Went to Kzoo Saturday with my son. We left at 4:00 am and arrived shortly after opening. Roads were a little dicey from Chicago to Kzoo, but no issues.
First thing that surprised me was the shiny new exhibit hall. The old building has been adequate over the years, but this was a big improvement. High ceilings, well lit, and well ventilated, a quality facility for a quality Trad Expo.
First thing on the to-do list was to order a new set of limbs for my Fox recurve. Ron King was great to deal with and after seeing his display bows it just reaffirmed my decision to buy my Fox years ago. The limbs will be 46# with juniper veneers, I can't wait!
I also tried out one of the 50" Two Tracks -Ambush bows. It was a neat little bow, I felt like I was carrying a kids bow up to the shooting line, but that feeling went away once I let a few arrows loose. It threw them out there with authority. Would make a nice turkey blind bow - great price too.
I stopped by Dryad and gave their new ACS static recurve hot rod a test drive. It was a smooth draw and was fast even at the short practice range. I wish I could have it for an hour to try out, kinda hard to really tell with just a few arrows. Definitely on my wish list.
The shooting lines got pretty long at times so I backed off on doing too much more shooting, but I admired and drooled over many bows. Especially liked the Tall Tines Brian had on display. Black Widow, Great Northern, Zipper, Dwyer, Predator, Holm-Made, A&H...on and on.
I really like the Tuff-Head broadheads and tried on the Big Shot glove from American Leathers - defintely gonna have one of those. The woolens at Classic Bowmen were outstanding, just need to save up the funds. Bought a DVD from Gary Davis to help with my dream of making my own osage self-bow.
I intentionally brought limited funds to keep myself from going crazy, and I certainly could have. I try to make it Kzoo every year, but it sometimes turns out every other. We headed back about 1:00-1:30, and had plenty to talk about on the drive home. Roads had dried up nicely and the sun was shining, so it was a pleasant drive home and we arrived in time for dinner. About 8 hours of driving for about 4-5 hours of Expo, but I have been enough times now that I can make my way around pretty quickly, especially if I have a plan of specififc things I want to see. I noticed Morrison, Great Plains and Stalker were missing this year - hopefully they will be back next year?
I know distance is a big factor for many, but if you ever get a chance, you owe to yourself to make it to Kzoo some day.
Sorry no pics, totally forgot to grab the camera in the early morning hours.