Saturday, March 2, 2013

2013 Grand Forks Men's Show

Last weekend I went to the Grand Forks Men's show.  I had fun as I always do when I go.  The show was filled with basically everything outdoors related.  That included campers, live whitetail deer, docks, boats, hunting dogs, and 4 wheelers just to name a few.  Of course they had Patty's favorite thing, free beer tasting from Hugo's.  Apparently Mike's Hard is coming out with an orange soda flavored drink that tastes so much like orange soda they should put it in 2 liter bottles.  Anyway onto the outdoor stuff.  A lot of the things they had at the Men's show I have seen before in the ATV and docks department.  Nothing to exciting to talk about there.  The boats they had at the show were all big expensive Walleye boats that you really couldn't put in a shallow landing or have fun with in a small lake.  The had Bennington Pontoons which are basically the Lincoln of pontoons.  They are ridic and have things like sea legs, crazy sound systems, and crazy lighting.
There are 3 things I found interesting at the Men's show.  The first one was the SnoBear.  I've seen these on T.V., but never in real live.  I know they are ridic expensive for only the richest of the outdoors-people, but it was really neat to look at.  If you don't know what that is, basically it is a snowmobile/ice shack.  You drive your giant snowmobile out to your spot on the ice, hit a button, it lowers itself, and is ready for ice fishing.  The distributor who had it there didn't really feel like talking to me much more about it, and it is probably because I don't look like someone who could afford it.
The second thing I found interested and liked was the combo toy hauler/ice shack/camper they had on display.  I have a blurry picture of it below that doesn't do it justice.  It seemed like the perfect thing for my friends and I even though we can't afford it.  It would kill 3 birds with one stone for us.  It's got flip down bunk beds, a toilet, holes for ice fishing out of, and a extremely tiny kitchen.  These things are amazing, I just wish they weren't priced around actual campers.  It's like a bare bones mobile man cave/deer camp.
The third thing I found more interesting than anything is the "sport utility bike" from The Grand Forks Ski and Bike Shop.  I've seen this bike everywhere in town, but not with these accessories on it.  Somehow they put a fly fishing rod holder on it and a holder for your bow.  I don't know how easily that would be to take into the wilderness except maybe in North Dakota where trees and hills are few and far between, but it still seems impractical to me.  If anyone has used a setup like this or sees how this could be useful please feel free to comment on this post.  In conclusion even though there weren't to many things there that were exciting or that I hadn't seen before, I still had fun at the Men's Show and appreciate it every year. Below are some pictures I took of the event.
The SnoBear

The camper/ice shack/toy hauler sorry it's blurry

Shot of everything

A wheeled deer stand that raises up once you get to the spot.  Probably something that would only work in North dakota

The confusing "Sport Utility Bike"