Lets start with the toughest one.. I may still be searching for it but here is my “research” to date.
I want a coat for wildfowling….. not Mouflon hunting or lynx tracking. I want something for sitting in a muddy wet ditch in the dark and freezing cold British winter waiting for at least one duck or goose to play the game.
Army Goretex DPM Jacket – I still have this coat and still wear it so there’s a good sign already. It’s Dutch army and was bought for £35.00 from an army surplus store. 2 zipped pockets on the front, light weight with velcro tighteners on the cuffs, wire rimmed hood and one inside pocket. Quiet”ish” material with a thin lining, beware- velcro is bloomin’ noisey at 4.00am !
Now I’m a sweater, a proper sweater. I’m sweating just writing this so I am of the opinion that breathable fabric is a complete myth. (I’m hot or I’m not ) This is a lightweight coat that you need to layer underneath with thinner items, its XL and not big enough for me to get lots of thick layers under but don’t get me wrong…this is good for me. Mobility in the sleeves is not fantastic. (Army sizing is shocking, I would not advise buying online unless you can return it. I have tried identical sizes of the same garment and they have been totally different)
Sitting on the marsh in anything above 8 degrees and this jacket is fine, anything colder and you will need either more layers or a warmer outer. I have sat in 4 hours of steady rain and it has kept my dry except around the cuffs, pockets have also stayed dry on the inside. Rain does tend to bead and run off this material so you can fill your pockets with water quite easily if your hands are in them. The material is tough enough to cope with beating and a brush with the odd thorn bush but you would be reaching for the repair kit if you argued with barbed wire. Overall I would really reccommend looking at these jackets, if you are a little smaller than me and can layer up underneath this could be an all season coat, you may find the lack of pockets an issue and for shooting I end up using a cartridge belt. Real value for money here.Verdict – Keeper
Rivers West Eider Jacket XL – I have a love hate relationship with this jacket, not sure if I love to hate it or hate to love it but I have owned two of these. The material has a 10 year waterproof guarantee . It’s a soft silent material with two large magnetised (so much better than velcro) chest pockets, hand warmer pockets and two inside pockets. It has a large press stud attached hood and neoprene cuffs. This has lovers and haters all over the web, eBay and forums are awash with stories good and bad and there are plenty out there for sale new and second hand. I payed £169.99 for a new one and recently £63.20 for one off eBay. These are short wading style jackets and essentially made for the wildfowler, there is a longer “shirt tail” on the back for sitting on as well as pull cords around the bottom. The first jacket had some serious action…. a full winter season on the River Seven. It was warm and offered plenty of room underneath for layering up, its rated to -6 degrees and I can vouch for that. The pockets offer plenty of room for cartridges and other essentials, there is also a cartridge holder the forearm (a nice touch).The hood is vary spacious and offers good mobility. Washing and drying these jackets couldn’t be easier ( which is a good job as they take forever to dry out )
These coats have a waterproof zip, similar to a diving dry suit type of thing, I found this a pain in the butt when my hands were in gloves or cold. The zip is stiff and will catch the material if you are not careful – not ideal in the cold and dark. Although the zips on both of my jackets never broke, there are numerous complaints on the web. There is a specially designed high collar to keep out the wind and this works well, can be a pain sometimes as it is prone to cover your ears but this coat is definatly wind proof. I also noticed a couple of time a tendency to catch the gun butt in the chest pocket when mounting, not all the time but something to look at if you are trying this coat. It is also very warm, if you have to walk be prepared to sweat and I mean sweat. It doesn’t claim to be breathable and it isn’t. My two big problems with this coat are the cuffs and the waterproofness. The neoprene cuffs are tight, really tight. A pain when you are sitting still for hours, un-doing the noisy velcro and trying to see the time and I found them restricting when mounting the gun. I’m not sure on the longevity of these cuffs either, mine were starting to show signs of splitting after one season. Now for the big one…waterproofing. This is sold, advertised and claimed to be waterproof, both mine were not. They do a good job at it but they were not. Water would wick up the sleeve from the cuff and seep through. Everywhere else was dry except this area, I discussed this with Rivers West and was advised it was because the jacket was collecting water through lack of movement. I’m a wildfowler, I don’t move – this is a wild fowling jacket ? The other issue I had is the weight, when this coat gets wet it gets heavy, wet sleeves make it even worse. I sold this jacket and moved on. I then bought another one second hand to try again, I like the sizing and style for wild fowling so I was committed to see if improvements had been made. They hadn’t and i sold it on again (at a profit). These jackets have so much going for them in style and fit but I feel they are let down by the essentials. Verdict – SOLD (both of them)
Browning Dirty Bird 3XL – Now I am a marketeer’s dream customer and I fell for this one. I shoot a Browning (review later) and I quite like the range they offer. Often I have mulled through youtube and watched “the guys” in the duck blind nailing geese at 50 yards and generally being all round dudes. My local gun shop sells Browning clothing and the Dirty Bird Parka was on offer, £220 down to £160, bargain I thought so I read the usual guff on the tags and tried it on (there is a lot of coat in a 3XL). Half an hour later I’m stood in front of the mirror at home like the all American duck hunter !
As I say, there is a lot of coat here, words like hard core, extreme and and die hard duck hunters are all over the tags. I couldn’t go wrong ! Now this jacket is essentially two in one, a waterproof outer and a primaloft (fleece type) inner. Its warm, very warm and the inner cannot be removed. Its a parka style coat so a lot longer than the Rivers West, a quiet (not silent) material with only one pattern available. There are pockets everywhere, pockets in pockets and they are magnetic and zip seal. Neoprene cuffs that are not too tight, very adjustable and seem very tough. There are also some nice warm cuffs inside and there is tonnes of movement in the sleeves for extra layers and gun mount. A really big adjustable hood that is removable and well padded for warmth.
I have tested this jacket on the marsh, sat in the mud and the rain after a 1.5 mile walk from the car so I feel we know each other well. As I have said, it’s warm, its a real shame there is no double zip on this coat, you have to ventilate from the neck down. Not easy with guns and rucksacks in the dark, a real design fault I think. I guess there isn’t much walking in the US of A. ?
I had a successful morning flight in this coat, sat in a very muddy gully for 3 or so hours. It kept me warm and there was plenty of room for movement when mounting and swinging the gun, the hood is a bit of a pain as it’s huge. You find if it’s not tightned up your head spins inside it and you can’t see a thing, adjusting the hood solves this but it can be a pain in intermittent rain. Overall this jacket performed well, no leaks or wicking up of water, didn’t draw through water when I sat down in it (it has a strip between the outer and inner layers – this seems to work well) . It is also windproof, hand warmer pockets work well and all other pockets kept the contents dry. Nice drain holes in the bellow pockets if you are wading. My biggest issue with this coat is the pattern, one of the marshes I shoot on has reeds and I blend in fairly well. The other marshes are estuaries and I stand out like an American in Wales ! ( I am currently researching what birds see, is it the colouring or the break up pattern they see ?) but, as I said earlier, I had a great flight. Verdict – Keeper (for the cold / reedy ones)
Deerhunter Rusky 2XL 2.G
Now for the big guns…..This is a BIG coat. I purchased this when it was on offer at my local gun shop, £169.00 in the RealTree pattern. On paper (and the information tags that are stuck all over this coat ) it’s a winner. – to quote Deerhunter – “This range has been developed for extreme cold weather and has the static shooter, wildfowler or photographer in mind” and I have to say….so far its not letting the marketing people down. The first thing you notice about this coat is the sheer bulk, size and weight. The removable fleece is a decent winter garment on its own, reversible and very very thick and warm – I am yet to use it in the jacket (or as a fleece, it’s a bit of a fashion disaster according to my eight year old !) The outer coat has pockets and flaps galore, two hand warmer pockets , two chest pockets (one containing a lens wipe cloth). Bottom pockets that are warm and spacious as well as containing a shell holder in each, (very useful as I like keep my goose loads separate). Inside the jacket (underneath a good quality two way zip- Browning take note) there is a zipped inside pocket and a lower zip pocket that are both a good size. The normal radio pockets (small) and a nice couple of loops at the shoulder for lanyards or duck calls etc. Side vents / flaps with press stud make it a pretty comfortable jacket to sit down in. There is a pull cord around the waist and a detachable hood (attached by zip). The hood is spacious and has a velcro fastener at the front with pull cords to tighten around the face and one on the rear. No wire frame in the peak but a pretty good hood all in all, you can turn and also have pretty good hearing for those wing beats over head. Adjustable velcro cuffs and frost proof press studs along with a decent storm flap. I am a big fan of under arm ventilation and there are two good sized zips under each pit – walking plays a major part in UK shooting so it is important to be able to do so comfortably. The blurb advises that the coat is tested down to -32º and has an internal membrane that will offer full water and wind proof shooting. I can genuinely see me wearing this coat with just a T Shirt underneath in the coldest of weather – it is so warm. Warm is one thing but what about water ? Deer hunter actually mention Wildfowling in the marketing so it must be good ? Well I can confirm it’s waterproof, very waterproof, including the pockets. You can probably tell that I still have an issue here…the membrane is water proof making the inner dry and warm. What “gets my goat” is the outer layer of soft material, yes it’s soft and yes it’s silent but it soaks up water at the lowest points. After sitting in a gully or just walking round in constant rain the hem and the cuffs become sodden and heavy. This is a heavy coat already, add a couple of pints of rain water and you may as well leave the geese on the marsh due to the excess weight. A lot of my friends advise that the biggest issue with Deerhunter is the weight of the garment when wet. This puts “pressure” on the waterproof membrane and makes it leak ? I do wonder if testing in these companies involves a quick spray with the hose or are people / testers actually out there all day with the dog climbing over fences, crashing through though woods in a good solid 8 hours of rain like most beaters and country folk. I also bet they don’t try and put these soaking wet heavy coats back on after a lunch break and go back out ?? Don’t get me wrong, this is a good coat, a very good coat but it is still not quite there. Maybe I am looking for the Holy Grail and asking for too much but surely a company can come up with the missing pieces ? The sizing is good and the sleeves are a decent enough length so you don’t get soaked when lifting the gun. The pattern is Realtree and I can’t tell you anything about that that you do not already know. Verdict – Keeper but I’m going to keep looking ( I’d love a combination of this and the Browning Dirty Bird)
huntandfishreview 