Gear Review: Flying Fisherman SunBandit Rainbow Trout Camo

Did I mention already Lady Luck was generous with me recently? I think I did. This is the latest score through the Outdoor Blooger Network who again randomly (do you believe it?) selected me to review The Flying Fisherman SundBandit in Rainbow Trout Camo. Wow, that's a long name!

The SunBandit Rainbow Trout Camo:

The SunBandit is made of 100% polyester that wicks and absorbs moisture; it is breathable, wind resistant and adds UV protection. I think the last feature is to me the most important one here in Colorado; just like the Sun Gloves that I reviewed the other day the SunBandit provides for much needed protection from the sun. I used it on a recent trip to North Carolina where my brother in law took me out on the water, on the race out to the fishing spot I pulled it over my nose to be able to breathe easier and once arrived, I converted it into a pirate looking thingy under my baseball cap, covering ears and my neck. Here in Colorado, I typically wear it just around my neck or convert it to the pirate cap looking option. There are many additional options how to wear it (i.e. as bandana, face mask, scarf, sweatband, cap etc.), the same way like you can another similar and very popular tubular head wear (you can "google" the different wear options).

I also own the other more popular product on the market and compared, the SunBandit feels lighter and is also a bit less dense woven which makes it more comfortable to wear if it is hot.

The SunBandit retails for $15.95 at The Flying Fisherman.

Disclaimer:

I received the The Flying Fisherman Sundbandit at no cost from The Flying Fisherman (www.flyingfisherman.com). I am not affiliated with the company and I did not receive any compensation to review the system. This post represent my personal and honest opinion.

Gear Review: Glacier Gloves - Ascencion Bay Gloves

Lady Luck was generous with me recently, I was lucky enough to again score and be randomly selected by the Outdoor Blooger Network to review some cool gear from Glacier Gloves, the Ascencion Bay Glove of the Dr. Shade/Sun Gear line.

These gloves are designed not for the cold Winter months but for the Summer to protect you from the harsh sun rays and are a very smart proposition for anybody who spends time on the water but in particular if you fish the ocean or at high altitude in the mountains. I don't know about you, but if you are like me, I have been burned by the sun too many times on my rod hand, mostly between thumb and the back of the hand so sun gloves have become part of my standard equipment when heading to the stream or lake (as is a light weight long sleeve fishing shirt, a hat and most of the time one of those tubular bandana thingy's - more on that in another review post).

The Gloves:

The gloves are made of ultralight lycra that provides 50+ UPF protection and feature a polyutherane palm. They are very comfortable to wear and even if the palm, due to the coating, feels a bit awkward for the first few minutes you will soon forget that you wear them. They dry quickly, actually sometimes too quickly since they cool down your hands nicely in the heat of the day if they are wet. One of the features I really like about them is that the cuff extends beyond the wrist. In combination with a long sleeve fishing shirt, the cuff extends below (or above) the sleeve and provides continous protection. This became apparent to me since I own another pair of sun gloves from another manufacturer that do not have long cuffs and I have a gap when extending my arm (which I do a lot when Tenkara fishing) which has been annoying me since I bought them (the other gloves). As I mentioned, the polyutherane palm is a bit awkward at first and I do not see a real benefit of it for my type of fishing, but I would imagine that if you spend time on a boat and have to handle other stuff than just a rod and a fish, the additional grip that is provided by the coating will come certainly handy. Unfortunately I do not own a boat so I couldn't really test this feature.

The gloves retail for $22.99 at Glacier Outdoor.

Disclaimer:

I received the Ascension Bay Gloves at no cost from Glacier Gloves (ww.glacieroutdoor.com). I am not affiliated with the company and I did not receive any compensation to review the system. This post represent my personal and honest opinion.

Leaky Waders

After a rough work week - I can't remember I ever had to deal with so much crap at the same time - the best wife sent me off to a mental cleanse, Tenkara fishing!

I wanted to finally fish my new Tenkara USA ITO so I decided to head up to the South Platte around Pine Creek even though flows were above 300cfs and a bit high for my liking. I got to the river a bit later than anticipated, I just couldn't decide whether to stay in bed or go fish. I guess we all feel like that at some point.

The river was pretty clear with a darker green shade whether it was a bit deeper - the spots I was focusing on. I started off with a killer kebari and mercury RS2 and switched later to a CDC & Elk with the same RS2, all fish took the mercury RS2. I guess no surprise here.

I used a level no. 3 hi-vis line of TenkaraBum, cut to 13.5" which performed quite nicely on the ITO. As I mentioned in my previous post, I start to like level lines more, in particular on softer rods. For stiffer rods, I still prefer tapered lines though.

I hooked 6 rainbow trout, all but one on the smaller side for the SP but the last one was was around 16" and made the line sing! Unfortunately I wasn't able to land her, thanks to a long distance release. My guess that it was hooked in the upper lip like the other ones, and that was it.

What stood out today were my waders. Maybe 2 hours in, I suddenly felt water literally rushing in from below. I suspect that the seam between the waders and booties gave up and it filled up my left wader leg all the way up. The additional weight in the wader gave me quite a work out while wading. Later this week I will have to find the leak and try to fix it or it will be all wet wading for the rest of the season, brrrr.

I also was able to further test some gear that I am reviewing for OBN (the Flying Fisherman SunBandit - Rainbow Trout Camo and the Glacier Gloves - Ascension Bay Glove) as well as the Ti Net and the new Ebira Plus of TrailLite Designs that holds two Tenkara rods. More on those later, the reviews will be posted soon.

Stay dry my friends, -K