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Deerhunter Europe Camouflage Clothing Review


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I will do a HTML version with added pictures etc. I just wanted to post this whilst it was fresh in my mind. (Excuse Grammer and Spelling)

 

Items Reviewed:

 

Colour: 40 Innovation

Description: Micro Tricot Mesh Mask

Materials: 100 % Micro Tricot Mesh

 

Colour: 40 Innovation

Description: Jacket w/detachable Deer-Tex®

Details : Detachable hood with Deer-Tex® membrane

Cord draw in waist

Cord draw casing at base

10 pockets

Materials: 100 % Micro Tricot Mesh, Detachable Deer-Tex® membrane

 

Colour: 40 Innovation

Description: Trousers w/detachable Deer-Tex®

Details: Cross pockets

2 back pockets

2 thigh pockets

Materials: 100 % Micro Tricot Mesh, Detachable Deer-Tex® membrane

 

Colour: 40 Innovation

Description: Gloves w/Deer-Tex®

Details: Thin and sensible material for trigger finger Grip with thin anti-slip reinforcement Cuff closure

Materials: 100 % tricot w/WR

 

 

A Bit About the Materials and Colour

 

I gleaned this of off the web as Deerhunter will know far more about the materials they use than I ever will. I guess you realize why you pay so much for this type of equipment after reading what goes into making the clothing.

 

DEER-TEX® MEMBRAN

The Deer-Tex® membrane is windproof, waterproof and breathable. During physical activities the special fibre structure lets the body breathe by insulating the bodyheat and at the same time transporting the sweat through the fabric.

 

STORMLINER®

The Stormliner® membrane stops the wind without reducing the breathability.

 

DEER-TEX® LAMINAT

A membrane that is placed on the outer fabrics.

 

Deerhunter Innovation has been created from a mixture of ground hunting scenarios, but also bird level scenarios. The 3D-effect is made more prominent via different earth colored patterns in order to achieve the optimal camouflage.

 

First Impressions

 

The goods arrived packaged in clear strong plastic bags with the Deerhunter logo on the front of the bags, I was impressed with the packaging as it took some force to pierce the plastic to get the clothing out, it would have taken a good knock to damage the contents. As with all Deerhunter clothing all parts of the gear that I bought were elaborately labeled with mini catalogues attached to them, although this is once more item to remove before you go out, in my opinion it does make a difference to your first impressions of the clothes, it looks very professional, and so it should for a RRP of £180.

As I mentioned, there was no damage to any of the clothing, so, like a child I got began to don the gear to see what it felt like.

I was initially worried (in fact my woes were put to rest later on, stay tuned) I put the trousers on, which fit perfectly, followed by the jacket, then the mask and finally the gloves. My god was it hot, I could feel myself sweating after about 2 mins. I then remembered that I had ordered this for a reason. All of the innards are removable. Time for my dinner, the wife kindly volunteered to remove the inner lining and take all the tags off. I must say at this point, with the lining removed the weight of the clothing drops dramatically. I also got Sarah to take of the detachable hood as no rain was forecast for last night.

Before we move onto the clothing in details I must state why I ordered it. At the end I will let you know if it met with my requirement. There were 2 reasons.

 

1. I wanted something that did not make me sweat buckets like the Deerhunter Montana range does.

2. I also wanted something that would blend in with the areas I work. Mainly Orchards at this time.

 

Clothing Details

 

I don’t want to “Rabbit†on too much here in terms of clothing details. I think everyone is well aware of the quality of Deerhunter products, I have also given an explanation of the various materials and membranes used by them in the first section.

What I did want to spend a few moments on, are the practicality of the clothes in terms of carrying equipment.

I don’t know about you, but I seem to want to carry everything and the kitchen sink with me when I go hunting. I don’t need it all, but I guess it’s there if the need arises. I have my phone, my ciggi’s and lighter, my permission slip, my BASC insurance details and membership, my range finder, my knife, spare pellets, spare magazine, a couple of dustbin bags for my quarry. Now I think that is a fair amount to jam into pockets. Not so. You have, with the trousers and jacket 14 pockets. Knee pockets, rear and from pockets, breast pockets, a little gizmo inside the jacket pockets that enables you to store magazines, cartridges or bullets (nice touch). It has all the storage you need.

The buttons are of course brass, but the fasteners are covered with rubber, this is great, not only does it protect the metal bit from the rain, It also stops you knocking or scratching your very expensive stock. What also nice is the button are of a size where you can easily open and close them with gloves on. The same with the Zip’s.

 

Out In The Field

 

I was keen to get out shooting to give the my new clothing a run out. I went to my most local of permissions, 65 acres of pear orchard. The rabbits are rife here and the land owner is very concerned at the amount of damage they are doing to the root systems and bark of the trees. Over the past weeks I have managed to clear the more easy of targets, I am in a position now where I need to lay prone for periods of time, as the I have little or no cover.

 

Walking to my first spot to lay up I was impressed. Firstly with amount of gear I could jam into the pockets. All the equipment I have listed above was located in various pockets. I did not know it was there. It left me unrestricted in terms of walking and laying down. For once my phone was not pressing into my thigh.

 

The next, and most impressive finding was how cool I felt. With the Montana range of clothing, as you can imagine, I could loose a stone in weight from sweat loss. I cant put into words how amazed I was at being able to wear trousers, jacket, mask and gloves and feel as cool as a cucumber. The mesh on the clothing allows the air to circulate wonderfully. The best way to describe it is that it is like wearing shorts and a T-Shirt. That really is how good it is. In fact when I got home the wife commented on how I did not “smell†like I normally do when I come back from 2 hours out in the orchard.

 

Having now felt the breeze circulating with ease around my body I became concerned with how the clothing would react in terms of keeping me safe from stinging nettles and thorns. The great thing about my Montana kit is that I don’t feel a thing. My concerns were put to rest. I purposely walked through a row of nettles that were waist high. I choose a spot to lay up on some young nettles, the worse king, they really bite, again, nothing.

 

What I was finding though was that my hands were sweating. The gloves are not mesh. They are made of thick material and there is little circulation. Great gloves. On the left and right trigger fingers Deehunter and reduced the material to enable you to be able to feel the trigger. This works great. What does not work so great is after you take the gloves off. Because you have been sweating its difficult to get you fingers to line up with the inner lining when you try and put them back on. That’s frustrating. They would be great in the winter though, they do keep you fingers very toastie.

Right then. Its comfortable, its practical in terms of carrying equipment, its very cool in the summer and it feels as though it will be very warm in the winter. But how did it perform in the field?

 

I will update you in the future with regards how I get on the camo gear, but, I wanted to get a review out quickly to give you a idea whether this is a good or bad buy. I found one of my normal lay up points. A Hedgerow to my right and the pear trees to my left. The rabbits live in the hedge row in this part of the orchard, and tend to hug the hedge line when feeding. It makes it difficult to approach because the hedge itself has been cut right back, this weeds in between the rows of trees have been cut by the farmer in preparation for picking the fruit, so it makes free standing shots harder.

 

I normally sit at bang on 30 yards from where I know the target will come out from. It normally takes at least 10 mins for the bunnies to reappear after them initially seeing me. I purposely went up wind of the rabbits to see what would happen if they could a) smell me but :good: not see me. 2 mins. A bunny (and adult) popped his head out of the burrow. Sniffed the air, had a look and as far as he was concerned could only see a big pile of leaves on the ground. He started feeding for about 10s before he was dispatched. Fluke maybe? I don’t think so. I have been here many times before and it was always at least ten minutes before the rabbits appeared.

 

I then had a mooch around. Its very strange when you can get within a few feet of nervous magpies in tree’s without them moving. Even though the weeds had been cut I was managing to stand and kill another 2 bunnies no more than 15 yards away. They had no idea, I seemed to be blending better into the pear tree’s. In fact this was the story for the rest of the shoot. I was surprised that the new Camo was making such a difference. It really does enable you to get closer. I can say that without a shadow of a doubt.

 

Summing Up

 

To sum up I guess I need to decide whether the new Camo Clothing had met my success criteria.

 

1. I wanted something that did not make me sweat buckets like the Deerhunter Montana range does. – I think I have made it categorically clear that this kit is absolutely excellent in terms of keeping you cool. It should be noted that the outside temp was 24 deg C the day in question.

 

2. I also wanted something that would blend in with the areas I work. Mainly Orchards at this time. – Same as above, I have no doubt that this Camo clothing has enabled me to get closer to my quarry without being seen. It breaks up your movement superbly.

 

Would I recommend it? Of course I would, I think it’s a must have, I can honestly say that, other than my rifle, it’s the best buy I have made to date with regards shooting. You cant often say money well spent. In this case you can.

 

 

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