A Week Chasing Maine's Giants
Four bulls. One edge. No sharpening.
That's the report one Maine guide sent us this fall, and it's not the only one. Guides across the North Maine Woods are quartering and packing out moose with the Tracker and telling us about it. We put ours to work on a moose hunt of our own this season too. Here's how it went, and what the people who break down bulls for a living are saying.
The Hunt
When Noelle drew her first big game tag, she and her fiancé Ryan Blake @blake_outfitters pulled together a crew and we spent a week chasing bulls in a zone none of us had ever hunted. Rain, then temps in the high 70s. Bulls answered the call but wouldn't commit. Friends and Registered Maine Guides, Beau and Danielle, brought years of moose guiding to the table, we put serious miles on the boots, and we snuck in a few midday lake dips at our no-shower camp to beat the heat.
On the final day a cold front rolled in, the bulls started acting like bulls, and Noelle made one clean shot. Then the real work started. (We filmed the whole week, and the full story is coming in our moose hunt film summer '27.)
Knives at Work
A moose is a lot of animal. When the work starts, every knife in camp gets put to use, and ours were no exception.
With two badass women on the crew (including the permit holder herself), it was the perfect time to put the new Pink Tracker to work in the field. This colorway is built for women who put in the hard work, and it doesn't get more fitting than breaking down your own first bull. Same Tracker, same steel, same job. Just a little less blaze, more Rosé.
What Guides Are Telling Us
All season, reports have been coming in from guides working across the Maine woods, and the message keeps coming back the same: the Tracker is getting it done on moose.
These are folks who handle more animals in a season than most hunters see in a lifetime. They're fully quartering bulls and packing them out of places trucks don't go, and they don't have patience for gear that slows them down.
One guide at Benchmark Guide Co. while working out of Allagash Outfitters broke down four bulls without sharpening once. Four full bulls, quartered and packed, on one edge.
"I am primarily a moose hunting guide along with 3 of my closest friends. My buddy Kyle was insistent I bring his Tracker along and use it. I’ll be honest I thought it wouldn’t be worth my time being a long time user of both Havalon knives and Outdoor Edge knives. I ended up taking him up on his offer and off to zone 1 I went. To say I was impressed with the blade would be an understatement. Last week I quartered and packed out 4 beautiful Maine bulls using the same edge on your Tracker without breaking out a sharpener once." - Luke, Benchmark Guide Co.
That's what the Tracker was built for. At 2.6 ounces, it disappears on your belt for the miles in, then holds an edge through the long work when you get there. A few reasons it keeps showing up at the kill site:
- MagnaCut steel. Outstanding edge retention with excellent toughness and corrosion resistance, which matters when you're elbow deep in a wet animal for hours.
- 2.6 oz. Light enough that you never think twice about carrying it.
- G10 handle. Grippy and stable when everything is slick.
- Custom Kydex sheath. Locks in, rides secure, and cleans up easy back at camp.
To every guide who has sent in photos and stories this season: thank you. Seeing these knives out there doing real work is why we do this.
Dressed for the Northeast
We're big believers in the old adage "a rising tide floats all ships." When we find gear that exceeds our expectations we do what we can to promote it. We owe a huge thanks to STAGR for outfitting our crew. In my opinion, wool is the only way to hunt the Northeast, no matter the season. This week proved it. We went from rain to high 70s to a cold final morning, and good wool kept us comfortable through all of it. Warm when it needs to be, breathable when you're sweating your way through a hellhole, and it doesn't quit when it gets wet. STAGR builds the best wool apparel at affordable prices and we can't recommend their gear enough.
Until Next Season
What an experience it is to hunt moose in Maine. Thanks to Noelle, Ryan, Beau, and Danielle for an unforgettable week, and to every guide out there putting the Tracker to work.
Stay tuned for the film.
Learn more about the Tracker here.
Built in Maine.
- Walker.
