Review: Slumberjack Windage Rainproof Jacket & Pants
Russ Chastain 02.07.18
Slumberjack’s ventures into hunting clothing continue, and they do not make shoddy stuff. Last month, I reviewed their Grit jacket, and it even made the trip to Vegas for the 2018 SHOT Show. This time, let’s take a look at their Windage rain/wind gear.
Windage pants and jacket are made of the same stuff; here are some common specs and features.
Windage Clothing Specs
- Insulation: None
- Zippers: 50″ Waterproof #7C Coil
- Primary Shell Fabric: 3-layer waterproof 2-way stretch breathable laminated polyester, taped seams & DWR
- Perception DST camouflage with “Disruptive Shadow Technology”
- * Quiet touch 75D brushed 2-way stretch polyester improves freedom of movement and reduces noise *
- Water resistant PU coated #7 coil zippers keep wind and rain out
- Relaxed athletic cut designed for layering
- Hook & Loop panels on shoulders for morale patches
- Hook & loop adjustable cuffs
- Lightweight, compact, waterproof
- Paracord zipper pulls on pockets allow for easy “gloves on” operation
* I added the asterisk because I feel the need to add that these clothes are far from quiet. They rustle and as you would expect from wind- and rain-proof fabric, they can be quite loud at close range in the still woods.
The Windage Jacket
- Weight: 22.8 oz / 648 grams
- Exterior Pockets: 6
- Interior Pockets: None
- Double layer reinforced articulated elbows
- Pit zips regulate temperature when your adrenalin is pumping
- Fitted adjustable hood with integrated visor
- Four large external pockets keep high touch items within reach
- Zippered hand warmer pockets keep your digits warm & ready for action
I like the Windage jacket, and it came in handy during some cold, windy, rainy days in the deer woods. It managed to keep me dry, and it’s hard to argue with that.
The armpit zippers are a nice touch; although we hunters don’t really want to advertise our BO to the deer we pursue, sometimes we need some ventilation–and rain jackets don’t breathe well. With this jacket, you can zip open your pits to help keep cool when you start dragging your deer or carrying your tree stand.
Windage Pants
- Double layer reinforced seat, knees, and hem
- Gusseted crotch, articulated knees, and stretch fabrics
- Knee high side zippers allow for “boots on” ease of use
- Belt loops, zippered fly, dual snaps & elasticized waist with grip strip
- Two low-profile zippered pockets on thighs for easy access when wearing a jacket
These pants served me well, and although I wore them in the sodden red clay of Georgia, they are not dyed orange at the cuffs. This may make them the only hunting britches to have ever escaped that fate; back at camp, a few minutes with a water hose blasted the clay off the pants as well as my boots.
Conclusion
I had some misgivings about the long-term waterproofness of the fabric, ONLY because it stretches… so I submitted it to something of a torture test. I ran some water onto the fabric, where it beaded up just as it should; then I stretched it repeatedly in all directions, and wasn’t gentle about it. I expected a bit of moisture to make it through to the inside, but it did not.
Aside from rain, these clothes also block wind quite well. At the 2018 SHOT Show range day I ran into Jonathan Owen of SHWAT, who took time to dig back through his phone pics to show me photos of him wearing these clothes while hunting some wide-open spaces–because they make good wind-breakers. He also loved the DST camouflage for his environment.
All in all, these are comfortable, quality hunting clothes–and the DST camo pattern also looks pretty good.
