Hunting Jacket

My old gore-tex jacket has deteriorated to the point it lets in rain and traps in sweat, looking at a replacement, Swazi Torrent, Huntech Tussock or Ridgeline Moonsoon. Not sure if any or all are gore-tex but need a waterproof breathable jacket for normal hunting, (not Tahr in middle winter). Any other options? Thanks

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Originally Posted by Mohawk .308

If you want a cheaper option, these are very good quality, roll up small and very waterproof

https://www.armyandoutdoors.co.nz/co...pm-jacket-used

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Nor-west, i have one of these in the desert colour that i have never worn as it is too big for me, it is as new condition as far as i can see. If you pm me your size and if it will fit you you can have it.

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Originally Posted by H.M

Nor-west, i have one of these in the desert colour that i have never worn as it is too big for me, it is as new condition as far as i can see. If you pm me your size and if it will fit you you can have it.

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They are really good - I have the pants, $59 brand new - can’t go wrong. Sizing tend to run large - sized to fit over gear.

If commercial, kuiu are great, fabrics a step up from goretex, but best to wait for a sale and they seem to have supply issues at present.

My swazi wapati coat carked it after 15 years or so it was the now superceeded gortex model - seam seals came off unfixable apparently- good coat when it got really wet it held alot of water became heavy

So off to hunting and fushing with stoney crk glasnock in mind - spotted their Suppressor jacket damn near identical to the wapiti coat and to warm the cockles of a scotsmans heart 1/2 the price at $350. So far very pleased after a tryout 4 days Lewis pass- nice tuatara pattern huge front pockets that keep my ultra lite downjacket in one other useful stuff in tother. Kept me warm n dry it rained but did not piss down tough.

I've had quite a few of those sort of jackets and have now just settled on my Earth Sea Sky Hydrophobia. Brilliant jackets that pack down small and keep the rain out 100% and still breathe very well

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Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

I've had quite a few of those sort of jackets and have now just settled on my Earth Sea Sky Hydrophobia. Brilliant jackets that pack down small and keep the rain out 100% and still breathe very well

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How’s the seam sealing?


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All good no problems. Have two of them including one I wear on the farm quite a bit and it gets a thrashing and put through the wash heaps and seams still holding up well

Good, I’ve been pretty disappointed with some of the ‘premium’ branded stuff, seam sealing coming away inside 12 months of occasional use. Have some earth sea sky thermals, and they’re great. As you well know, the hunting branded stuff generally doesn’t compare.


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I have been comparing jackets when feeding out etc in the rain and I have found that I am only completely dry if I wear two jackets - a gortex one with a Line 7 on top. the gortex one is a swazi Tahr which is heavy and gets heavier when wet - the bit hanging out at the arse end and is difficult to dry.
What is the best value lightweight gortex jacket to use as an under layer ?

Anyone tried the cactus rain jackets?

Another option is just getting wet and learning to deal with the cold. Then chuck on some warm/dry clothing at night. I imagine people have done that for thousands of years.

Take cold showers every morning. Don't wear socks or gloves. Wear as little clothing as possible when going out to town on a cold/wet day. Swim in cold water. Go barefoot running on frost covered grass. Don't put the heater on in the bedroom at night. Eventually you'll build up a healthy resistance to being cold.


As for goretex and similar lightweight fabrics - I don't like them, but they've got their place. It matters little whether you pay $300 or $1300. None of them are built to last, but they're typically very comfortable to wear while they're still intact. So just pick one that suits your budget and roll with it.

If you can handle a bit of weight and you want something that will handle heavy use, look into felted wool, Ventile (cotton), or waxed canvas and/or leather. Usually pretty expensive, but hard-wearing and easy to maintain.

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Originally Posted by H.M

Anyone tried the cactus rain jackets?

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Brilliant! Heavy but super durable, if I'm expecting an extended period of shite weather on a trip it what goes in the pack.
Design is really good with all the stuff you want but none of the stuff you don't.

I have the new model Huntech Tussock jacket. Been using it for a year now and it does everything it says it will. Very water proof and breathable. Not quiet in the bush though if that's a consideration. Still have my Swazi Wapiti which leaks after 18 years. Only thing probably not as good as the Swazi would be the hood set up in my view.

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Originally Posted by Frodo

Another option is just getting wet and learning to deal with the cold. Then chuck on some warm/dry clothing at night. I imagine people have done that for thousands of years.

Take cold showers every morning. Don't wear socks or gloves. Wear as little clothing as possible when going out to town on a cold/wet day. Swim in cold water. Go barefoot running on frost covered grass. Don't put the heater on in the bedroom at night. Eventually you'll build up a healthy resistance to being cold.


As for goretex and similar lightweight fabrics - I don't like them, but they've got their place. It matters little whether you pay $300 or $1300. None of them are built to last, but they're typically very comfortable to wear while they're still intact. So just pick one that suits your budget and roll with it.

If you can handle a bit of weight and you want something that will handle heavy use, look into felted wool, Ventile (cotton), or waxed canvas and/or leather. Usually pretty expensive, but hard-wearing and easy to maintain.

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Also, you should slowly build up towards just eating whole deer raw and clubbing women on the head and dragging them back to your cave.
I recommend starting out with shashimi and giving the Mrs a light tap on the noggin with a wooden spoon and work your way up from there

make sure to drag from hair...if you drag by ankles,the girly bits will fill with gravel.....

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Originally Posted by Frodo

Another option is just getting wet and learning to deal with the cold. Then chuck on some warm/dry clothing at night. I imagine people have done that for thousands of years.

Take cold showers every morning. Don't wear socks or gloves. Wear as little clothing as possible when going out to town on a cold/wet day. Swim in cold water. Go barefoot running on frost covered grass. Don't put the heater on in the bedroom at night. Eventually you'll build up a healthy resistance to being cold.


As for goretex and similar lightweight fabrics - I don't like them, but they've got their place. It matters little whether you pay $300 or $1300. None of them are built to last, but they're typically very comfortable to wear while they're still intact. So just pick one that suits your budget and roll with it.

If you can handle a bit of weight and you want something that will handle heavy use, look into felted wool, Ventile (cotton), or waxed canvas and/or leather. Usually pretty expensive, but hard-wearing and easy to maintain.

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I surely hope you carry a plb/epirb with you...will make it much easier for LANDSAR to find you when you eventually succumb to hypothermia

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Originally Posted by H.M

Anyone tried the cactus rain jackets?

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Yes I have
Have used the cactus rain jacket for 2 years now on the farm so reasonably heavy use and its buy far the best rain jacket I've had.
The $ sit in the same league as the better Swazi jackets etc but it far out performs any of them I've used.
As a hunting coat it doesn't pack down small compared to other coats. But I'd have no trouble highly recommending them.

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Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Also, you should slowly build up towards just eating whole deer raw and clubbing women on the head and dragging them back to your cave.
I recommend starting out with shashimi and giving the Mrs a light tap on the noggin with a wooden spoon and work your way up from there

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:D

Thanks for feedback @BRADS. I am looking at a Cactus myself, have the jackets etc and wear them each day, hearty, and built to last a long time.
WOE doesn’t do water proof jackets? He’s done a jacket for me that is extremely warm and hearty but I didn’t ask re water proof.

I’ll put in an order to cactus this week.


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Originally Posted by Huntfisheat

I've got 2 main jackets.
One is a Swazi Tahr Anorak that I bought shortly after they came out in the new Aegis fabric. Good jacket, however it was $720 brand new to me and then, a month after my purchase, they dropped the price to $650 or so. Swazi didn't even reply to my request for a store credit for the difference.
The other is a Huntech Tussock jacket. This was supplied to me by Huntech after an older model of theirs crapped out very prematurely after only 8 or so uses and started leaking badly around the shoulders and waist. I sent it back to them after a phone call and 5 days later I got the new model delivered to my door with an apology for my bad experience, so the new jacket cost me what I paid for the run out price on the old model, $149. Happy boy. Now they have their 20% sale on, it's majestic value, I believe, but I would be happy to pay the full price as I believe it's worth the coin..
The Tussock jacket is the best I have owned. I've been using it full time in pest control for the best part of a year and it's been brilliant, though some won't like the weight at around a kg. For me, with the weight comes some advantages such as durability, which it has proven to have, as I work constantly amongst all sorts of nasty Central Otago spiky shit.
What I really like are the two way zip, as I do a lot of climbing and descending, and the pit zips, which, for a prolific sweater, are now what I consider a necessity.
The hood is a great design and easy to re align on the fly thanks to the way the cord retainers work. The cuffs are simple and effective too.
It has a long enough tail for me to sit on if I choose.
The two way zip is great in the kayak as I can roll the bottom up under the waist draw cord with ease and that helps big time with paddling long distances in the wet, although, of course, you can't paddle a yak in the dry.
Above all, and over all the years I have been dealing with Huntech, their customer service has been utterly exceptional, so massive kudos to them for that.
For me when I'm looking at replacing gear, the first question I ask is: "when this jacket has done it's time, would I replace it with the same item?"
At this stage, the answer is I would with the Huntech.
The Swazi is on Trade Me.

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Have to agree with the huntech costumer service, i went to sell my older soft shell jacket the other day, it just sits on the hook hardly used, would have been used 2-3 times a year in last 3-4 years, i noticed one of the seams had come away on the inside so i turned it inside out and bugger me every sealed seem had come off! Very bad for the little use it has had, anyway contacted them and after a couple emails they are happy to replace it with a New Mckenzie Anorak. Even tho its a worry the jacket did this in the first place it is excellent service so will keep shopping there.