Coming Soon...

Pheasant hunting in South Dakota!!  Pheasant hunting is my absolute favorite kind of hunting to do.  The biggest reason is because I get to do it with my awesome Weimaraner named Milo.  He's the goofy grey guy you see sitting with a grouse over there on the right side of this paragraph.  If you've never had the experience of hunting behind your very own bird dog, you're missing out.

Even if you don't have your own dog, I still recommend you go upland bird hunting.  Walking through the fields, hearing the cackle followed by the raucous flush of the birds, the excitement of trying to get your gun up in time after your heart has just jumped out of your chest, it all adds up to the most fun you'll have with a gun in your life.  And of course if you have a dog to point those birds and then retrieve them for you it makes it all the more fun.

I'll be wearing a new, lighter base layer that I bought for this trip.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful with highs in the 40's.  And with all the walking that comes with upland bird hunting, I'm sure I'll be toasty warm.  It might be too warm to wear my Filson jacket though.  Which is disappointing because I was looking forward to seeing how it performed in the bird field.  I'm curious to see if the bulky pockets in front inhibit getting my gun up at all.  Either way, whether I wear the jacket or not, I'll be reviewing all the gear I wear over the weekend.  So look for a new post on Monday where I'll dish all the details on all the gear!

Filson Women's Upland Jacket and Cabela’s Women’s Polartec®

What a great opening weekend for rifle deer season in Nebraska!  My weekend started out with a bang when I got my first buck ever!  My heart was pounding so hard with excitement that I could barely make the shot.  But somehow I pulled myself together and made the 230 yard shot right through the heart.  But that was all after lunch and to properly review the gear I was wearing I need to start at 5:20 in the morning.

I woke up to a 22 degree Nebraska morning.  At that point I was so grateful for my new base layers!  Unsure of how many layers I would need, I opted for the Cabela’s Women’s Polartec® Power Dry Polar Weight Zip Mock T-Neck and Pants , followed by a long sleeved shirt and jeans, thick hiking socks, my Filson Women’s Upland  Jacket on top, and my Cabela’s hunting boots.

My husband and I were hunting together the first morning.  We made the quick 15 minute hike to our pre-scouted spot and the Polartec® base layers kept me warm the whole way. 

We sat in this spot for about 2 hours that morning.  I was reasonably warm for the first hour.  I wouldn’t say I was toasty warm but I wasn’t shivering.  After an hour though, while my core stayed warm, my legs and arms started getting cold.  By the time we left that spot, it was 9 a.m., 34 degrees, my feet were so cold I couldn’t feel my toes, and I was shivering. 

My overall impression of the Polartec® base layers is that they are worth having because I was the warmest I’ve ever been in a situation where I’m just sitting out in the cold waiting for a deer to happen along. I know now that I should’ve worn more layers on top of them.  Windproof pants would go a long way towards keeping my legs warm.  An extra layer on top and better socks would’ve helped too.

 The fit was ok but far from ideal.  The top was very short falling just at my natural waist.  I prefer a longer top so that when I bend over to gut my deer, or to pick up that dropped shell, I don’t get a cold wind up my back.  In contrast, the bottoms were way too long.  The waistband came way up over my belly button! So if you’re into the grandma fit, these bottoms are for you!  All in all, the base layers aren’t about fashion, they are about keeping me warm.  Let’s face it, I’m not going to go gallivanting around in nothing but my base layers.  But it would be nice if the top were a little longer and the bottoms a little shorter.  For the record, I tried on a larger size top to see if it was any longer but it wasn’t.

Now, about the Filson Women’s Upland Jacket.  In my opinion, it’s a big disappointment.  Does it block the wind?  Yes.  Does it serve it’s purpose of being a jacket I can wear exclusively in the field knowing it will stand up to the rigors of the field?  Yes.  But the fit is less than impressive.  This coat is advertised specifically as cut for a woman.  And at $265, I expected to be thrilled with it.  But that’s not the case.  From the back, it looks nice, has shape, and is cut for a woman.  But from the front, it’s just another bulky, ill fitting, hunting coat.  Here’s where FIlson went wrong.  They advertise that the coat has front loading game bags.  What it really has are game bags on the front.  Right over the boobs and belly, causing all kinds of extra bulk right where I don’t want it.  These game bags are in addition to two large snapping pockets on the front, and two poorly placed hand warming pockets.  If you want to warm your hands , the pockets are right below the breast area instead of down around your stomach where you’d expect them.  I don’t know about you but I don’t usually walk around with my hands right below my breasts.  In addition to all of these flaws, there’s one more.  This jacket is cut short as well.  It fell right at  my natural waist.  Maybe it’s just me, but I would’ve liked it to be a few inches longer so it easily sat below the waistline of my pants.  I wondered after I purchased it why I hadn’t notice this on the picture of the model wearing it on the FIlson web site.  Then I realized it’s because there IS NO picture of a model wearing it on their web site!  How in the world are women supposed to get a good idea of how something fits if they can’t even see a picture of another woman wearing it?  I’m so disappointed in this jacket because I had my eye on it for 2 years.  When my husband ordered it for me this year, I waited with baited breath for the UPS man to deliver it.  I had such high expectations for a jacket made specifically for upland hunting and specifically for women.  In the end, I probably could’ve found a man’s jacket for half the price that fit just as poorly.  I would return it except that it’s better than wearing my blue ski jacket in the field like I used to.

What I learned this weekend is that I like the Cabela’s Women’s Polartec® Power Dry Polar Weight Zip Mock T-Neck and Pants.  I would definitely recommend buying them if you’re going to be doing any cold weather hunting.  Just remember to add a few more layers on top of them if you’re going to be sitting still.  However, I would not recommend the Filson Women’s Upland Jacket.  For the price, they need to do better.

Welcome to Women Afield!

I'm sure I'm not the only woman out there who enjoys hunting but gets more than a little bit frustrated at the lack of women's hunting clothing out there.  I was at Cabela's tonight with my husband and kids trying to pick up a few last minute items before the start of the rifle deer season this weekend.  Amidst a sea of every kind of men's hunting clothing you could possibly think of, there was a large sign, proudly displaying in purple letter's "WOMEN'S."  I eagerly rushed over only to be disappointed by a mere 2 small racks of items for women.  Really, just 2 racks?  And then a few racks of kids clothing tossed in there because retailers have this crazy idea that women's sizes and kid's sizes are interchangeable.  They think the same thing when it comes to guns, too, by the way.  I don't know how many times a salesperson has suggested that I purchase a youth rifle or shotgun.  There's no way a youth gun would fit my arm length.  But I digress.  

In my opinion, hunting retailers are missing the boat when it comes to women afield.  While the number of men and youth purchasing hunting licenses has declined in recent years, the number of women has increased.  And yet the retailers still haven't figured out how to cater to them yet.  The small number of items actually made for women, rarely fit well and rarely actually meet the needs of the woman in the field.  Don't women always like to look nice no matter what they're doing?  I'm not saying I want to dress up and wear my nicest clothes out in the field.  But I do want appropriate field attire that leaves me recognizable as a woman.  I don't want to look like a man while I'm out hunting.  I want boots that fit and are extremely functional, I want pants and chaps cut for a woman, I want a coat and a vest made for the field that can stand up to the thickest cover and yet fits my body like it's supposed to.  Buying a men's small just doesn't cut it.

The goal of this blog is to offer meaningful reviews of the limited clothing that's out there for the huntress.  Ultimately I'd love to start a company that really understands the female hunter and offers products tailored just for them.  But until that day, my goal is to help women find the best gear possible by offering reviews of clothing and gear that I've personally tested in the field for function, fit and form.  The first two items I'll be reviewing for you are the Women's Upland Jacket from Filson:

 and the Cabela's Women's Polartec: for women:

I'll be testing them for the first time this weekend during rifle deer season.  I can't wait to give you the report on Monday about how they held up to a real life hunting situation and equally as important, how they fit.