So I had the liberty to test these pieces out and have been getting slammed with PM's asking me every possibly detail on this system. First Lite did a great job on the video and description but I'll be happy to fill in any gaps for you guys and girls. I wanted to wait till FL themselves dropped the info on the system before I pitched in. I saw where Aron Snyder kind of got a little slap on the wrist for posting some stuff on Instagram a tad too early so I as a simple Product tester wasn’t gonna take any chances lol
On a side note, I have never recommended just getting something off of a whim...but this system fits into anyone's kit, some more than others and is a knock out of the ballpark. Save your money and take my word to just get ready to order it this spring!!!!
So here is the run down....
Temperature range: Sky is the limit, why? Coming from a mountaineering sport background, we use soft shells a ton. Reason is their is no limit to layering due to its “shell” properties. ie, Wind Cutting, Body temp retention and light moisture shedding. So in short, this will be with me from early season hunts on those cold windy evenings on a ridge when the sun goes down and using a simple base layer or Crew short sleeve to multiple layers underneath in late season Muley hunts.
Wind Cutting: Great!!! It’s not your heavy duty hard shell but a good direct wind that demands your attention will easily be foiled by this material.
Light rain/Snow shedding: Great again!! I was extremely impressed with the ability to really have even the smallest mist or drizzle “bead” off, snow was easily brushed off.
Noise: This is where I want to make a key point in this. The material is unlike any other soft shell material. Most soft shells have a “sheen” or slightly polished outer face fabric which provides all the desired qualities of a soft shell but gives it a slight “crunch” or papery response when raising arms, drawing bow,etc.. The catalyst material is like nothing else, it has a very soft touch which helps to reduce noise, increase breath ability while not sacrificing its soft shell properties.
Articulation/Cut: WOW!! So stinking comfortable with and without multiple layers. I am glad they did not integrate pit zips. I am afraid it would have limited its full articulation potential as well as the material really proves it does not need the extra heat dumping.
Durability: Here is the hot button topic!!! It was no mystery that durability was the most talked about subject on the page this last year. This is also my key factor in any purchase(vehicle,bows, guns,etc..) The construction of this jacket and pants, material, pocket location, zipper choice was very very intuitive. Mainly however was the stitching, never had a major issue, I beat the heck out of the jacket, greatly reinforced from previous offerings. All in all the pieces exceeded my expectations for durability and construction.
Material Thickness: Perfect middle ground? It’s thinner than the Northbranch yet not nearly as thin as say a Sitka Mountain Jacket, possibly a hair thicker than the Timberline jacket from Sitka. Roughly around a Arcteyx Gamma MX I would say. Super packable over the Northbranch jacket.
Cons: Honestly not many, personally I feel like First Lite was reading my “diary” lol But no piece is perfect, not the biggest fan of how tall the collar was or the elastic cuffs( always been a fan of Velcro cinch cuffs). Minor things really but do take into consideration these were samples so this all be null compared to the actual production line.
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