Don’t listen to the hate this is a great informational podcast

Great podcast! Disappointing to hear about the changes but looking forward to what you guys are cooking up in the future.

Basically a hour long sales pitch about all meateater products. Janis is painfull to listen to most shows. This is actually worse then the meateater Ben O’Brien show, swing and a miss

I think they learn as much as I learn while I’m listening. If you’re going to get influenced to buy a specific product because they talk about it that’s your issue to deal with. I like listening because it makes me think about my own situation and how I would go about either preparing or solving for a future issue. I don’t feel like I need to constantly buy new things just makes me plan ahead

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of content that comes from the Meateater crew, and Gear Talk is no exception. With Janis’ and Jordan’s background, they are the perfect duo to relay this content. Contrary to the very few comments, I don’t feel as though they’re trying to sell us on any particular gear or gear brand. They’re informative. They discuss all sorts of brands and applications, giving personal experience with each use. I’ve been trying to find that headlamp Steve wears for a while. Then I hear Janis mention it, and that he’s found a lighter alternative to the same light. THAT’s the information we love to get. Now let’s just make sure to include some relevant gear for our southern hunting buddies😉. Keep up the good work Janis and Jordan!

I enjoy the podcast and it gets better every episode. Keep having fun with it.

Every episode has an “infomercial vibe”, trying to sell whatever they are promoting. From the tone of their voices to the content, this is a swing and a miss from the Meateater universe. This is not safe to listen to while driving, possibly listen if your having a hard time sleeping.

Janis has always been a perfect complimentary personality on MeatEater. I especially appreciate his non argumentative approach during trivia! The Jordan/Janis combination on this podcast is perfect for delivering the only authoritative content about gear that I’m aware of.

I’m very much into gear of all kinds as well so this is a great listen. Thanks for putting it out there!

This is an excellent podcast but I don’t understand the “E” rating on this one vs the rest of the meat eater podcasts. Apparently “gear” is a four letter word that is corrupting the morals of our youth. Keep up the great work.

I’ve been a consumer of all things MeatEater including all of Mr. Rinella’s published literature Podcasts, and audio books. I highly respect Mr. Janis Putelis and Ms. Jordan Budd on their hunting, Guiding, and tracking accumens. I have to say… I was hoping for more when it came to Gear Talk. The tech talk is somewhat watered down. I can almost predict what questions the hosts will ask the guests regarding their products. As if the questions are prompted as talking points. I’m not a western hunter. I’ve backpacked a fair share in Pennsylvania in all seasons. Snowshoeing included. Colin Fletcher, The complete backpacker, covered all of the content that this podcast is providing now with updated tech. I’ve heard enough about all the brands that are under the MeatEater umbrella

It’s very informative gear talk, particularly if you want to dive into the design and science behind how things work. Two caveats: 1. The hosts’ gear experience is obviously influenced by their gear sponsors. Similar to other hunting celebrities, but just keep that in mind if you’re in the market for something. There’s a lot of alternative options that are often as good or better than what they promote based on their experiences. 2. Over time this gear talk and the Q&As are going to make you feel like you constantly need to upgrade. A lot of times you don’t. IMO you can make bigger strides by honing your craft over trying to buy a little extra edge in your equipment. Don’t feel pressured to constantly buy new things because it seems like everyone else is doing so.

Feels more like an infomercial. Sorry guys swing and a miss.

I usually don’t comment on stuff but common meateater. This is a tough direction to get behind even thought I love Steve and the meateater. It’s hard to know what’s legitimate info and what’s slick salesmanship for firstlite... I fear it’s the latter. More importantly I will add that this is trending to the next step of becoming a platform and statement for social justice. My intention is not to offend anyone but your target market and audience are predominantly made up of 2nd amendment supporting male hunters who don’t want anything to do with that the social equality or lgbtq addenda. This is not good foresight on meateaters part. I cannot say for certain but many of us would listen in spite of these things hence furthering the feeling we are being forced to go along with said narrative. The old bait and switch. I love that there’s some incredible women hunters out there who listen so don’t get me wrong but this is something entirely different. I’ve said my 2 cents and I get my gear info from other sources. Let’s let our follow/subscribe button do the voting. - Thanks

I really enjoy this podcast! Jordan and Janis are a great pair with a wealth of knowledge.

Pretty boring and in general not crazy about the monetization of wildlife - using wildlife to sell merchandise is similar in many ways.

I’ve always been a gear junkie so this podcast has really got me excited to listen in on every episode

This is the best of the MeatEater podcasts so far.

Been enjoying the gear reviews very much. Guess I’m a gear nerd. Especially liked the first lite podcast and the boots one. I’m a dog guy, houndsman, raise beagles and rabbit hunt. But enjoy anything hounds. So anything that can relate to hound hunting is great. I live in Delaware and have been hunting and field trialing for close to 40 years. Keep up the good work Paul Eckrich

No I’m not going to buy that overpriced junk y’all are promoting

I wasn’t sure where to make this, so I did it in the review. For an early season pan idea making something specific to saddle hunters. A pant with maybe lower pockets so you can get in your pockets while in the saddle and having the pocket to go more to the side of the lake rather than in front. Also, cargo pockets are a must and some type of stretchy material in the seat and crotch area. I would love to see something focus on that because all the pants that I worn hunting in my saddle tend to bind when I’m up in the tree. And getting into the pockets is a chore. Great thing would be pockets in the knees or you can just slide kneepads into. With a durable kneecap panel. Also some of those stretchy material seem to breathe pretty well. So early season that should be a benefit. Also, some kind of zipper for the heat

Thanks for the great podcast. Long time coming to talk about gear. Really liked the episode on boots. 👍

I have listened to more than 1500 hrs of Meat Eater content. I love it all but, I was skeptical of this podcast at first. Honestly though Meat Eater has done it again, this podcast goes way in depth and helps you better understand the capability of many different hunting related gear items. Also they dive into the design, build, process and purpose and with experts in the industry. This is information not easily obtained outside of this show. Thanks guys for always providing such valuable content.

Lots of information to better understand the gear we use

You two are doing an awesome job. I only listen to you and bear grease now. I love learning about technology behind my hunting gear. Now I can focus on things that matter vs “game in suckers every other podcast Keep up the good work.

Jordan and Janis have a lot of great experience and info go share but the episodes feel more like a commercial for First Lite (episode 5) and Vortex (episode 2). We get it that First Lite and Vortex and others are sponsors of the show but if it stays as just a hour long commercial, I’m out. Really hoped to get a variety of gear recommendations and information but it’s hard to trust the info when it’s only gear made by sponsors and an infomercial about one specific brand that pays to be featured.

Lots of great information and helps when looking for new gear

Jesus Christ. I keep giving this show a chance but holy God. Why are there advertisements? It would be like a laundry detergent commercial during a a ShamWow presentation. Utterly disappointing podcast. I hope Jordan goes back to doing podcasts for Rokslide.

I love all the MeatEater podcasts and listen weekly. I love Janis in everything else and he does a good job but this just isn’t something I enjoy. I like firstlite products but don’t want to listen to advertisements for solely their products.

Awesome show

The podcast equivalent to fingernails on a chalk board. I gave it two stars because people that give one star seam angry. I’m not angry, just disappointed.

Have you ever been listening to an episode of meateater and thought man I sure do love the ads I wish they would just do that for an hour and skip all this boring talking and interviewing and trivia nonsense then boy howdee is this the podcast for you. Did you know that first light sells all kinds of amazing equipment and no other brand makes anything else even remotely comparable. Wow now I don’t need to waste my time shopping for the best equipment I can just take a second mortgage out on the house and go equip myself with the only brand worth buying. Say I wonder who owns that brand and also who sponsors this podcast. I’m a complete idiot.

Terrible podcast

Love the show but you hear about a very selective gear selection use different types of backpacks like alps vs outdoorsman vs badlands that’s what I want to hear about on gear talk then get your opinion on which one is better and why

I like the focus of this podcast. I appreciate Janis’s approach to gear. Definitely more in-depth then my typical assessment of gear. From what we have heard from Jordan so far, I believe she is going to be a great cohost. I am sure I will learn a ton from both of them. A few thoughts - I would like to hear some solid comparisons on common gear by type of hunt/type of animal. Also, it would be cool to hear about that crazy stuff you may get to use when dealing with extreme conditions on hunts. Maybe even the exotic gear you hear of or come across that may be way out of reach for us “normal folks”.

Great content. I enjoy the deep dive into the gear. Looking forward to learning more about western hunting gear.

First podcast review I've ever written. Hope it's read. If I could leave zero stars, I would. STOP HAWKING YOUR PRODUCTS AT EVERY TURN. Good grief. I love how Janis usually balances out Steve's arrogance, and he strikes me as a genuine gear head like myself. But take the gloves off. Actually talk about real gear that's not made by your parent company. I was hoping episode two would be better, until Jordan and Janis "accidentally" stumbled into talking about how great can-ams are during the intro. Really? How stupid do you think I am? Putting six minutes of third party advertisements on the main meateater podcast is tough enough. Now, I also have to stomach third party adverts on a giant MeatEater Corp shill podcast? Give me a freaking break. No seriously. Give me an advertising break and maybe I'll come back.

I get that you guys sell your own gear but to call this podcast gear talk is a bit ridiculous seeing as you guys stated in the 2nd episode that you will do little to no discussion of other brands. I don’t want a 45 minute ad on what you guys sell. I would love for the show to tell people about all gear regardless of brand.

Nope. You get one star because at least you had the decency to admit it up front... I mean, at least by episode 2. I don't have time for infomercials and I can't give zero stars, so you're welcome. I love Meateater but.... nope.

Great information, that’s helpful when making gear choices.

“I don’t want to make it a first lite commercial all the time, so instead of just learning about first lite we’re going to learn about how first lite is made.” -Janis Putelis Say that back to yourself and listen to it. I love meat eater, but if you aren’t going to compare between brands, don’t start a gear talk podcast. You know as well as I do that while First Lite is a great company, they don’t make the best of everything. I understand the conflict in business interests, but it’s ridiculously boring to try to convince me you’re going to tell me what the best gear is for each situation while only talking about one brand. C‘mon. If you’re like me and you want actual comparisons from unbiased opinions, go listen to Brian Call on Gritty Podcast. I get it, you own a gear company. So don’t start a gear podcast.

Love the crew. Don’t get me wrong. But for years Janis has been the unsung hero. So excited for this podcast. Keep it up my friend

Was hoping for more out of the second episode but still seems to be just one long commercial for in-house products and their sponsors.

Loose the creepy music but two great hosts.

Very informative, if a bit dry. Would love to hear about products that aren’t part of the meat eater sponsorship agreement. Otherwise, it just seems like long-form marketing.

Love everything these two do! Learned more about the layers of a jacket in episode one than I could ever dream of!

I’m excited to learn what you have to share so that I can learn how to have the best possible experiences when out hunting. Good gear can make a trip great. Bad gear ends it early.

I enjoy all things MeatEater and am an avid listen of most of their weekly podcast…but this is just not a great idea. Nothing against Jani and Jordan, but you can’t have a gear talk/review podcast when your podcast is sponsored by every brand you review. The first episode was a prime example of this…

I love Meateater and most of the content they put out. Unfortunately, this is just another delivery system for all the brands they’re partnered with. If you’re not getting enough first lite/fhf/Phelps marketing info from the Meateater tv show, podcasts, all their YouTube videos, and all their emails, then this is the show for you. I’ll compare this to a recent gear podcast who’s host also uses first lite which he likely got for free. That host also highlighted clothing from other brands he’s not paid to endorse and even Amazon branded products he’s used with great success.

I love the Meateater platform and listen religiously every week. Unfortunately I just found the first episode kinda dull and boring. Actually switched if off a few times before finally finishing. Pulling for it to get better.