caorach
Well-Known Member
As many will know I'm a bit fan of the army surplus DPM windproof smock as a jacket and on most days, for most people, it is sufficiently water repellent to keep you dry plus it is much, much warmer and more comfortable to wear that a fully waterproof jacket under most conditions. I wear the MTP version when stalking.
However, on very wet days you need a waterproof shell and I wear it under the smock as this is a really neat solution for me. Before the summer I was looking for a decent waterproof shell that was relatively robust, light enough to live in the rucksack, and as waterproof and breathable as possible. A trade member on this forum, gaza916 ( @gaza916 ), offered to supply a Sitka Kodiak jacket at a very reasonable price and he very efficiently provided me with the jacket. As I understand it these are "end of line" as American companies seem to change their line every year. The jacket was ideal for my use as it is long, but yet remains easy to walk in as I often walk very long distances in a day. In fact it nearly came down to my gaiters meaning I could sit, kneel, bend over etc. without the water pouring in.
I fish, and sometimes stalk, in the Outer Hebrides and I tend to spend September fishing. This year we had an extremely wet September with the rivers in spate from about 11th September until the season ended on 15th October. I was out pretty much every day. When a jacket does its job then there is pretty much nothing to say about it, and I have pretty much nothing to say about the jacket Gary supplied other than that it did the job well. It survived being stuffed into a rucksack with stoves and other junk, it didn't leak, the fit and length were great (what is it about the current trend for short jackets? Who thought it was a trendy idea to make you waterproof to your navel and then let the water pour in every time you bend, stretch, jump, climb a fence, stagger up or down a peat hag, sit, crawl...?), and it was relatively breathable within the normal limitations of such things.
This is a little 3 minute musical compilation of a normal season on Lewis and the Sitka jacket appears quite a few times in it, hanging down below the windproof smock of course
If you are looking for a jacket to actually work in the outdoors at reasonable money then it is worth contacting Gary, he's on the forum and is a trade member so not only are you supporting the forum but you are supporting someone who, in turn, supports stalking
However, on very wet days you need a waterproof shell and I wear it under the smock as this is a really neat solution for me. Before the summer I was looking for a decent waterproof shell that was relatively robust, light enough to live in the rucksack, and as waterproof and breathable as possible. A trade member on this forum, gaza916 ( @gaza916 ), offered to supply a Sitka Kodiak jacket at a very reasonable price and he very efficiently provided me with the jacket. As I understand it these are "end of line" as American companies seem to change their line every year. The jacket was ideal for my use as it is long, but yet remains easy to walk in as I often walk very long distances in a day. In fact it nearly came down to my gaiters meaning I could sit, kneel, bend over etc. without the water pouring in.
I fish, and sometimes stalk, in the Outer Hebrides and I tend to spend September fishing. This year we had an extremely wet September with the rivers in spate from about 11th September until the season ended on 15th October. I was out pretty much every day. When a jacket does its job then there is pretty much nothing to say about it, and I have pretty much nothing to say about the jacket Gary supplied other than that it did the job well. It survived being stuffed into a rucksack with stoves and other junk, it didn't leak, the fit and length were great (what is it about the current trend for short jackets? Who thought it was a trendy idea to make you waterproof to your navel and then let the water pour in every time you bend, stretch, jump, climb a fence, stagger up or down a peat hag, sit, crawl...?), and it was relatively breathable within the normal limitations of such things.
This is a little 3 minute musical compilation of a normal season on Lewis and the Sitka jacket appears quite a few times in it, hanging down below the windproof smock of course
If you are looking for a jacket to actually work in the outdoors at reasonable money then it is worth contacting Gary, he's on the forum and is a trade member so not only are you supporting the forum but you are supporting someone who, in turn, supports stalking
