Fratstar or not?

[matador1]

Bought my first "parka" from Walmart in early 90's. It lasted 2 seasons.
In 95' I had my first real job in Greenville.
That same year, I broke down & traded my browning pump for a Beretta AL390 and a Columbia Widgeon

Bought a Widgeon in 97 and still have it. Been through all kinds of heck and still looks great. Best hunting investment I ever made.

[Deltamud77]

Was the shirtless picture the result of a lost bet?

[jacksbuddy]

Was the shirtless picture the result of a lost bet?

it had better be.

[Blackduck]

Was the shirtless picture the result of a lost bet?

It's a new camo pattern. Gayoflauge.

I had two buddies who got beretta silver pigeons and wigeon jackets in the same year. Man I was jealous. I had to spray my Walmart special with scotch guard to make it waterproof every other hunt. The old 870 looked kinda marginal.

Now I wear very little camo. Just a jacket pretty much. Got some new ish BPS long handles that fit terrible but are surprisingly warm. Cheapest waders from wing supply i can find. My roten call from late 90's is the only thing I won't replace.

[khound22]

My dad bought me and him a wigeon 4 Colombia in bottomland camo in 98 I believe. We both still wear them. Mine is too small so I am handing it down to my Daughter. You can wear a t shirt under that thing and still be warm in the 30's.. Heck of a jacket

[teul2]

My dad bought me and him a wigeon 4 Colombia in bottomland camo in 98 I believe. We both still wear them. Mine is too small so I am handing it down to my Daughter. You can wear a t shirt under that thing and still be warm in the 30's.. Heck of a jacket

I have that jacket from probably 89 or so. Dad had the Omni (think thats the name) which was basically the same jacket, just longer. Still great jackets. My wigeon just wasn't waterproof anymore.

I bought a Drake 4-in-1 there after, never really liked it though. Then a McAllister wading coat. Finally setteled on a Filson field coat, and I don't think I'll ever need another hunting coat.

[Denduke]

judge away!

2016-12-08 13_17_37-MS Delta Ducks (@msdeltaducks) • Instagram photos and videos.jpg

New one on me.... Bloomer waders!

Dang clicked on pic screen goes blank... Every time post gotta kill it and come back in from the beginning
Dis place haunted?
Try it dis way

[RedEyed Duck]

Damnit Dan, that hurts my eyes!

[donia]

...New one on me.... Bloomer waders

i wondered about those pantaloons, myself...i'm looking at all streamlining possibilities when having to work through water and seems like they would increase drag while wading.

[booger]

The original Columbia parka had a hood the size of an astronaut helmet. My brother and I called it the "isolation hood". If you put it up you were out of the game and in your own toasty world, as it would cook you. It was also like a large bucket, that scooped up half the woods as you moved. Putting it up meant a debris field raining on your head and down your neck. Until that jacket came out most coats were almost down to the knees in order to go past hip boots. But hip boots were becoming a thing of the past. I filled out the mail in order form from Cabela's and mailed them a check at full price to get one. Still have the coat

Columbia had/has? a "lifetime guarantee" and lotta folks sent theirs back for various reasons. They just sent you the newest coat, not as good as the old one. Old one had hidden shell loops between the inner coat and outer, good for covert ops in hostile territory. I've seen various versions, some did, some did not.

Using ReviveX every two years or so, keeps it waterproof.

If you were an "early adopter" of good gear you typically had mountain climbing gear from REI or someplace like that. GoreTex was in black/brown or dark green before it was camo. Camo still raises the price of everything. Mountain climbing moved warm clothing from cotton, to wool, to down, to synthetics and soon fleece was born. Wind stopper followed the same path, first out as expensive climbing gear, then camo.

I credit mountain climbing with keeping us warm today.

I'm still looking at the price first, the materials second, brand or camo pattern is never considered. Give me the discount rack or bargain cave in black, brown, or dark green or gray. If it has a dark camo pattern that's a plus, no corn field yellow.

[Denduke]

Remember when only had the rubber lace ups with the brite yellow strings; gottem at Gibsons/Howard's then the rubber waders. But I can't figure out why they stopped with the quilted underware that ereybody had!
http://www.hanksclothing.com/codet_quil ... rwear.html
That was the schnitz now don't see it anymore....guess can order. The new idea is the thin synthetics works the same. But that thick 1" quilt feel was nice....oh well...used the top as a jacket. Was everywhere...

[NyssaAquatica]

Using ReviveX every two years or so, keeps it waterproof.

If you were an "early adopter" of good gear you typically had mountain climbing gear from REI or someplace like that. GoreTex was in black/brown or dark green before it was camo. Camo still raises the price of everything. Mountain climbing moved warm clothing from cotton, to wool, to down, to synthetics and soon fleece was born. Wind stopper followed the same path, first out as expensive climbing gear, then camo.

I credit mountain climbing with keeping us warm today.

I'm still looking at the price first, the materials second, brand or camo pattern is never considered. Give me the discount rack or bargain cave in black, brown, or dark green or gray. If it has a dark camo pattern that's a plus, no corn field yellow.

+1

REi gear swaps are great places to pick up cutting edge, lightweight, water/windproof gear at a steep discount. People will spend $700 on an Arc'Teryx jacket and dump it for $50 after a year when the waterproof finish begins to wear off. With a $10 bottle of revivex, the jacket is good as new, and you now have it for 90% off the sticker price. It might not be in camo, but men like Nash Buckingham and Teddy Roosevelt did fine without it.

[rjohnson]

Think this is another iteration of one of those Fratstars listed earlier. It's not whackin and stackin any more it's now swackin on em.

[RedEyed Duck]

Headed to ebay now to buy some curls to put around my dome light! Might buy a band or two while I'm there.

[GulfCoast]

The "mountain climbing/hiking gear" analysis is spot on. Or was in the 1990's. I have a black Patagonia puffball I wore out from duck hunting with it for 15 years. Are the Fratstars on a Filson kick yet? Hope I can still keep some "fudd cred" with my ratty old Filson sweaters, and heavy ass field coat.