Rivers West Update

[AKJOB]

So I ended up buying the new lightweight rivers west gear (Lakota Jacket and Stalker pants). Overall, I'm really happy with it. It is not as quiet as wool, and it doesn't breath, but it keeps me warm, and I can use layers to hunt through a variety of hunting conditions.

My dad and I found this buck on Admiralty Island a couple weekends ago. It would have been nice to take a picture in the field, but I had to wait until the hunt was over to get access to a digital camera.

 

[AKJOB]

Another Photo

Another Photo

Another Photo

 

[Kay9Cop]

My hunting partner wore the Lakota jacket this year during our goat hunt. It literally rained 20 out of 21 days. The jacket was warm and didn't breath well. Once it got wet (the heavy rain did not run off of it like the display in the store) it got very heavy and took forever to dry off. He ended up using his Helly Hansen Impertech for most of the trip.

I've come to believe that any breathable rain gear is good for light rain but in the heavy stuff you have to have Impertech for hunting. I'll never go hunting in Alaska with just a breathable set. You just can't take the chance in the unforgiving country of Alaska.

 

[fulldraw]

Nice buck!

Nice buck!

Always nice to see someone who is willing to walk up off the beach and find the real deer that are available if one puts the effort into it...

 

[fnd1734]

Very Nice Deer!!

Very Nice Deer!!

Holy Smokes that deer has a big body, a congrats on that one.
I had a same experience with the Rivers West Jaket(s) Kay9Cop...
I returned my Rivers West for a HH Impertech, and so far I am very happy (so is my wife, she's not a happy camper when she's soaking wet)

 

[AKDoug]

I agree with the comments about the H2P cloth being difficult to dry. It can border on disasterous if you are not hunting out of a cabin or place you can dry clothes. Unfortunately I also watched a good Impertec H.H. jacket get shredded on a recent PWS deer hunt and my H2P pants came out unscathed. I still don't know what the answer is to this problem.

 

[AlaskaCub]

For remote hunts I bring back up raingear, anything can happen to anything in due time.

 

[AKDoug]

Absolutely. For my recent Montague hunt I had a set of River's west pants, Mossy Oak Apex rain jacket...another complete set of Cabelas MT50 camo rain gear AND a set of H.H. commercial fishing style rain gear.

So, what did I get for weather? 15F on two days and 40mph winds, clouds and wind for the rest of it...LOL..not a raindrop in sight.

 

[ak_powder_monkey]

dang thats a nice blacktail

 

[BucknRut]

Geeeshhh!!

Geeeshhh!!

I was told that Blacktail are smaller in body and antler growth than whitetail down here...I had to look back at the pics my brother and dad sent me or their whitetail bucks and GEEEESHHH, that is a huge body on that deer! Nice Job!

 

[AKDoug]

I shot what was basically a spike/fork buck on Montague and it was all I could do to drag it on the snow...and I weigh 250#. Some of those blacktails are big bodied, but not much headgear.

 

[fullkurl]

Finally!

Finally!

Great deer guys, and finally some real proof that Alaskan blacktails arent "dogs" in size. Too often the species gets little respect because they arent 300 lb Alberta whitetails or muleys.
I carried (I should say stumbled through the dark) a field dressed bone-in buck two miles on Kodiak one year and it about killed me.



Well done guys!

 

[Alaska Gray]

Very nice deer !!!!!