeah it's, it's weird. so my wife and I answered emails for the first seven years of this business. So, I mean, and it would be after in the evenings, things like that. My wife would answer the phone at our last shop when she was in the office more and just like guys, it would go either way.
Speaker: Guys would either turn on the charm and be like, sweetheart, you know, blah, blah, blah. Or they just immediately discredit her. And she's answered thousands of emails. She knows every binocular, right? She knows more than you do.
Speaker: Not you. I'm saying the customer, right? yeah And it's like, they're quick to be like, oh, no, I don't want your help. You're you're a woman. It's like, yeah it's it's funny. But I mean, you gotta you just kind of got to roll with the punches and um go with it. But yeah, we've had some pretty unhinged things. And people who are just don't use the product right, you know, putting in angled spotters the wrong way.
Speaker: mean, like, it doesn't fit. That took me a minute to figure out, not going lie. It took me eight minute to figure out which way it goes. And i was like, I got now. Turn turn it, then follow the bank or something. They're like, oh, or you're lucky it fits. It's like, well, yeah, it fits. We tested you.
Speaker: there's a There's a lot of funny stuff, but I love it. I mean, I was joking with Jared yesterday because we were filming a video. We got some new camera pods coming out, organization pods, and we're doing a video in our showroom after everybody left. So there's no interaction or interactions or, and it's like six o'clock and it's like,
Speaker: you know what? We could be selling something way more boring than like we get to make hunting equipment for a living. It's awesome. So even with all the crazy people, the crazy customers, like it's so much fun what we get to do. I mean, I feel like I'm a kid in a candy store at the end of the day. Like we're, I'm kicking around tripods from you. i mean, we just get to play with coolest coolest job in the world. I'm like my competition's biggest fear should be how much I love my job.
Speaker: And I don't care about that. Like coming from like, so you were in construction and you dealt with general contractors and project managers and foreman and just like coming from that space into this space.
Speaker: I have the coolest job in the world. I don't care about the money. I just love what I do. Like I literally get to like hang out with Jim from marsupial and like go hunting and do things. I'm like, like that's a to me. It's like, it's freaking insane. Like I was in, uh, yeah.
Speaker: Alaska with Eric Chester from Hushin last week, dude, like on video. And I'm like, I killed a second bucket. I'm like, dude, like five years ago, i was watching this guy on YouTube and now I'm like hanging out with them. Like, this is like, I'm living my dream.
Speaker: This is like the thing the world. Like, dude, I love it. Yeah. So, and that's where and not to downplay any other job, I cause I came from construction background, things like that. It's all awesome. And i you know, i always wanted to work in the outdoor industry, but there was no outdoor there. There's a couple of companies in Arizona, um but not many. Right. And it's like, what are you going to, what are you going to do? And so it's crazy. i have a lot of pinch me moments where it's like,
Speaker: man, we're making hunting equipment here in Arizona. We're so impacts for loophole. We're working with SIG. We're working with these companies that, I mean, like, I remember I got my first loophole scope for my dad on Christmas and it was like, oh, you know, I, this prize possession that I have now we're selling bino packs for loophole. This is the weirdest. It's just weird. Isn't it so weird? It's yeah it's take yourself it's pretty cool.
Speaker: You guys have crushed it. And, And that's what, ah so we get into some of the quality, right? And like yeah why I do, like I, I spend, I'm actually doing a podcast with Brady Miller after this. We're talking about gear, right? Cause I do spend hundred plus days a year in the field, right That's where I do my design work. It's kind of how i structure my company. So I spend my time in the field so I can design things.
Speaker: And dude, like I have every vinyl harness you could imagine. Yours the best. Like it's just, it's just the most comfortable harness. And I wear my harness all day long. I mean,
Speaker: 10 days straight often. Right. And like years, that you make the best vinyl harness. Thank you. There's a lot of good ones out there. There's way more than when we started. Um, but I, I do, we are really proud of what we make. I think it's very comfortable. I think it's simple. I don't think it's the flashiest harness out there, but it it works and it's built to last.
Speaker: It doesn't need to be flashy. It's a freaking vinyl harness, not a backpack. Right. Yeah. It's not a backpack. I don't want a backpack. Like when I say I've used them all, I mean like I literally have used them all.
Speaker: Yeah. And like – and a lot of it for me isn't even so much – I love how simple it is, right? But a lot of me is just being the comfort of not having it rubbed my neck wrong, not having it rubbed me wrong.
Speaker: When I put my backpack on, it's not rubbing me on my – you know, my last wrong. Like it's just – It's just, dude, you guys did it. And there was another one that I like, but I broke it twice now already and it's ripped. You're like, so I'm like another brand. I'm like, ah, so I'm just, I just, and the marsupial is one that goes on me every single time, dude. Like it's just, it has passed the smell test with me. And i and I'm like, I'm obviously like, you know, I'm the anomaly right when it comes to hunting. Most dudes aren't running as much as I am.
Speaker: Like, dude, like I'm running the same one. like i have a few new ones in my, that Jay sent me. I'm just giving it to kids this year. Cause I'm like, I, like I just, this one works. Like i haven't broke it yet. Like, yeah like it's just going to last me forever. Like I'm just running this dirty harness, you know?
Speaker: Which is fun. And I love seeing, don't get wrong. You know, there's Instagram's a weird world. Right. And everybody's doing gear reviews on brand new packs. And they're like, this is the best thing I've ever used. And I'm always kind of like, man, you haven't even used it. And I'm appreciative of the feedback, but it's like, you haven't even used it. And then you see the guide and it's like, it's got blood stained. It's filthy. i've yeah yeah And it's like those, I love seeing the dirty ones. Mine's got blood on it.
Speaker: but yeah For sure. For sure. that They get a nice little patina on them and it's, um, It's fun. And it's cool to see guys who will, you know, for whatever reason, let's say the zipper, something, there's something that goes wrong.
Speaker: they're like, I really want that pack back because like I've, killed I've killed x y Z, all these things with it. I have these memories. Like I want that pack. And so it's cool to be able to, it's silly that a vinyl harness even has like,
Speaker: memories with people but like you're kind of attached to you're like you're used to your gear it fits the same way like you know what i mean you kind of have your system and you just go with it so it's cool to be a part of that dude i'll put the bino harness in like there's certain pieces gear you use all the time uh tripod is at 90 of my i'm using a tripod right like you can use it all the time your boots your backpack and then like your bino harness and i think about it now i'm like dude my bino harness is probably on me more than any piece gear i have Literally, it's on me all day long. It never, like, I'm not the guy that takes it off and throws it down. Like, it was on my chest because my H are my in there and then, like you know, my now my fourteens I got the 14s now, dude. I'm stoked on them.
Speaker: Aren't they awesome? I got use them the first time this weekend hunting, too. Oh, you're with Jay. What's, it yeah. Were you with Jay? Yeah. yeah I have a new mount that's coming out, by the way, too. It's called the Tri-City 50. new mount for those called the tricer 52 oh made specifically those binos dude swast i love you guys swastky but dude those binos are so weirdly shaped they're like they're like oblong and twisted and round and tapered and like so i had to make a custom out just for those to work on them to wrap around they yeah the the housing housing yeah but it's um because i don't love the i don't love swar i've been using the new swaro center column post to
Speaker: to go I don't want to knock it, but I haven't heard the greatest things about it. They make phenomenal stuff, dude. Like, i want to knock it. It's like you're a center post. I'm not, I'm not a center post guy anymore. I'm a tripod owner, right? Like I own yeah have a company and I have completely switched over to clamps. Cause like, I just, I have a hard time with the off center. It's just me.
Speaker: Yeah. I just haven't done it enough. It's like an initial reaction. you know, I'm like, this feels weird. I don't feel lined up, but I probably need to give more time. You need to do it. Cause like, dude, it fits right in your vinyl harness. So easily.
Speaker: No, and then it slides right. And it's right on. And then you don't have to like, okay, now i'm switching over to my spotting scope to do my digiscoping, right? And throw my all in there. And I'm like, where's my freaking post, right? Or you leave your post on your tripod and it comes loose, right? And it falls off. like your ho honor How many outdoorsman's and tricer freaking center post have you found like in the desert of Arizona? They're everywhere.
Speaker: it's just You're always like, where did put it? you're 100% correct. Just make one for me that kind of comes off ands a little center. Yeah. There's a guy that makes one. I can't remember who who it's called. it's kind of big. I mean, I don't care by other people. Like I people all the time. Like that's why I make Tracer Universal. Like I don't do, I don't do proprietary stuff. Like I want you to build, if you're like, dude, I want to run outdoors and buy no, buy no adapter on your thing. Like I, but think there's something cool. There's something cool about that. And I feel like we try to be the same way. It's why we make a bunch of different pouches. And I tell people all the time, you know, and like one of my favorite things to do at, when we go to tack and in-person events where people are wearing their other brand harnesses is selling them a pouch of ours that goes on someone else's stuff. Cause it's like, dude, mix and match it. Make it work for you, right? I'm not going to say, ours is the best thing for everyone, you know, and vice versa. Like, you know, people might love the legs, but not might not love the head or vice versa too. You know what i mean? and it's like, but you make it all, it make it work and then you get them into it. And then eventually,
Speaker: You know, you might want vote for it. But I would still, I'm still happy to sell them a product. And there are people like who still love Alaska Guide Creation harnesses. And there's a great vinyl harness. It's big. You know, there's different things that are built into it. If that's what you want, I think that's awesome.
Speaker: You know, and we can sell pouches and still work with it. So I think it's cool. And I wish more brands could say that instead of just having to, I feel like there's so many companies now that are trying to be everything to everyone. Yeah.
Speaker: and it's hard and as a consumer too. It's like, i wish people would just, yeah don't know, do their thing and be okay with the overlap and not try to write everything else off. So well I'm like, so Switzerland dude, like I like I'm running, like I was running like KU you rain pants with, with first light gators with a stone glacier jacket with a and go hunt. Like, I don't care. Like I wear whatever's comfortable to me for my kit. Like but if you're going to tell me,
Speaker: Now, when it comes to tripods, I mean, he yes, you should buy all tri-shirts. It's the best. But yeah anyways, everything else. Anyways, no. When it comes to clothing, like, dude, you cannot find me one brand where love all their stuff.
Speaker: Yeah. Like, I have to wear, like, dude, like, I love the DeHavilland pants from Stone Glacier. but like, I don't like their tops. I like the first light tops and I like, you know what i mean? Like this, this rain gear from Kuyu, like, like, and I don't dislike sunglasses tops. I have a bunch English tops. I like, I'm not knocking. I'm just saying like there's, going to find gear from other companies. Like, dude, like I wear like some Mary wool stuff of Amazon that I really like. That's like, aren't you worried that the elk and the deer are going to like laugh at you though?
Speaker: Yeah, dude, exactly. No, dude, you spend much time as I do in a tent. Like you just care about what's comfortable what like. Once you figure it out, you just wear it. I run around in like Kuyu pants, Prana pants, Sica tops, R tops, Stone Glacier. i mean, you just kind of mix and match, which I yeah i think solids make it easier to do. But um yeah yeah, it's all it's all marketing. it's all marketing a lot of it is sometimes. So you just got to find what works well with you. But yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, you make awesome products. It's fun to see how much you've blown up in the past few years and just solving problems and quickly innovating and making stuff. And i think that's something similar that we've kind of done is just like you see a problem, you try to fix it, you try to build it better.
Speaker: Right. I mean, I think everything you've done, it's not like you invented tripods. It's not like you invented bipods. Right. But like you see a problem and you fix it. Right. And so that's what I feel like. And you're quick to do it. And that's what's been so cool to watch you guys do. And I feel like that's kind of same similar things that we do. We didn't invent vinyl harnesses.
Speaker: We didn't invent pouches to go on. You know, i mean, like we just kind of like is Tinker toy and and build stuff and try to solve problems. Just make it a little bit better. It was funny. Like i had this conversation my partner yesterday about patents. or We have some patents, right? And he called me like you know, you really need get on the ball of patenting that bipod. And I'm like, I can't. He's like what do you mean? You're telling me no one's ever built a bipod like this. And I'm like, dude, there's a hundred bipods in the market. They just never like just tweaked it enough to make it really awesome.
Speaker: Like, you know, just did it better. Like I just, you what I mean? Like you just tweak things and that's all you guys are doing. Let's talk vinyl harness and packs and pouches and stuff. Cause dude, I, i I used to have the AGC bino harness. yeah They make great stuff, too. I'm not knocking it.
Speaker: There's just a lot going on, right? And when I first started hunting, I had a lot going on. And now I don't. Like, dude, like, I don't want anything. Like, on my harness, typically, I only have just the harness.
Speaker: That's it. Like, I don't want pouches. I don't want, like, no offense, all in. Like, the phone adapter, all that stuff. Like, dude, like, I don't want all this stuff. Like, I have one. They gave me one, right? Like, I love Nathan. I love all. Like, I just don't want all this stuff on my chest.
Speaker: um I agree. And i I'm some, I feel like a hypocrite sometimes because we, so I started it because I agree. I didn't want this huge backpack. Now we offer a million pouches. So I feel like I'm part of the problem because some guys will come in with pouch, pouch, pouch, you know what I mean? And it's like, holy cow. It's a lot, but you know what? Practical.
Speaker: It makes it work for how they like to hunt. So I'm happy to do it. Right. But like, I almost feel hypocritical sometimes, but i'm the same way. I never wanted to come out with a phone pouch forever because I'm like, it's huge. You don't want that on your chest and all this and that.
Speaker: We finally launched it. And it's like one of our top three accessories. I personally never use it. My phone goes in my pocket. kidding me It's one of the top three accessories. It is because people live on their phone.
Speaker: And sometimes that goes to say like, you don't, it doesn't, I try not to let my opinion sometimes overrule what people ask for because I'm like, no one can use that. No one can use that. And it's like, i'm ohde yeah. And so, um,
Speaker: we make a bunch of different pouches so people can kind of build it out however they want so it's but i'm the same way i i might well i have to have my rangefinder pouch are you using rangefinding binoculars or what do you i use el ranges so it depends on the hunt so if i'm going on if i'm doing like an archery hunt it'll probably my sig zulus and then uh a vinyl a rangefinder pouch yeah yeah and that's me just stuck under like 50 yards like they just don't get good ranges I agree. And then it's a bigger unit to pull out. i'm yeah I like to archery down with a handheld. yeah yeah yeah So I'm same way with you. But my kind of bread and butter is i always have a rangefinder pouch and I always have a small zip.
Speaker: In the small zip pouch, I always, if I'm rifle hunting, it has a couple of sleeves. I put like four extra rounds in there. I got chapstick. I'll have my... um bino adapter in there that maybe I need to get rid of and just go with the clamp.
Speaker: um You know, and then if you're you got read calls, it's just kind of turns into my little possibles pouch. And then if I'm muzzleloader hunting, which I've done quite a bit in the last few years, um I use our down under pouch and I can carry all my extra charges in there, my ammo primers.
Speaker: And that's like, I literally, think of it as a muzzleloader pouch instead of our down-under pouch. And so it's really handy on those hunts just for a quick reload. And I have all of that right there too. So ah my my kit kind of morphs depending on what hunt I'm doing. If I'm archery hunting, rifle hunting, things like that.
Speaker: So I'll give you mine. and Mine's as basic how it is. EL ranges in like the medium pouch, right? That's a medium, I believe. Eight by 42s. um I love the eights. I can i can stabilize those almost as good a freaking stabilized bino, honestly, and they're just yeah more clear than the SIGs. I do love the SIGs, but just my opinion. they're so cool They're so cool. But yeah, they're very much a tool in the tool chest.
Speaker: Tool in the tool chest. Yeah. I have on one side a Windecator of my bino harness. On the other side, I have Visine because I hunt so much with that glass. Visine is a game changer in the vinyl harness.
Speaker: So you throw some Visine so you can drop in your eyes. So dude, your glass in the desert, your glass in New Mexico, your glass in Utah, like your eyes dry out. Dude, you put a couple drops of Visine in like twice a day. ah it's going to cool.
Speaker: Try your tech tip right there. Tech tip, dude. Visine. and And in the front, I have like probably two or three bullets and a chapstick. That's it. That's my whole kit, dude. that's I always have chapstick the front behind harness no matter what.
Speaker: And like every harness I have, there's chapstick. And my kids, because like, dude, like my lifts get destroyed, especially if we're not. Yeah. I never put anything in my front zippered pocket for some reason. I don't know why. Like I could probably move a lot of my stuff from my zippered pouch in there. I just don't, I don't know why. All there's some reason there too.
Speaker: I do wish, like, I will say this. I wish that if that pocket was just a little bit bigger, just a little bit bigger, dude. Like it's just like, so yeah, I would. So we're working we're working on some new stuff. You'll see some stuff next year. And then we've basically taken five years of feedback.
Speaker: And i think we'll solve any problems that people have asked for over the years. Yeah, you can see it. If it was big, that's where I wouldn't see the outline of my bullets. It'd be perfect. Not much bigger.
Speaker: because i don't want like my My thing is, I don't want it to be too big because then I put too much crap in there. like I don't want big. but dont want to like it's like right there I love your harness. I'm saying my one thing. We'd like hearing feedback. and I'm probably the...
Speaker: i'm probably like the Easiest person not to offend when it comes out because like hearing feedback. you know what i mean? And then you can't improve things if you're just like, no, that's exactly how it has to be, blah, blah, blah. So I love hearing feedback. And that has been probably like top three things over the past you know five years of our enclosed pack and that people want a slightly bigger pouch up front.
Speaker: But yes, you make it too big. And once again, I keep saying, AJC, nothing wrong with last guy. But like, you get a big pouch, like what else can I put in here? What else can I put in here? You know, and the next thing you know. got snack bars in there. I got a pro bar. like god I think this thing's been in here for four months. Why do I have?
Speaker: No, I don't want that. That's a fine piece of jerky. Yeah. So, on that yeah. So, yeah, it'd it'd be interesting. it's And it's fun to hear what different customers always do their vinyl harness dump and what they carry with them. But it's it's ah it's pretty consistent, again, across most guys.
Speaker: Yeah, I want small, minimal as possible. I don't do extra pouches, any of that stuff. It's right there. It's done. yeah So, dude, I have an idea. and I'm going to put it out there. No one's doing this yet. I'm to put it out there on this podcast for you, and you're gonna have to do it because now some our harness companies are going to hear it and send me to steal it.
Speaker: Okay. Dude, just make a vinyl harness that is like an inch deeper on the back with foam I can slide my gun into.
Speaker: Like, like the the thing is built into it So i'm not wearing like, no, I'm not wearing accessory underneath. I don't like on my belly. Yeah. And I, and I, and I don't like, I wear like, I'll wear like the tactical, whatever that one is underneath, ah like the Kydex underneath it.
Speaker: so So I have, now I have two harnesses on it's underneath my thing. Like, dude, I'm in Alaska with your harness on it. I'm checking constantly to make sure that my revolver isn't catching on your harness. Like, cause I'm like, like I'm walking up on a carcass, you know it's been there for a day and I'm like, I need to able to gun out. I'm double checking.
Speaker: Like, dude, if you could slide your gun straight in. Mm-hmm. Like, and it was like, you can shape it out. You don't have, you can leave pull the foam right there and have a little clip on the back and it's right here and you pull it out.
Speaker: Does that make sense? I think I get what you're saying. We've played around. I've played around a lot with different like, so we have an accessory that'll be coming out that allows you to attach a holster to the back. It's tough because some people like it on the bottom. Some people want on the back. Some people want it on the side. And there's, once again, it's a very particular per person thing. um I always kind of steered away from the behind the harness because it pushed it out so much further originally.
Speaker: And then, To be honest, I was always afraid of a liability of someone just, like, pulling a gun out and shooting themselves in the chest. But it is... We've played around a lot, and it is... I wish I could say it's as easy as it sounds.
Speaker: But we're playing around with ideas. I'll just leave it at that. So, even if it was, like, just... like at ntp accessory it could be accessory i guess i'm just thinking like just ah even you made the bino or gun rigs uh something i wish the name
Speaker: gunrigs something i wish i remember their name these they're all over the place you'd look it up online it's like you know yeah kaak he i or away are you talking about the one that goes on the bottom harness under the bonna harness yeah brasco No, it's it's like it gets like a strapped on one. you It's a sole separate unit, whatever. yeah I'm just saying like, make it like an inch deep foam and you can even like remove the foam or just make it fit like a freaking Glock 23 and I'm happy.
Speaker: You know what I mean? Like that's the problem. I bet you like full size pistols probably all pretty universal. they're universal freaking, you know what mean? Or you can remove the phone yourself. I don't know.
Speaker: No one's doing that where it's built into the harness like that. No one's doing that right now. And it is so needed. Like everyone, you know, everyone's so afraid of mountain lions. Everyone wants to carry a freaking gun, right? Like I don't carry a gun unless I'm in Alaska or grizzly country, but like dude yeah everyone and their mom wants to carry a freaking gun on them everywhere they go now.
Speaker: And like, if it somehow be built into it, dude, it slides right in the back. It's right there. You can like, I don't know, dude. I don't know. Just give you my, my two cents on like, someone's got to do this harness with a gun thing built into it. And if you say like it universal, this one, and then this one little strap, dude. So it goes sides in one little strap over the back, just like your harness now. Cause I love yours. guys gave me to go underneath it.
Speaker: um Right. some know But no, some people don't, some people don't like it on their, on their belly. And I get that. so I mean, it takes up a lot of surface area. It, depending on what you're doing, the Kydex ones underneath, I don't love those because those are very rigid and doesn't matter.
Speaker: even if you're in shape, like it still kind of pinches when you sit and, and all that. So ours flex is enough that it's comfortable, but it does take up a lot of service area. I hundred percent agree. And I, I'm, I don't carry as much as I probably should.
Speaker: Um, but we're in Arizona, we have black bears. Like I'm not worried about anything eating me. It sounds bad. It's it's the two legged guys in Arizona, depending where I'm hunting that I carry. That, that, exactly. That's the only reason I carry Arizona. Two-legged, two-legged predators in San Diego along the border when I hunt sometimes that I'm carrying for that reason, honestly.
Speaker: oh So yeah, that's my little two cents, dude. Like I would like to see something behind the scenes. are always working on a ton of stuff behind the scenes. And I will say we are working on a rear mount gun option.
Speaker: Nice. Nice. That'd sweet. I hear that because I just, I want it. Something that's built into it. We're not to have a separate unit on. Yeah. It's good. egg copy I just, I don't know For me, I'm like, even if it was an inch, inch taller, stick it off my chest. I wouldn't mind that as much as having something down below me, four or five inches.
Speaker: Or having the actual thing already out. and you get some out as data as snapin I will say it gets bulky quick is the only thing but And so that's what we've tried to play around with different foams. And then it's like, if you, if you like there the retention, so you almost have to have Kydex built into it to have proper retention. Otherwise you have to have more straps involved to hold it into place.
Speaker: You can't really get you like on our holster below, there's a strap that you can quick, get a quick access to when you're shoving it behind the pack, there's no room to put a strap to release it. You can't just shove it in.
Speaker: loose It's got to be, it it has to have some like Kydex retention for it to click into from what our experimenting has been. um And then we've started adding, and then all of one inch that you think that the gun is turns into like an inch and a half.
Speaker: And then it feels like your vinyl harness is sticking out like, well sorry yeah, it's tough. We've played with a lot of different, I'm sure I have prototypes laying around, but I wish I could say it's as easy as you're saying, but we're working on it.
Speaker: I'm just throwing that out there. It's a cool, i like is. It's a problem that needs to be solved. It's funny to solved, but I'm not going to solve. And you're the kind of guy to solve it. Cause I'm like, Everyone wants to carry, dude. It's funny how people are like so afraid of mountain lions and black bears. Like I could give. Well, I mean, gosh, you guys, if you were allowed to hunt him in California, that'd be one thing. Right. But, oh, dude, first thing we have mountain lions everywhere here, everywhere. see First thing I'm doing, I'm Arizona residents, killing a lion.
Speaker: Shooting a lion, dude. Just to get it done. Yeah. have been better To get it done and get that sucker mounted up my house, put that thing over the door or something. Cause, We can't even we can't bring them back to California. That's how it screwed up. in it so like I could have killed a lion last year Arizona. Obviously, didn't.
Speaker: I had three lions in Colorado this year. did it like you just can't because you can't bring them back. Really? You can't bring You can't bring carcass. You can't bring a carca you can bring nothing back. cause i wouldn't killed it a lot I can't bring a skull. If I go kill a lion legally in any other state, I cannot bring it back to California. It is illegal.
Speaker: ah You cannot have a skull. I cannot have anything from a line. You cannot bring it back to the state. It is going to bring it back. Legally killed in Montana, Utah, whatever.
Speaker: You cannot bring it back. so yeah mean i had one You need to move out of California. i had one dude like for an hour and a half. We were hunting coos deer down there. me and my kid on its back, i like 300 yards away, rolling around in front of us.
Speaker: And we could have shot it a hundred times. I just was out there and watched it. I call my buddies who run dogs. didn't want to run the down there because were in like the nastiest cactus patch. Like, yeah, we're not going run dogs through that.
Speaker: ah But yeah, you cannot, cannot hunt them. So I will buy, I will have a tag in my pocket wherever I am in Arizona. yeah next year when get down there and i will i mean it was i you could could still buy a tag as california resident so as soon as i move down you just can't bring across the border i'm buying the tags i'll have a house down there in like january february in the early spring as soon as i buy that house i'm buying the lion tag because when the opportunity arises i want to be able to do my part right yeah and like you know well they need to be managed they need to be managed yeah which is insane that yeah
Speaker: yeah That's a whole nother podcast, but we can put it on my, uh, we have this thing at Tracer. They keep like, i have a social media team now. Right. And they're going to do a whole post on like things that I got shot down on my ideas.
Speaker: like So, like, one of my ideas is I wanted do, like, a Fawn Lives Matter campaign. Yeah. And, like, doing a coyote predator hunt contest. Yeah. You can't do that. I'm like, come on. i would big Yeah. It's unfortunate.
Speaker: It's unfortunate how predator hunting has been so demonized and trophy hunting and and all that. And it's, like, it's not trophy hunting. It's just conservation. It's protecting the ungulates. 100%. People don't realize though how many, you know, animals those animals eat every year when they're not kept in check. They just – it's just – it's disproportionate and then you start entering introducing wolves. It's just crazy. And now, I mean, how many mountain lion issues are there in California where the government, i've I just heard a statistic. 600 a year they kill.
Speaker: I just heard a statistic that the government is killing more lions in California than uh, just hunters were when you were allowed to hunt them in California. Oh, 100%. Not even close. Yeah. We killed over 600 deer.
Speaker: And it's crazy. we paying million And now you're paying, now you're paying to do it. When, when people would happily volunteer, they would be eating the mountain lion, Cause mountain lion meat's great. People don't realize that. And it's just like, you could be harvesting these and now what is government shooting them? Probably throwing in dumpster.
Speaker: You know, and it's just, I don't know. And how do you fix that? How do you, how do you, you don't fix, you don't fix stupid. You can't fix stupid. It's you can't fix stupid. It's just whatever. And we'll go the politics California, but dude, yeah. Like where I hunt in San Diego. I mean, we have conservation wise, they give out 3000 tags, rifle tags. They give out like 2000 archery. ta I mean, we're talking like 6,000 tags a season, a month long deer season, lions everywhere.
Speaker: Like I hunted 10 in San Diego last year, 10 mornings, right? I'll hunt from like 5.00 AM m until like noon. I saw 80 deer, four spikes, not one buck. And I can hunt. Like, i I'll put my glass up against most dudes in the industry right now. I'm like, who can find deer?
Speaker: And it's just, our conservation is terrible. And then now we have wolves moving in. Wolves are in the Sierras. They're coming in hard. and They're not going stop those guys. I'm sure they're so excited for the grizzlies to make it down here. Like, it's just like, um yeah, know we don't, they have this weird, like, hands-off approach with conservation that doesn't work, where it's like, we want to make it to where,
Speaker: everything is just natural. Well, you can't do that when you can't do that anymore. You can't do it that anymore. half the state has been turned into cities and, yeah you know, it doesn't work that way. Yeah. It doesn't work that way. And it's, it's crazy because it seems so common sense, but it's, I don't know, it's lost on people. So they all want to be natural until the frigging cats are getting eaten in there. You know, they want to ban, they want to ban coyote hunting so bad. They banned bobcat hunting over here.
Speaker: Did they wild dude? So like they, the guy went in there, like in one of the meetings, like the ecologist who did it and he's like, I've been in the field for 35 years and I've never seen a wild Bobcat. I'm like, dude, like i went on one hunt last year. I saw like five in a weekend.
Speaker: Yeah. Like Bobcats, like five dude, like I don't know where you're hunting, but like, I see Bobcats maybe walking around. You're not seeing them, but you get yourself behind glass there's Bobcats everywhere in this County out here. Yeah. We can't, we can't Bobcat hunt, stay Bobcat hunt statewide.
Speaker: Can't lion hunt. um Bears are a little more different problem over here because they're such a problem. We can't meet our quota because they banned dog hunting with them. So we cannot meet the quota. So now what they're doing, instead of opening up like a spring bear season, which they should do, oh my gosh, it'd be awesome. We have the best bear hunting in the, you know, we would have the best bear hunting in the country if they did that.
Speaker: Um, they're opening up dog running dogs, but not killing just to scare. They're opening up scaring bears out of like mammoth and stuff. Cause there's bearish. Dude. I was in mammoth lakes. We were, at we camped over the last week. We went mountain biking on mammoth or ski resorts. Right. And so we're, we're on the gondola.
Speaker: A freaking bear runs into the ski lift. Dude. We're like sitting there as a bear. Cause there's just no fear. No fear. It's just, you know, and that's what we're dealing with. You can't have both. can't have both.
Speaker: That's crazy. Yeah. So you got a lot of hunts going on this fall. I think I got some, I got a bunch. My wife drew some of the best tags in the state in Arizona. So we're excited to go do that. She's got a trophy bull elk tag, muzzleloader hunt, and then a trophy mule deer hunt up on the Kaibab. So it should be a fun fall, following mama around.
Speaker: Like you you said, you're living vicariously through your kids. I'm living vicariously through my wife this fall. So That's awesome, dude. Getting to hunt the kaibab would be awesome. That was high on my list, but now that I got 15 points, I'm going to be a resident. i think I might switch over to archery strip.
Speaker: See if I can get that tag. I'll probably get that tag. Well, if you're like my wife, you'll draw which she had three points for eat both tags that she drew. No way. Are you saying units? So it was like she didn't draw 12 West. She was like 12A or something them then? 12B West, muzzleloader. 12B West, okay. Like 20 tags, I want to say.
Speaker: Yeah. Good for her. Yeah, she told me it's ah it's a bit of an argument, not an argument, but she did not want to go hunting this year. She shot an oryx in New Mexico. She's like, I'm good for one hunt a year. i was like, okay, I'm just goingnna put you in for like the most ridiculous because you're not going to draw. But if you draw, we'll figure it out. And of course, she drew elp tag.
Speaker: with you know and there's like 25 tags on that one rut hunt with a muzzleloader and so then deer came along because we have different application periods and she's like i um do not want to hunt i was like yeah so i put her in for the strip and put her in for 12b muzzleloader and then sure enough and so i'm like when i get these credit card charges i'm like oh i drew a tag oh i drew a tag both times it's you know because it's like one percent chance draw it's for both of them and she pulled them both so I'm pumped. Good for her. It's good. Yeah. Someone else did it. Cause I feel like I'm never that guy.
Speaker: Like I just haven't. I'm not that guy. I mean, I got 15 elk points. I should have drawn my archery elk tag this year, but but I didn't. She drew the, the rut hunt with a gun. So which I, I'm going way more excited on that hunt than any of my own tags. So it'll, uh, it should be a pretty fun fall. I'll do it. My kid has a statewide bull tag for, with a rifle during the rut for Utah.
Speaker: It's yeah it'ss general. it's a general tag. So only general units, but he'll be the only person on the mountain youth. There's no archers that under that time. is that, did he draw that at the hanux box point yes no journalism ma boyd's max pointss youth hunt?
Speaker: So it's like it's like a max points youth tag. He's 17 now, 18 next year. So it's any general unit, September 13th through 23rd during the rut. Uh, I mean, i did, we're going to have a blast, but like, I just, just get into a hot elk. I could care less about shooting one of those things. i mean they're not the hardest animal in the world to shoot with the rifle or muzzleloader. But like just being on the mountain during the rut with the opportunity to have a rifle.
Speaker: Uh, I'm trying to tell him it's not, he's like, it's going to so easy. I'm like, dude, I I understand. It's not going we're not going make it easy. We're going to backpack. We're going make it hard. Um, You know, we got to find one. So it's still general tech, but I hope they can really, you know, get a good bull on the ground and we could blast with a rifle or muzzleloader during the rut. It just makes a lot that stress off. You know what mean? hold that archery stress you know And with the nowadays,
Speaker: um say it's cheating but it's it's not the muzzle order I grew up shooting. I'll put it that way where we were trying to put it in a pie plate at at a hundred yards. they're Like, Oh, we're good. And now, yeah, our buddy Luke who builds a, yeah, Luke arrowhead.
Speaker: Yeah. I mean, noal yeah, just it's cheating. If you could just say it's cheating, they're that good. and I love Luke. I mean, but, and even, you know, New Mexico switched to peep sites. Dude, you're, You can be pretty accurate at the peep site at long range. So I need to get one of Luke's cause I went to New Mexico with peep sites last year and I missed.
Speaker: So I just got, it was one of those things where thought he was he's a hundred, he's a hundred, he's a hundred right underneath him. It's just for the, he's rushing and just, he was took off and you know, we got close and everything. Yeah, things happen I know.
Speaker: And I ended up shooting mine last year. So I had an elk tag too. The year before that, I mean, we practiced all summer, but I shot mine the year before 375 yards, but we were practicing all summer at 400 yards at a prairie dog. And so shot it, rolled them down the mountain, done. Last year, drew another muzzleloader tag.
Speaker: I'm practicing 400 yards, 400 yards all summer, blah, blah, blah. I shoot it basically on the run at 50 yards, like a quail flushing. And you know, it was just like, which was awesome. And it was awesome that I got to do with the peep site. Cause we were basically looking down the barrel, all that practice. And then I shot him point blank range.
Speaker: So, um, I don't know. Yeah. I shot a, uh, I shot a mule deer at 20 yards last year with my rifle. like ship no Like 20 yards, dude. Like I can see his breath and I shot him like,
Speaker: I like, oh, there you are. like He's like, I thought he was me friend he was right below me and I just shot him rifle. and I was like, all I could see is deer. it's all like It wasn't even the body, but just deer the scope. Right. ah Dude, what a, what a fun pod, man. Yeah.
Speaker: I appreciate you having me on. I everyone knows, everyone knows marsupial. If you're not running marsupial bino harness, dude, go buy a marsupial bino harness. They're phenomenal. It's marsupialgear.com. that what it is? Marsupialgear.com. Yep.
Speaker: Yeah. Marsupialgear.com. I'm running their, mean, I run their BTX case. I run their rifle cases now. I run their, um, they make ah a case that's for a BTX eyepiece that fits your 15s perfectly that I love. Yep. I got their spotting scope cases, dude. Like I, they make the best stuff to keep my gear safe.
Speaker: It's all, all my gears and marsupial stuff. I love it. I did see you guys have some pouches. want to look into like some like little gear, or gadget pouches or backpacks. Yeah. that's awesome with that you guys just make awesome stuff go to marsupialgear.com check them out american made stuff dude guy living the dream came from freaking roofing roofs hot tar in phoenix to building in bino harnesses now and just really solving a problem that we all have and 100 put my trust behind them and my word my name behind them go buy some marsupial gear you guys
Speaker: Well, thanks, Drew. We appreciate it. Likewise, you guys make awesome stuff. We love working with you guys. It's it's cool to see. It's fun. You know, we get to make hunting equipment every day. Best job in the world. Best job in the world.
Speaker: ah Thanks, Drew. See you again. All right, man. Thanks for having me on. Thank you for listening to the Tricer podcast. Do us a favor and like and subscribe on whatever platform you're listening on.
Speaker: Give us a follow on Instagram and Facebook at Tricer USA and go and check out all of our innovative gear at www.tricerusa.com. Until next time, shoot straight, have fun, and always put God first.
