I’d been looking to purchase a new set of waterproofs for a while, and could postpone it no longer after the Southern Fur & Feather at Wylands when my old suit gave up the ghost leaving me soaked through.
Having done some homework, 2 companies products stood out as having consistently good reviews from their users. Halkon Hunt Gortex® and Protak TR clothing. To be honest the cost of the Halkon Hunt made it hard to justify for me so I decided to go with PROTAK.
I looked at all the combinations available in the TR Design Range to see what would suit my requirements. Doing a fair amount of pole fishing I wanted a Pole Jacket rather than a ¾length one along with a Bib & Brace. However both of these garments come with a 2oz quilted lining as standard and I was after a year round suit, that I could add a couple of layers to if needed come winter.
So back in January I phoned their order line (01625 590140) and spoke to a very helpful lady called Gail and explained to her just what I was after IE: both garments minus the quilted lining and an extra inch on the Bib & Brace legs along with my name and Maggotdrowning.com embroidered onto the jacket. Not a problem she assured me even though they would have to be specially made with a cost to me of £122 with a delivery time of 3 weeks. Their attention to detail being exemplified by a phone call I received after 2 weeks just to check the spelling before they embroidered the jacket.
1 week later the suit arrived and I have to say that I was very happy with the finished clothing. It’s all made with Tactel® textured nylon with a breathable, delamination-proof Exeat® coating. The Jacket features storm cuffs, nylon zip with storm flap, 2 storm pockets and 2 hand warmer pockets, 2 inside pockets (one of them zipped) a Fleece collar and a detachable hood while the Bib and Brace has 2 chest and 2 leg pockets, 2 way zip with storm flap and zipped gussets on the legs to allow ease of putting on over boots. All the garment seams are fully taped and sealed. It’s all machine washable as well.
Having done some homework, 2 companies products stood out as having consistently good reviews from their users. Halkon Hunt Gortex® and Protak TR clothing. To be honest the cost of the Halkon Hunt made it hard to justify for me so I decided to go with PROTAK.
I looked at all the combinations available in the TR Design Range to see what would suit my requirements. Doing a fair amount of pole fishing I wanted a Pole Jacket rather than a ¾length one along with a Bib & Brace. However both of these garments come with a 2oz quilted lining as standard and I was after a year round suit, that I could add a couple of layers to if needed come winter.
So back in January I phoned their order line (01625 590140) and spoke to a very helpful lady called Gail and explained to her just what I was after IE: both garments minus the quilted lining and an extra inch on the Bib & Brace legs along with my name and Maggotdrowning.com embroidered onto the jacket. Not a problem she assured me even though they would have to be specially made with a cost to me of £122 with a delivery time of 3 weeks. Their attention to detail being exemplified by a phone call I received after 2 weeks just to check the spelling before they embroidered the jacket.
1 week later the suit arrived and I have to say that I was very happy with the finished clothing. It’s all made with Tactel® textured nylon with a breathable, delamination-proof Exeat® coating. The Jacket features storm cuffs, nylon zip with storm flap, 2 storm pockets and 2 hand warmer pockets, 2 inside pockets (one of them zipped) a Fleece collar and a detachable hood while the Bib and Brace has 2 chest and 2 leg pockets, 2 way zip with storm flap and zipped gussets on the legs to allow ease of putting on over boots. All the garment seams are fully taped and sealed. It’s all machine washable as well.
This clothing has now had 6 months of reasonably continuous use so far and has confirmed my initial impression that it’s a quality bit of kit and Made in England by an English Company and well worth consideration if anyone is thinking of getting some new gear. I will however return to this review at a later date to update my thoughts on it so that everyone is kept up to date on how it continues to perform.