Six days. Remote Kodiak country. Mountain goats, Sitka blacktail, unpredictable weather, and a crew ready to see what Alaska gives them.
ROKMAN Waterproof is proud to announce a new partnership with Stuck N The Rut, kicking off with a six-part hunting series from Kodiak, Alaska.
For the first hunt of the partnership, Brandon from ROKMAN joined the Stuck N The Rut crew for a week aboard a boat off the Kodiak coast. The plan: hunt mountain goats, Sitka blacktail deer and waterfowl, do some fishing, and put ROKMAN gear to work in the wet, unforgiving conditions it was built for.
Part 1 is live now on the Stuck N The Rut YouTube channel.
Stuck N The Rut has built its audience by documenting real hunts in wild places, including the challenges, changing plans, hard work, and people that make those hunts memorable.
That’s what makes this partnership such a natural fit for ROKMAN.
We don’t want ROKMAN gear sitting on a table for a product demonstration. We want it on boats, in the rain, pushing through brush, climbing mountains, and hauling weight back out.
Kodiak offered all of that from day one.
The Kodiak Hunt Begins
There aren’t many easy days on Kodiak.
The mountains rise almost directly from the ocean. Thick coastal vegetation covers the low country, while mountain goats live high above in steep terrain. Rain, fog, and changing conditions can completely rewrite a hunt.
There are also no roads into much of this country.
After flying into Old Harbor, the crew boarded a 68-foot vessel with Kodiak Pursuit Charters. For the next week, the boat would become their transportation, base camp, and home.
From there, the plan was simple: find opportunities and adapt when Kodiak had other ideas.
When Kodiak Changes the Plan
The crew started with mountain goats on their minds.
They found them.
The weather had other plans.
Heavy rain and thick fog covered the mountains, and the wet terrain made pushing into the steep goat country a risk the crew wasn’t willing to take.
So they turned their attention toward Sitka blacktail.
It didn’t take long for the hunt to change direction.
Part 1 follows the crew as they find their first opportunities of the trip, including a memorable first big-game harvest for Branson, who normally spends these hunts behind the camera.
We won’t give away everything that happens.
ROKMAN Gear Goes to Work
Kodiak isn’t a controlled product test.
That’s exactly why we wanted to be there.
ROKMAN gear moves from planes to boats, from boats to shore, and through rain-soaked vegetation and steep terrain. Once an animal is down, the same system has to help get everything back out.
It’s the kind of environment ROKMAN Waterproof was built around.
Part 1 also gives viewers an early look at a piece of ROKMAN gear that’s still being developed.
During a packout, Brandon demonstrates the ROKMAN Sidekicks, designed to attach directly to the pack frame.
The concept allows a hunter to carry essential gear without occupying the primary load area. When it’s time to pack out an animal, the frame remains available for the load while necessities stay organized alongside it.
It’s still a prototype.
And that’s part of what we’re excited about with this partnership.
Real hunts create real feedback. Putting ROKMAN equipment into the hands of people who consistently hunt demanding country gives us another opportunity to test, learn, and continue improving our systems.
It’s About More Than the Gear
One of our favorite moments from Part 1 comes after Branson gets the opportunity to take his first big-game animal.
Brandon puts it simply:
“To me, it’s not about the actual animal and the harvest. That’s fun, but getting ready to do it with people who’ve never done stuff before, that gets me more excited.”
That’s ultimately why we’re excited about where this partnership can go.
ROKMAN builds gear for the hunt.
But the reason we hunt is bigger than the gear.
Five More Episodes to Go
The first day on Kodiak delivered rain, changing plans, successful hunts, and a first big-game experience.
And the crew still has five days ahead of them.
This is Part 1 of a six-part ROKMAN x Stuck N The Rut Kodiak series.
We’ll be following the entire trip here at ROKMAN as each new episode is released.
Start with Part 1, subscribe to Stuck N The Rut on YouTube, and follow along as the crew heads deeper into Kodiak.
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