water proof gear

stav

Well-Known Member
hi,guys, i,m off on my 2nd stalk at the weekend and as i,m building my kit up i was wondering what your views are on waterproof gear that is not going to brake the bank.i.e. 100% waterproof,light weight and silent. last time i used my jack pyke gear from airgunning days and luckerly it dint rain. any advice greatly received.stav
 
Rivers West gear smashes everything else out the water. Its pretty new to the UK in terms of quality for price it takes some serious beating.

It also comes with a 10 year guarantee

H2P Fabrics
 
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i use deerhunter but just looked at rivers west ambush jacket on r scrope advice and it looks preety good
 
What's your waterproof?

In mild weather a thin Goretex equivalent works if your active, anything else is too hot.

In cold weather you have more latitude of activity and layering to not overheat and still stay dry.

Now, add surface contact points and water ingress can start. Combine Stop, Run, Stay activity and you produce moisture from the in at a rate that steams you whilst the rain is giving you the best massage shower you have ever had...

At least skin's waterproof!

Stan
 
well the jack pyke stuff is ok for light/medium rain but fails under prolonged heavy rain so something along the heavy side of weather.stav
 
Another vote for Deerhunter, I have 3 different sets of that, so maybe I like it?
But buy it at a game fair or suchlike, too expensive via the normal channels.
 
Geoshot,

"But buy it at a game fair or suchlike, too expensive via the normal channels."

Please inform us all as to who your Employer is. I will happily buy your Employer's product such that it results in his inability to maintain your current wages.

We all seek to shaft our own income to save expenditure....

stan
 
I use ex-army clothing g/tex etc, tried & tested made to budget. Showers i dont mind, Rain i avoid. just like the rest of the animals .....I seek shelter.:lol:

Nothing, but nothing keeps the weather out , & if it does, its still uncomfertable no matter what! Ask a N Yorkshire hill farmer ! "feed sacks lad ,feed sacks" was the last reply, i got.

After all, why does it have to be silent when the rain is pounding, you cannot hear a thing, neither can your target.
 
I'm with MrYou in going the mil surplus route at the minute when it comes to stalking clothing. (I have 2 Musto coats and a selection of other stuff as well but am finding the mil surplus is what is going stalking every time)

My hint and tip is to get yourself a British army surplus windproof smock in DPM which is the older material, having now handled the newer MTP windproof smocks they seem to be a different material and I'm not yet convinced they will be as wind/waterproof. I've seen the DPM windproof smocks go for £7 new on ebay, though £15 or more is more common, don't pay extra for ones that claim to be SAS or similar and I like to go for a reasonable chest size as they seem generous (I'm about a 38 inch chest and wear the 96cm NATO size smock which leaves plenty of room for layers under) but usually select a size too big in height terms so the jacket becomes 3/4 length on me, sleves have velcro so you can tighten them so they don't feel as if they are long. Wash some waterproofing into it, nikwax make the most commonly used one but there are others. Don't wash it in detergent but use the nikwax "tech-wash" or similar to wash it before you proof it. Try this out and see how it works for you. Despite my expectations mine hasn't leaked yet through a season of stalking here in Ireland plus a few weeks fishing in the Hebrides, though I haven't had a day of solid horizontal rain which I'm sure would beat it.

However, this isn't 100% waterproof and I would expect that it would eventually leak on a very wet day. To solve this situation buy a German flecktarn gore-tex jacket off ebay for £10ish for a good one. This jacket is pretty light weight and will actually roll up and pack away into its own hood if you want to drop it in the rucksack. The German sizes seem fairly tight so be careful. (The British DPM gore-tex jacket would do just as well but they usually seem to cost more) Most mil surplus gore-tex jackets have little in the way of pockets for a good reason, the German one has two small side pockets.

On a very wet day wear the flecktarn jacket UNDER the windproof smock to ensure 100% waterproofness. This means that you retain all your pockets etc. with no need to move stuff about as you are wearing the same jacket on top. This might sound like a strange idea but try it and see what you think, I'm certainly a convert. The pockets in the windproof smock are, certainly for me, ideal for stalking.

Going that route you can have good stalking gear which is as waterproof as you will get for £30ish.

The one slight down side is the military camo patterns which I will confess I'm a bit uncomfortable with wearing as I'm not a soldier and I'm not pretending to be one. However, for the most part no one sees me and if it was a big issue for you the windproof smocks do occasionally come up in plain green. The DPM camo pattern can also be a bit dark for a lot of UK stalking though it might be OK for dense conifer forest but I don't find, to be honest, that my stalking relies much on camo and favour the smocks for comfort, design, pockets etc. The new MTP pattern is much lighter in colour and I suspect ideally suited to woodland edge and even open hill stalking it is also said that the dye in it reflects heat from the sun so making it cooler to wear in summer but I've no idea if that is true or not. MTP pattern gear is still a little expensive on ebay but it gives the option to have the same smock (i.e. pockets) in another lighter colour pattern if that would work for you.
 
German army g/tex trousers { taped seams } with braces. Think I paid £20 but it was a while a few years ago now.
 
If you don't want to break the bank go for good old British issue goretex on ebay.....I swear by them and they are great when lying down

Jase
 
I have 2 ridgeline smocks the monsoon II £130 and the pintail £80 the monsoon can take a pounding in the rain and has a nice big hood but you can work up a sweat in it, the pintail is the same but much much lighter and you don't seem to sweat so much in it. I would highly recommend either!
 
Meant to say that I also use a pair of Seal Flex waterproof trousers, £30ish ? Available from most Agricultural merchants. Really good, can take one hell of a pounding BUT as I have found out to my cost, if you are in the snow and slip on any size of slope you will take of like a bloody rocket. Honestly thought my number was up.
 
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