harkila gear

Acm

Well-Known Member
Hi all, looking at taking the plunge and buying some harkila gear, namely the pro hunter jacket and trousers. is it worth the money?
can anyone explain to me the difference between pro hunter, pro hunter x or pro hunter active.
also has anyone ever had any issues with it? and what other options are there? I'm not a fan of the swazi style of stuff. that micro fleece isn't my cup of tea.
thanks all!
 
Hi all, looking at taking the plunge and buying some harkila gear, namely the pro hunter jacket and trousers. is it worth the money?
can anyone explain to me the difference between pro hunter, pro hunter x or pro hunter active.
also has anyone ever had any issues with it? and what other options are there? I'm not a fan of the swazi style of stuff. that micro fleece isn't my cup of tea.
thanks all!

I've got the original prohunter jacket and trousers. For cold wet hunting, great kit. Is it worth the money? I think it is. sorry can't help with the differences between prohunter models.
I'm a fan of Swazi gear as well and think the under layer clothing is the dogs Böllocks.
 
Hi all, looking at taking the plunge and buying some harkila gear, namely the pro hunter jacket and trousers. is it worth the money?
can anyone explain to me the difference between pro hunter, pro hunter x or pro hunter active.
also has anyone ever had any issues with it? and what other options are there? I'm not a fan of the swazi style of stuff. that micro fleece isn't my cup of tea.
thanks all!

It depends. If you are standing around on a posh shoot then perhaps they will do a job, but if you have to get down on the ground in the wind and the rain, then Harkila are a complete waste of money.

Regards

JCS
 
My experience suggests the opposite.

I've had a ProHunter jacket for maybe 7 or 8 years, used it in all sorts of conditions, and been very happy with it.

The Kodiak trousers I've had a for a year or two longer and they are my "go to" trouser for stalking, particularly in Winter or when up in the Highlands. I've crawled through burns and peat bogs with them and never been anything less than impressed. I've laid up on the tops in driving rain whilst the other rifle has gone for his stalk and they've kept me bone dry.

I took both to Sweden for Moose Hunting, and take both to Croatia for driven boar. In rain, wind and snow they've performed as well as any jacket I've got (and I have Swazi, Musto, Fjallraven, Kammo, Nomad.......)
 
I have prohunterX jacket and trousers and have found them extremely good, my only piece of advice is dont expect to be using them in the summer as they are far too warm!, perfect in the winter though
 
Have had ProHunter jacket and trousers for 4 years now - they are excellent and have never let me down - I also have the goretex boots (18 months - worn every day) and have followed the care advice - again, never let me down (apart from laces breaking, to which Simon from Seeland had a new pair sent FOC which arrived in a couple of days).

Read between the lines and take advice from people who actually use the stuff and look after it - also, 5 year no-quibble guarantee - have seen others very-well-worn stuff sent off and repaired FOC or new sent back.
 
have owned little Harkila stuff, but quite a bit of Seeland and as its all made in the same place, im betting the quality is similar, even if some of the materials arent.

Seeland stuff seemed great to start with but zips broke easily, waterproof membrane is not well bonded to material and comes away easily leaving clumps of clingfilm in your trousers, membrane also punctured really easily. Stitching not the best either, so have binned Seeland for clothing and have switched to Deerhunter instead - seems better made and less bulky.

The only bit of harlika kit i do have now are a pair of boots - these are now 5 years old and showing no signs of wear or fatigue, so i can vouch for them.
 
I have used the original pro hunter suit for the last 4 years in all weathers and it has been just about perfect, howeverI would never buy the boots after seeing too many friends wet feet.
 
Most folk do rate harkilla clothing, althou i've had 3 pairs of boots and all complete rubbish (last 2 pairs were 50+% off but still rubbish for the money, will never have another pair, and know a few folk all with exact same issues) althou some folk say the quality is not as good as it used to be on the original stuff but they say that about most brands when becomes popular quality drops

But everyone has their own opinions and esp so with boots so i've mibee just been inlucky? But will also depend how hard u wear them too.

I think the problem when buying anything like that is ur buying 1 fairly big bulky jacket to do everything, while ur needs while be very different from season to season (summer/winter or even am/pm to mid day) or standing on a peg/high seat to actively walking up steep hills.
Plus some folk sweat/heat up more than others.

Personally i prefer a really decent light waterproof and u can layer up/down as needed for the day. Esp now with modern fleeces etc being wind proof, whereas with a big jacket its either on or off then u've got to carry it about.

For the same reason i'd never buy 1 off those smock things and always pay extra for the similar jacket gives u more temp control just by opening the zip up, know a few folk that moan about there smocks as day goes on or if sun ever comes out but not warm enough to take it off

All horses for courses and depends wot type of shooting/ground u have and wot u prefer.

Even with me working outdoors and old shooting gear becoming working gear i could never justify that sort of cash on a jacket
 
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one point on breathability - i recently had to make an emergency purchase (due to the backside falling out of seeland pants) and went to a very discounted pair of Ridgeline trousers.

quality - good
Fit - good
robustness - good
breathability - none

After 30 mins of stalking in February i was wet through but only on the inside of the trousers (i know i can sweat in a fridge, but this was bonkers), as they seemed to be like wearing a couple of binbags on my legs!!

my new kit (Deerhunter almati range) seems spot on and i paid very little for both jacket and trousers.
 
Ok, so let's develop this a bit more. For hind stalking in wet weather, what would you go for. Trousers..I'm not convinced anything is amazing. I have had deer hunter. Trouser are warm but waterproofing was poor, maybe better now. Harkila are pretty good but their prices now are just embarrassing, so looking else where. I use norrona findkogen at the moment, which is basically a gortex shell. Never had swazi but don't trust the current marketing hype. Sitka are supposedly good but the optifade cammo isn't for me. kuiu is getting a bit of awareness but again, not sure how suited it is to our climates. Ridge line look good for their money, not tried them yet.
 
It depends. If you are standing around on a posh shoot then perhaps they will do a job, but if you have to get down on the ground in the wind and the rain, then Harkila are a complete waste of money.

Regards

JCS
Just out of interest what would you recommend?
 
Ok, so let's develop this a bit more. For hind stalking in wet weather, what would you go for. Trousers..I'm not convinced anything is amazing. I have had deer hunter. Trouser are warm but waterproofing was poor, maybe better now. Harkila are pretty good but their prices now are just embarrassing, so looking else where. I use norrona findkogen at the moment, which is basically a gortex shell. Never had swazi but don't trust the current marketing hype. Sitka are supposedly good but the optifade cammo isn't for me. kuiu is getting a bit of awareness but again, not sure how suited it is to our climates. Ridge line look good for their money, not tried them yet.


Hi all,

Great tread,
Acm I would have thought your fjallraven gear would be pretty good? Fjallraven and Harkila would be of equal quality in my experience.
Harkila clothing I find to be excellent. Truthfully I do find the colour can be a bit to dark for some of the stalking scenarios I encounter. But sadly you can have it every way. This in turn give you an excuse to get more gear!!

Acm apologise if I am changing the course of the tread but answering Wills question. The best trousers I have used for hill hind stalking is Deer hunter almati coupled with a Swazi tahr xp. I find hind stalking can be hot work whilst dragging but you can also be shivering for a while as you wait for that lead hind to get back feeding before you crawl another few meters. I use a fleece base system with a waterproof shell. The Swazi tahr xp will keep you dry and its excellent in strong winds.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Glendine.
 
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If you do buy Harkila stuff, make sure that you keep the receipt, and register the guarantee. My Pro Hunter trousers leaked like a sieve after 2 years, sent them back, and they eventually agreed to replace them, after 9 weeks of arguing. On the flip side, I have an Optifade jacket which I cannot rate highly enough. Quality seems to be very variable, as does their customer service.
 
Ok, so let's develop this a bit more. For hind stalking in wet weather, what would you go for.

I've been wearing Harkila Pro-Hunter X trousers for a while now and they've done well for me, and lasted as well which is unusual in trousers. I'm not saying they are the best as I've not tried everything but they certainly have done better in terms of life than any other trousers I've owned.

In terms of jackets then on a wet day I'd wear (and do wear) an army surplus windproof smock over the surplus Goretex jacket. If it dries up the goretex layer can come off and get rolled up leaving me with great breathability and so keeping me warmer and drier than just wearing a Goretex jacket and if it is very wet then it stays on. It is a great solution for anyone stalking in our variable climate.
 
Harkila pro hunter stuff is good kit. If you use it for it's intended purpose that is. Crawling about the landscape perhaps isn't it. Beating through heavy brush, it works well and general walking, such as walked up shooting or woodland stalking is it's forte. The material is tough. It is waterproof as much as anything is and considering it's tough clobber, it's fairly good on the breathability front, thanks to it's goretex. Although you get a few zips to loosen and flaps to open up, it isn't really the best kit for warm weather. So for certain uses, it's good clobber. As for whether it's better than Seeland or not, having had a fair bit of Seeland too, well yes, it is!

Is it worth the money though? It certainly isn't cheap stuff. Whether you want to spend more than you would perhaps on your rifle is, ultimately an individual choice.
 
I baught Seeland Keeper jacket and trouseres which fell apart at the seems after modest use in a few months.

The got repaired under warente, but it took for ever leaving me without my suit at a busy time of the year.

This has put me off Harkila
 
Seems a lot are moving to a layered system, I think this is something I need to adopt. As you say Glendale, it is hot when dragging and soon get hold when sitting or having you piece. I may treat myself to a Swarzi smock. Incidentally, do you have the brown (?) one or the green. The green to me looks a bit dark. Harkila stuff has been good and I can see it lasting. I don't mind investing in kit if it is a) going to work/last and b) ad value - which in this case means to improve my comfort somewhat in a given condition. I will watch this thread with interest, especially contributions from the more experience and professional stalkers.
Cheers
 
I prefer a more layer system as then u have so much versitilty from mid summer throu to middle winter.

! thing i'd say not a fan of smocks as no full length front zip, even on a wet day ur not long warming up when walking sometime just having a jacket zip open makes all the differnce.
Most folk i know with smocks do moan about how warm they are. Personally i'd pay the extra to get the same type of jacket
Fine if ur on a quad all day or something thou
 
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