Are you worried about the rain? The saga of the perfect waterproof fishing suit

 Are you worried about the rain? The saga of the perfect waterproof fishing suit

The waterproof fishing suit is a topic that opens up every year when autumn starts to come into its own with its cold, long and heavy rains, the key to great success if you are dry. I for one hate the rain and being wet. Especially when fishing. And I'm cold on top of that. At the first drop of rain and temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius, I change myself and run away from the rain like hell. But I run in vain, how good said Malin, I have my own sociopathic black cloud that follows me wherever I go fishing. It doesn't matter if the weather forecast shows sunshine and fair weather, wherever I go fishing, my sociopathic cloud comes with me. Of course it's raining. River. Always. When I used to go to fishing competitions from the boat, before the competitions, fellow competitors would call to ask me if I was coming, to know if they were getting their "rain". So take my word for it, I know about the rain.

All the same, waterproof fishing suits

When it comes to a 100% waterproof fishing suit, purists will swear by materials like Gore-Tex, eVent, FutureLight, Polartec NeoShell, SympaTex, Dry.Q Elite, Dermizax, Pertex Shield, H2No, Helly Tech, Marmot MemBrain, HyVent , Omni-Tech, ClimaPro, OutDry, Entrant, AquaDry, Rainshell and many, many more. In principle, all these waterproof and breathable materials use a technologically advanced membrane with micropores. These micropores are small enough to block the entry of water droplets from the outside, but large enough to allow water vapor molecules to escape from the inside. Thus, the body remains dry by preventing external moisture, while the sweat and water vapor generated by the body are expelled. That's how such materials should work optimally, but have you heard of passing rain?

Can any waterproof fishing suit withstand a passing rain? Not.

Emil Grecu told me about this incident with the passing rain, when he was fishing, on a gill in the Delta together with a Lipovian as a guide. At one point, a RoAlert-worthy storm begins to approach them, with thunder and lightning, clouds and torrential rain, the full kit. The man from Lipov, calmly, seeing Emil frantically looking for his waterproof fishing suit in a bag, tells him: "Mr. Emil, don't worry, this is a passing rain...". "What do you mean transient, don't you see what's coming?" replied Emil. "It passes, Mr. Emil, that is, it passes through anything," replied the man from Lipov. Old-school fishing guide, the Lipovian had seen enough torrential rain in his life and enough 100% waterproof fishing suits worn with pride by private or professional anglers.

 

And yet how waterproof is a 100% waterproof fishing suit?

In my experience, and I told you I know about the rains, a breathable waterproof fishing wetsuit does not last more than 2-3 hours in torrential rain. With one, two or three layers of Gore-Tex or Gore-Tex type materials mentioned above, from established companies, NorthFace, Mammut, Simms, Grundens, Daiwa Tournament Competition Japan, editions pro, summit or end, in short, expensive and good, they kept me dry for about that long. And this lasted for about 2-3 years, over time all the materials lost their water-repellent qualities, from wear (widening of the micropores) and the loss over time of the protective layer (coating) (wax, Teflon, etc.) with which waterproof fishing suits are "embalmed" at the factory, such as DWR (durable water repellent impregnation). The suit warns you that it is no longer working in optimal parameters when you start to feel how the water takes you on your knees, bottom, shoulders and elbows, exactly where the suit material is most stressed when moving.

Dos and don'ts of a waterproof fishing suit

However, there are solutions, to return them to their former form with special detergents that shrink the micropores or sprays for additional coating. You can find them online or in specialty stores with mountain specifics. I honestly didn't try them, I preferred to change the fishing suit every time it started taking on water. What you can do to extend their life is not to wash them at home with detergents in the washing machine, especially at high temperatures, just rinse them with cold water when they get dirty. Of course, it also depends on how much you used them, from personal experiences I'm talking about a use of 40-50 fishing days per year. I tested them myself, because well, I have my sociopathic cloud and in the past I used to go fishing very often. And it rained just as often. I'm not disputing that there are waterproof, breathable suits that last longer in the rain or longer in time, I'm just saying that I for one haven't come across them. As a small parenthesis, one of the jackets in the past that successfully overcame the barrier of two hours of torrential rain was from a yachting company. These guys also know how to deal with water and rain and the nice feeling of being dry.

Life in plastic is fantastic, waterproof rubber fishing suit 110%

When I realized how waterproof fishing suits are and that Gore-Tex or its cousins won't keep me dry forever and ever I started looking for alternative solutions. Rubber. Or rubbery. All said and done, shopping at Arrow International, I found a rubber suit from the company Baleno with overalls and a jacket. The khaki color didn't really excite me, but it served me well as a back-up solution (by the way, they are no longer available, it was many years ago) and I stayed with it for hours in the rain. It doesn't breathe, I sweat, but for those passing rains it was definitely the best option. Years have passed, even rubber is not invincible, over time it begins to age and crack. Default to take water. But it is a cheap, good and handy solution for a waterproof 110% fishing suit.

Imax ProTech to the max, another waterproof fishing suit

The idea for this article actually started from a facebook post in a fishing group, where one of the members asked what waterproof fishing suit to buy if he didn't want to invest too much money. It "rained" with comments and recommendations from the famous plastic poncho to established companies with established waterproof materials. Browsing through the comments I had one flash back with all the fishing trips I've had in the rain and all the wetsuits I've worn over the last 20 years. I recommended them on a budget, the last rubber suit I used dry and happy, Max ProTech (overall and jacket), which now costs a total of 280.57 lei fixed. Still in stock at arw.ro and partner stores. The old me kept this suit for about 4 years, until a passing rain and venerable age got in the way. I don't have it anymore, nor have I bought another one, because...

Is there life after rubber?

Not. There comes a time when hours of fishing in the pouring rain no longer rhymes with what you want in life. Not for all the fish in the world either. Well, old age, heavy and wet clothes, in our case. I was with Bogdan Doncea aka Cox in the Danube Delta, in late autumn, and what to see, surprise, rain. Torrential. Somehow close to the limit of the two hours of comfort that the waterproof fishing suits give you, Cox says to me: "Bah, we're making fun of our bodies, come to the shore, give them pike shit!". I admit that I didn't even catch who knows what that day, small but rare, and I was still hoping for a pike a little more dressed. Analyzing the situation and the proposal as calmly as possible, I realized that he was right, but I could not give in so quickly. I had waterproof clothes...ha, ha, ha. I told him: "When I feel the first drop of water trickling down between my spine and my stomach, we're leaving!". I didn't last 10 minutes, felt it, started the engine, slid, left. The two hours had passed. It doesn't even matter what costumes we were wearing. They weren't made of rubber.

I'm a Savage, yeah

From then until today, for me for one, the rules of waterproof fishing suits have remained pretty clear. I don't stay in the pouring rain for more than two hours no matter what I'm wearing, even if the fish jump in the boat, regardless of the suit. Every two or three years I buy a new waterproof breathable rain suit at a decent price. Speaking of decent prices, recent purchases were from Savage Gear, because I have been collaborating with Arrow International for over 20 years, implicitly also with Savage Gear, and I benefit from special prices on any purchase. I don't have to convince anyone about the quality-price ratio of any Savage Gear product, everyone knows, whether it's clothes, lures, rods, luggage, all these products always offer a little more than the price paid. The last two wetsuits I still have and recommend are: WP Performance pants addition WP Performance jacket and because two years have passed I took this one too, Bib&Brace jumpsuit addition Wading Olive jacket. In the limit of two hours, two years, two suits, I am satisfied with both, the first one is starting to go out easily, easily from the team, and the second one ticked gave marked safe after the first rains. Otherwise, I miss the rubber, but I honestly didn't need it anymore. Should I get another Imax ProTech, so be it? what do you say

And it's raining outside, it's raining and it's past nine o'clock, but still, what's the deal with waterproofing?

Instead of the end and other recommendations that you will receive a click away when you search for waterproof fishing suits on the Internet, I for one advise you to have a tire on hand if you want or can stay fishing for a whole day in rain. About materials and how to choose them I leave you a short guide below, for the purchase of decent waterproof suits and everything else you need for fishing there is arw.ro. Shall I tell you about waterproof shoes? I have some solutions here as well, but I'll save them for a future article on AndyArif.ro, maybe enter, maybe don't.

Quick guide to waterproofing and breathability for waterproof fishing suits

Manufacturers use two indices to describe the waterproofness and breathability of materials. The first index, measured in millimeters (mm), that interests us, indicates how much water pressure a material can withstand before allowing water to seep through. For example, a material with impermeability of 10,000 mm resists a water column of 10 meters.

Waterproof index (mm):

0-5,000mm: Low resistance – protects against light rain

6,000-10,000mm: Minimum resistance – suitable for moderate rainfall

11,000-15,000mm: Good resistance – for medium rain

16,000-20,000mm: High resistance – heavy rain

20,000mm+: Maximum strength – extreme conditions.

The second index measures breathability and indicates the amount of water vapor (in grams) that can pass through one square meter of material in 24 hours. This indicates how well the jacket allows the passage of water vapor, expressed in grams per square meter in 24 hours (eg: 10,000 g/m²). A minimum breathability of 5,000 g/m² is sufficient for more relaxed activities. Breathability can also be measured by the RET coefficient, which shows the material's resistance to water vapor. A lower RET means more comfort: for intense activities a RET between 0 and 6 is ideal, and for moderate activities up to 13. A RET above 20 indicates that the equipment is not suitable for the effort.

 

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Andy Arif

https://andyarif.ro

Fishing is a beautiful game, especially when you take it seriously. Fisherman's child, fisherman's father, fisherman's friend, storyteller, traveler, nature lover, dreamer in this wonderful world of fishing. Be it spoken, written, photo, video or online.

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