I've noticed a series of threads on the forums concerning rain gear performance and thought I would throw a few things out. I'm not an expert, but I have been blessed to have had an opportunity to handle and use a large variety of rain gear. Hopefully you find my journey helpful. Rain gear is a tough animal. As hunters we often buy gear and expect it to be more versatile than it was designed to be. Extreme pursuits require
I’ve tested a lot of rain gear and in the process I’ve learned a thing or two about what makes rain gear effective. In other words, the balance between design intent and proper maintenance. In fact, rain gear can be flat out useless if you don’t clean it on a regular basis. Additionally, that light weight set of breathable rain gear is not going to survive a month of brush busting, continual downpours as well as a burlier set of
I was having a conversation with a few guys and decided to turn that into a blog entry as it seemed to be an interesting topic. My kit (kit = backcountry clothing system) is a mixture of several brands and is a combination of colors and camouflage patterns. The conversation focused on what your setup would be if you could only run ONE brand. This is actually a bit harder than we thought because even though guys may, or may
I started this journey out of a desire to better understand rain gear and its performance in the field; vs. the hyperbole of marketing and internet biases. This journey has been huge, its exposed to me a behind the scenes peek at the technologies, thought, and processes that it takes to make a high quality, high performing set of rain gear. In reality rain gear performance is both complicated and simple, and the key is to use the gear as
May was an unique month here in Alaska. The unseasonably warm weather triggered the highest pollen counts in Anchorage’s recent history (both for Alaska and the world) and created a tinderbox forest that ignited in several places across the state. As such my plans for filling a registration brown bear tag were thrown into a turmoil. I never could get the 3-4 days I needed to at least have a decent shot of punching that tag. As May 31st approached
I have been talking to a lot of hunters lately who have questions around gear. To help both them and me I need to quickly discern their gear philosophy. I want to provide with them good information that helps drive efficient, cost effective decisions. I am going to use rain gear as an example. While all 3 of the sets I mention below are all solid choices, other options do exist. All purpose gear: Gear that covers a broad spectrum
