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    Saturday, May 04, 2024

    Fake presents! (and real ones) — you decide

    It’s that time of year to shop for that special adventurer or maybe favorite outdoor columnist in your life, so once again I have prepared The Great Outdoors Holiday Gift Catalogue that features real items, as described in actual advertisements and press releases, mixed in with a few that are only products of my imagination.

    See if you can tell them apart. Answers below — NO PEEKING!

    1. Daymak’s new Beast AWD ATV Ultimate version. With the all-new Beast ATV Ultimate, you will be able to go further than any electric ATV has gone before. This is the longest-range, all electric all-wheel drive ATV available in the market today! It also has a ton of features including: double motor, winch, heated grips, MP3, stereo speakers, plow, backrest and turbo mode.

    2. Sled Dogs offers an innovative and intriguing new kind of skate that combines ice skating and skiing, launching accessible, affordable, and easy-to-use alpine snowskates in the North American market in a bid to establish the world’s third winter sport, Snowskating. If you can skate on ice, you will be able to skate on snow with Sled Dogs Snowskates. You can stop, turn, and have minimal gear to lug around, just like ice skating. The company’s Snowskates are ideal for a beginner, experienced skier, hockey player, and everyone in between.

    3. KliffAlert 2000. Using GPS and topographic maps, the KliffAlert 2000 emits a beeping signal if a hiker approaches a precipice. The volume gradually increases until finally, a recorded voice shouts, “Hey, stupid! Watch where you’re going!”

    4. KliffAlert 3000. Upgraded version of the KliffAlert 2000, with the addition of a wire taped to the skin that produces an adjustable charge ranging from a mild tingling to a jolt from a cattle prod.

    5. The Rainforest Trust has launched the largest-ever public auction of species naming rights. Holiday shoppers will be able to buy the gift of naming one of 12 new species recently discovered in nature reserves the Trust and its partners established in South America. These new-to-science species include a blue-eyed yellow frog, speckled red and green frogs, orchids, a trap jaw ant, a forest mouse, a worm-lie caecilian, and a big-eyed red salamander. Bidding ends on Dec. 8, and all proceeds directly protect the habitat of the specific plant or critter, helping save them from extinction.

    6. Slingshot Bungee. Started in Australia while some daredevils were enjoying a few rounds of Fosters, this sport has harnessed participants climb onto a bridge or parapet. Helpers use a spoked hand crank to stretch an elasticized cable connected to the harness, and then release a snap shackle that launches the tied-in rider skyward for up to 100 yards. Then gravity takes over and the rider plunges to earth before yo-yoing back up. This process repeats until the dangling rider finally slows to a stop and is pulled to safety.

    7. Ti Outdoors Releases Live-Fire Shooting Game System for indoor gun ranges. This industry-changing product brings FUN back into the gun range. Rather than shooting a paper target, shooters can now engage moving targets at various virtual distances.

    8. For the first time, onX Hunt has partnered with MeatEater for an exclusive, premier media episode launched on a mobile platform. This full-length video episode, set in the sub-zero winter temperatures of the Idaho Panhandle, covers Steven Rinella’s first filmed mountain lion hunt. The purpose of the film is to inform viewers on the importance of predator conservation, crafting an emotional appeal to mountain lion hunting and helping consumers understand the importance of these animals within the hunting field.

    9. MOJO has created what is being called “The Most Interesting Decoy in the World.” It started as a joke by Ramsey Russell (a spoonbill shooter) and MOJO’s Terry Denmon (a spoonbill non-shooter) when Ramsey had a cartoonish spoonbill head carved and attached to a MOJO SWD. Several posts were made on social media, and they went viral, leading to many requests for the decoy. By demand, MOJO developed what we have named “Spoonzilla.” A Redneck Spoonbill! Built on the style and design of the popular new Elite Series with a structural housing and flexible body, it is designed to be a KILLER IN THE FIELD; A CONVERSATION PIECE IN THE LODGE OR CAMP and a GREAT GIFT IDEA.

    10. Shoot Like a Girl throw pillow, featuring an image of a bullseye marked with bullet holes. Add stylish fun to any room. Constructed from ultra-soft brushed twill with a sturdy canvas image area. Removable zippered cover for easy laundering.

    Answers: The only fake items are Numbers 3 and 4, the KliffAlert 2000 and KliffAlert 3000; and Number 6, Slingshot Bungee. The others are all too real.

    Hurry! Only a few more shopping days before the holidays!

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