Under Armour Ridge Reaper Gore-tex Pro Jacket Review

Photo copyright - Matt Bonham/http://www.mattbonham.com

Big Guy Gear Reviews are what the sound like--gear reviews focused on the usability for big guys. If you're a proportional half-dozen-footer, congrats: you lot can use literally every slice of gear on the market. If you're a big guy, all the same, y'all know it'south a frustrating marketplace. I'm here to help.

For reference, here are my bones dimensions: half-dozen'v", 235 pounds, dress shirt is 17"x37".I wear Forty-tall shirts and 38x34 pants—as long as they're non direct legged, boot cut, or any else skinny hipsters accept pushed the market place toward. I'm built with more of a weak-man's barrel chest than a fatty-man's beer belly. I take what Lululemon calls "hockey butt." If y'all're alpine and non wide, or broad and not tall, these reviews should yet help you detect usable gear.

Each twelvemonth I return to the Blue Ridge Mountain area of Virginia to hunt white-tailed deer.Each yr I am confounded by hunting clothing cutting to fit gnomes and Santas.If I want a shirt or jacket to fit in the arms, I have to buy a double- or triple-XL; just then the coat is too big to fit into my pack and often catches the barrel of my burglarize as I raise it to aim.If I want a shirt or jacket to fit in the body, I have to settle for sleeves so brusk it looks like I'm copying Beak Belichick.For that reason, my strategy over most of the final decade has been to wear whatever coat I have handy that fits.

This has resulted in me hunting in a blue Eddie Bauer downwards parka, a plaid wool coat from Abercrombie and Fitch that made me look like a hunter from the 1930'southward, a Mountain Hardware windproof pullover layered with sweaters and thermal.  Each time I ended up looking, and feeling, as prepared equally a kid from the metropolis seeing woods for the start time e'er instead of a guy who grew up in the mountains who has been hunting for 25+ years.

Final yr equally I tried on every camo coat at Cabela's I resigned myself to yet again cobbling together a passable hunting uniform.I had given up.Then I noticed, hidden by its own camo, a glaze that I had not seen nevertheless.Expecting to be defeated again, I slipped it on, and was diddled away past sleeves that not just covered my wrists, merely even extended down my hand!Whatever could this glorious production be??!The Under Armor RidgeReaper 13 Late Flavor jacket, that's what.

Here's some of the nuts of the Ridge Reaper line and Late Season gear:

Photo copyright - Matt Bonham/http://www.mattbonham.com

Design – Nether Armor describes its Arid camo blueprint as "designed with coincidental disruption technology & an innovative 'no background' color algorithm, blocking your prey's power to come across consummate forms."The colour scheme is predominately a light green tan with jagged patterns of black, brown, and green.Looking at information technology every bit a human, the colors seem very versatile.I have blended in well in the eastern forests that are a alloy of hardwood and conifers, at a time of year where all leaves have turned chocolate-brown and most fallen to the ground.

Under Armor states the blueprint and production are made with a western hunter in mind, and based on my wandering through the high desert forests of Arizona I suppose this would be accurate.

New for this year is the forest camo pattern that changes the dominant shades to green and grey/blackness.  If you're hunting when the leaves are green, then the forest design is definitely for yous.  If you're a tardily flavour hunter, no thing the coast, Barren would exist my option.

My feel with prey thus far has been that an 8-bespeak buck stared at me for several seconds as I noisily fiddled with my shooting sticks before finally dropping him with a single shot through the middle.Then, sure, I guess it works!

Photo copyright - Matt Bonham/http://world wide web.mattbonham.com

Technology – the jacket and pants are outfitted with ColdGear infrared engineering, odor block anti-microbial features, a durable water repellent cease, and wind resistant materials.The DWR finish lives up to its promise—past shedding water and preventing deer blood from settling into the fabric to ruin the design and odor blocking.The wind resistance seems to perform to expectations.

I had a conversation with an Nether Armour retail employee about the late season gear.He gushed virtually them with 18-carat enthusiasm—and then paused and asked me with business organization "are you hunting somewhere cold?Because, these have infrared lining and are going to exist incredibly warm."Based on this, and my by positive experience with Columbia's Omni-Heat reflective technology, I was ecstatic at the thought of a morning in a deer stand that did not include constant shivering.But the ColdGear infrared technology seems more than like a marketing gimmick than actual engineering science.I have stand-hunted in the Ridge Reaper gear on mornings with temperatures at or simply below freezing and did non experience appreciably warmer than with any by loadout—though admittedly it is not an apples-to-apples comparison as I may have worn more layers in the by (simply that's problem with the pants considering they fit too snugly to layer much).

Comparison Omni-Oestrus cogitating to ColdGear infrared is comparison Ferrari to Kia.This technology wasn't my reason for purchasing the gear, but it was disappointing to have infrared talked up so much and and then seem nonexistant.

"Go where you don't belong."

Performance – my hunting season is a alloy of stand hunting in the mornings and evenings, with stalking dense woods and logging roads in the tardily morning time and early afternoon—as the season and/or frustration progresses I expand to bushwhacking through dumbo thickets and the Virginia ridge-and-valley topography.

My feel then far is that this gear performs very well.Somehow this line manages to reach relative comfort while stand-hunting on freezing mornings and walking in fifty-threescore degree afternoons.I get cold, but not miserable in the morning stand; warm, simply non sweaty on the afternoon walk—possibly the infrared technology actually is redistributing heat accordingly.This aren't heavy and bulky like so many other clothing lines are, and then if I go as well warm the jacket hands packs away.There are four pockets in the jacket, roomy enough to stow gloves, cell phone, walkie talkie, and withal get my hands inside for warmth.

 The material on the jacket and pants seems exceptionally durable.  They survived bushwhacking through the locust and blackberry vines of a regrowing clearcut without even a pulled slice of thread.

For my size and torso shape, this jacket is perfect for me.I am thrilled I found it and accept no second thoughts about splurging for a piece of gear that seems like it volition concord up for years.

Pants:

While I can unequivocally recommend the Late Season xiii Jacket to the big and/or tall guys, the same does non hold for the Late Flavor 13 Pants.If the jacket was made to fit a large human being with long arms; the pants were made to fit a small man with pole-legs, a Hank-Hill butt, and a unduly big waist.

What I can say is that if these pants manage to fit yous, absolutely buy them.If they don't fit, I don't have a practiced respond.Luckily, though UA expanded the inseams to include 34" and 36" and so chances are you lot can find a fit.

A frustration I accept with Under Armour pants in general is that—without designating different cuts or fits—each fashion of their pants I have tried on fit differently.This is extremely frustrating because it is incommunicable to buy i Under Armour pant and so tell what other UA pants volition fit you without actually having them to try on.I fit perfectly into the Field Pant in a 36"x34"; the Late Flavor Pants were too small in the barrel and too big in the waist in a 38"x32"; i pair of insulated ColdGear liner pants was also big in an XL, while another pair wouldn't pull past my knees in an XL, while yet another fit perfectly in XXL.

The fit of the Late Flavour Pants was unexpected in other ways, too.It is described as a "loose" fit.I took this to hateful loose like embrace-alls are loose so you can clothing additional layers beneath.In reality, "loose" in these pants meant just "not pinch fit."In the pair of 36"x32" I could barely put on the pants over UA Cold Gear compression pants because the thighs of the pants were so skinny.Even in the 38"x32" I was limited in layering and the pants pulled tight each time I saturday down, both of which combined to create numerous cold spots on my legs.

Another fit issue is that these are of an oddly low rise.They rode low on my hips and frequently exposed the top of my rump when I sat in my stand up or knelt down.

Fit frustrations also extend to gloves because their size range only extends to XL; said differently, their XL gloves are too small.  I had to return the Trigger Finger gloves because XL was and then pocket-size it gave me a claw instead of a hand.  I recently purchased the Speed Freak gloves in XL and they are a little roomier, but could be better.  This critique is coming from someone who has the hands of someone whose main work took is a reckoner keyboard.  I cannot brainstorm to imagine my mechanic/farmer/builder Father or Grandpa trying to get their meaty paws in XL gloves from UA.  If UA is going to make outerwear in 3XL, so other products should be comparably sized.

Under Armour has produced a full line of swell gear in the Ridge Reaper line.  After my season last year I am all-in on the gear and have added the backpack, fleece, and primer gloves to my loadout.  If I tin discover the Infil Ops boots somewhere in a size fourteen I'm liable to get them too.

My final hunting flavour ended afterward concluding Thanksgiving and once I got home I immediately began planning for this year—and looking for more Ridge Reaper gear to add together to my closet.  I can't wait to go far the forest again.

Photograph copyright - Matt Bonham/http://www.mattbonham.com

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Source: https://www.getthefunout.com/2016/10/big-guy-gear-review-under-armour-ridge.html

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