I’ve been accused of not having enough sense to come in out of the rain. Truth is when it came to hunting or fishing it didn’t matter whether it was raining or not. As I get older, I admit getting drenched is beginning to wear on me. Nothing dampens the spirit like getting caught in a rainstorm.
The only experience I’ve had with rain gear was military stuff and old technology which was not suitable for hunting. When the weather got cooler it didn’t protect much more than plastic ponchos.
While I have never been one to intentionally go out in a rainstorm, if I was hunting or fishing and a storm came up, I stayed out in it. I usually regretted the decision. My soggy clothes weighed 25 pounds more than when I had started. And, once it stopped raining, it took forever for the garments to dry.
Enter Kings Camo’s newest entry from their XKG line, the Stormtrek.
Stormtrek — Ultimate Rain Gear
When the rain gear arrived at my house I thought, “This stuff is light and would be great to have and keep in the boat.” As I’ve been caught in the rain while fishing too many times. None of which were enjoyable.
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Then my mind shifted to last turkey season when torrential downpours and cold weather forced me out of the woods long before I wanted to come in. Did it cost me a bird? Well, I ended up eating tag soup.
One of the coolest things about writing is the gear I get to try out, but it also means I need to test it in the environment it was meant to be tested in. Since I received the Kings Camo XKG rain gear it has rained a grand total of once. When it did, I quickly put on the gear and stood in my front yard to my wife’s dismay, but to my delight, I stayed dry as a bone.
XKG System & Stormtrek
The XKG system is a five-part layering system with the Stormtrek being the outermost layer providing a waterproof element. Without a good waterproof system, even the most elaborate layering system is useless.
The Stormtrek rain jacket features an adjustable drawstring hood to fit over multiple layers to adapt to whatever the conditions might throw at you. The hood has an extra piece of material in the front to form a bill which keeps water from dripping into your face or in my case onto my glasses. Small, well thought out features like these are what makes a good garment one of my favorite pieces of clothing.
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Adjustable Velcro wrist cuffs are a welcome sight as some of the jackets I have used in the past had elastic around the sleeves which bunched up and the inner layers would ride up my arm. And sometimes when wearing many layers, it would cut-off circulation. That is until the elastic wore out. Then when this happened it would not stay in place and when wearing waterfowler gloves this usually meant my arm was getting wet when retrieving decoys.
One of my favorite features of the Stormtrek jacket and pants is the heavy duty Aquaguard zippers. The zippers seal themselves when zipped, keeping water out. Aside from the front zipper, the front pockets also feature Aquaguard zippers to keep all contents dry. The pant utilizes full length side Aquaguard zippers on both legs which allow me to put the pants on over many layers even while wearing my boots. No more worries about ripping the pants legs as I have in the past.
Wind, Rain, Oh My!
Both the jacket and the pants feature fully taped seams and Scotchguard water resistant treatmentcausing the water to roll off the Stormtrek like a duck’s back and the 20l/20k Windstorm membrane keeps out not only the rain, but the wind as well.
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One of my passions is winter fishing, but brutal winds cause me to wear so many layers my range of motion is hindered. I’m looking forward to my first trip this season with the Stormtrek jacket under a Merino wool shirt.
The weight of the Stormtrek jacket and pants really surprised me. Having looked at lightweight rain gear in the past, lightweight usually meant light in features and quality but with the two waystretch woven polyester coupled with all the other features, I no longer dread a rainy hunting season.
XK7 Camo
The Kings Camo XKG Stormfront comes in two colors: a solid dark forest or in Kings Camo proprietary XK7 camo.
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XK7 is seven different abstract deceptions of realistic elements inspired by North America’snatural colors and terrains. Rather than looking like an oak tree, which is fine if you are in an oak tree, but not a huge confidence boost when you are trying to close the gap on a bedded whitetailor setting up on a gobbler. The XK7 will break up your outline hiding you in plain sight whether you are on the ground, in a tree stand, or in a saddle.
