Along with all the rods, reels, lures, and line, there was plenty of fishing apparel. Some of it keeps you cool, some of it keeps you dry, and some of it just makes you look cool (or ridiculous, depending on your bent).
Columbia’s new Omni-Freeze Zero fabrics actually cool you off as you sweat. OTW’s Editor Kevin Blinkoff had a chance to try out these shirts on a trip to Key West and went into more detail about the Omni Freeze Zero in his report on that trip.
Simms G4 Pro Stockingfoot waders are touted as the toughest waders out there. The material (5-layer Gore-Tex from ankle to waist, and 3-layer Gore-Tex above that) is tough enough to resist abrasion and tears from rocks or barnacles, and the wader design helps keep friction off the seams to keep them from leaking as well. If you go home and check out your pair of waders, I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that the seam runs up the inside of your leg. Now think about the last time you had a pair of waders leak. Most times wader leaks happen at the seams, and those happen to be the toughest leaks to patch. A puncture-hole in a pair of waders is an easy fix, but seam failure generally means it’s time to buy a new pair. When you’re walking to your fishing spot, listening to the swish-swish of your waders, that’s those seams rubbing against each other and weakening. The G4 Pro Stockingfoots put the seams at the front, where they’ll experience far less friction from walking, and therefore have a longer life.
I first saw the StormR Jackets at the Atlantic City Boat Show last February, and have been fortunate enough to try out the StormR Typhoon Jacket through some nasty weather from March to June. These jackets are great – comfortable, warm, flexible, dry – everything you could ask for in a nasty weather jacket or surf top. Made fully from neoprene, StormR is produced by Henderson, which makes the best wetsuits in the business and is located right in Millville, New Jersey.
I wanted to stop by the StormR booth to tell the folks there how much I enjoyed the jacket, and at that, Nick Lassor showed me the even more fishing friendly Strikyr Jacket, which has two additional large pockets on the chest, rubber gaskets inside the sleeve to keep water out and the same warm and comfortable fit as the Typhoon. This jacket looks like it will be a real hit both as a surf top and as an outer shell on the boat.