The First Lite Typha waterfowl line is full of premium options for chicken hunters, together with a brand new camo sample.
The media blitz main as much as the Typha system launch had many waterfowlers excited for the upcoming season. First Lite gave us an opportunity to check the early season LZ Jacket and Omen Stormshelter Pant, and late season Refuge Parka and Refuge Bib featured in lots of the clips. With each bit made to work inside the Typha system, the layering and waterproof capabilities, together with the intuitive camo print, ought to improve your searching expertise.
To be able to get this gear examined, I tortured myself on this heatwave placing the system via the paces. The expertise was useful in gauging the match, sturdiness, and efficiency of the gear.
The Typha system is designed with a hunter’s wants in thoughts. Assume wetland marshes, ag subject setups, and enduring the frozen months of the late season. The brand new system may additionally persuade waterfowlers to try including the First Lite merino base layers to their setup.
In brief: The Typha system ought to stay as much as its promise to maintain most hunters dry, heat, and hid. Although, I believe it could take a while to persuade some of us to undertake a system that doesn’t embody darker patterns or waders. The true query is whether or not or not the system is well worth the high-dollar price ticket.
First Lite Typha Waterfowl System Assessment
Refuge Parka and Bib — A Strong Late-Season Combo
The massive-ticket gadgets within the line are the Refuge Parka and Refuge Bib. These two complementary late-season items have been designed to maintain you heat, and I imagine they’ll. Though there’s a noticeable quantity of bulk with every merchandise, the burly points ought to assist preserve you heat through the late season.
The majority doesn’t appear to restrict motion both. As proclaimed, the Parka and Bib have loads of room within the magnetic pockets to your shells and area to layer beneath as you put together for these subzero days chasing late-season birds.
The Refuge Parka
Constructed of waterproof polyester with 300 g of artificial insulation within the core part, the Refuge Parka is constructed to maintain you heat and dry. It has a snap-off hood with three-point adjustment straps, permitting you to customise how/in case you put on it.
It’s loaded with pockets and attachment factors and fairly truthfully, has extra options than is actually essential. The deep shell pockets imply you possibly can reload with ease. The twin kill change d-rings present an consideration to element relating to waterfowl searching from a ship.
General, I used to be impressed with the Refuge Parka design. Nevertheless, there are a number of small gadgets value mentioning: The principle zipper protecting flap tends to get overlapped with the decision concealment chest pocket resulting in slight moments of frustration making an attempt to type via magnetic flaps.
Whereas the choice to shut the chest pockets with a zipper is a pleasant contact, I nonetheless haven’t found out why the pockets have an inner zipper. Why give trapped warmth the chance to flee? For the reason that Parka is an extended jacket, the two-zipper is a pleasant characteristic to scale back restrictions when sitting. I would favor the choice to take away the wading belt altogether.
I do want there was fleece or comparable delicate material on the within of the neck collar slightly than the bombshell materials. Although, a neck gaiter can simply resolve that difficulty.
The Refuge Bib
The waterproof Refuge Bibs come outfitted with each knee and rear pads that appear to remain in place when shifting round, a particular plus. Refined options just like the waterproof chest pocket to your telephone or keys and the fur-lined chest pockets for heat are effectively designed. The body-mapped insulation is effectively thought out, with 300 g within the seat, 200 g within the legs, 160 g within the again and physique, and 60 g within the hand muff. This provides you bulk the place you want it most.
The muff is lined with a hi-loft merino mix sherpa fleece, supplying you with each heat and luxury.
The bibs have an built-in belt system that secures on the waist even when the shoulder straps are unhooked. Whereas it’s a good characteristic, the dangling straps is usually a little bit of a nuisance, so I don’t see it being extremely sensible. Nevertheless, I actually favored that the shoulder strap clips are straightforward to detach.
The one actual draw back to the Refuge Bib is the full-length zipper perform. To entry the waist zipper, you have to undergo the steps of detaching a Velcro patch and unbuttoning a snap. Like most bibs, because the waist zipper is for venting functions, you possibly can’t utterly detach the pants utilizing this zipper, neither is there sufficient area to slip your boots via the underside.
As an alternative, to detach the Bibs you have to use the underside zipper, which is blocked by one other button. Whereas I’m certain every of those small attachment factors was designed to maintain the integrity of the Bibs when shifting, if it’s freezing chilly and I’ve cumbersome late-season gloves on, these further steps may very well be burdensome.
Light-weight and Waterproof — LZ Jacket and Omen Stormshelter Pant
My favourite pairing of the First Lite Typha system is the LZ Jacket and Omen Stormshelter Pant. Each items are light-weight, waterproof, and windproof. As well as, including the merino layers beneath lets you use this combo all through a lot of the season.
The LZ Jacket
The uninsulated, 4.5-layer, waterproof LZ jacket is a strong outer layer designed to maintain you dry. It’s light-weight and roomy sufficient to offer room for layering, that means it may be a signature piece all through the season. It options underarm casting strips for extra simply giving your retriever instructions, although I actually assume the darkish patches add a pleasant shadowing impact when sitting in marshland habitats.
The light-weight nature of this jacket is nice and the pit zips assist launch built-up warmth. Whereas I believe the LZ jacket is a wonderful waterproof shell with many options designed for a waterfowler, the three units of chest pockets are a bit a lot.
The design of the collar and stowaway hood was lower than spectacular. Should you tuck the hood within the collar, it creates a really tall heap when totally zipped and makes for awkwardly tall flaps on all sides of your head when unzipped. I might recommend that the majority of us simply go away the hood outdoors the collar.
Just like the Refuge Parka, the LZ Jacket additionally has the wading belt buckle that creates an additional merchandise to beat. I believe that if I have been to put on this jacket beneath waders, the belt itself would suffice.
The Stormshelter Pant
Constructed of the identical waterproof layers because the LZ Jacket, the Stormshelter Pant matches simply over waders for wetland setups however can be versatile sufficient to maneuver with you thru dry subject spreads. They’ve a pleasant set of kneepads that turn out to be useful once you contort your self all through a hunt.
The built-in splash guards across the boot opening are a pleasant contact to maintain water out. They’re roomy, waterproof, and light-weight.
The suspender system is straightforward to make use of, and in case you aren’t a suspender individual there are belt loops. Sadly, these pants have the same difficulty to the Refuge Bib. The irritating zipper system requires a number of steps to entry the zippers. You may solely use the underside zipper to detach the edges, and the splash guard gaiter requires one more button.
Nevertheless, the buttons can even function a failsafe. Should you don’t line up the underside buttons earlier than zipping the pants you possibly can mismatch the zippers and connect the unsuitable pant legs collectively.
The Typha Origin and Kiln Hoodies
The merino wool layers are a wonderful addition to this method, permitting you to layer up or down to suit the atmosphere. Many large recreation hunters are accustomed to the advantages of merino wool. Now with the Typha sample, you may even see extra waterfowl hunters including merino wool base layers to their system.
The Origin Hoody and Kiln Hoody each carried out as anticipated by shifting moisture away from my physique and limiting odor. The present warmth wave offered loads of alternatives to sweat via these tops. After dangle drying them in a single day, the restricted lack of odor was stellar.
Principal Drawbacks: Value, Bulk, Zippers, and No Waders
The preliminary disadvantage to the First Lite Typha system is its worth. The Refuge Parka and Refuge Bib alone are available in at $1,000. Nevertheless, it’s robust to place a worth on heat when you’ve got the chance to lure big Canadas close to the final bits of open water or accessible feeds within the late season. Should you’re critical about chasing birds, it could simply be value it.
There’s additionally the problem of heft. Layering up beneath the late season loadout can result in some critical bulk.
Whereas the analysis behind intuitive camo design is fascinating, there’ll all the time be a requirement for solids, which I assume First Lite might ultimately develop into.
Lastly, and most evident, there might be a powerful want for a complimentary wader. I can solely think about that waders are within the works. For system junkies like myself, it simply feels a bit awkward to put on one other model of waders with the system.
Typha Waterfowl System: Last Ideas
In the end, there isn’t any doubt that this method is constructed to swimsuit most waterfowl pursuits. The waterproof, windproof, and insulation options ought to carry out to maintain you comfy on these robust searching days.
I believe that Typha waterfowl system was designed with a real waterfowler mindset. It actually is a perfect solution to combine waterfowlers into the First Lite model.
Whereas there are fairly a number of zips, loops, buttons, Velcro, and clips — none of those actually take away from the efficiency of the gear. They every simply current a chance to malfunction in wet, snowy, or muddy situations. That apart, it’s a strong setup.
Though the First Lite Typha system is listed at a premium worth, it ought to preserve you heat and dry all through the season. Based mostly on the variety of considerate options positioned all through the system, I’m certain there might be extra good things to come back within the waterfowl class from the rising searching model … maybe waders (hint-hint).
