You’d have to have been hiding under a mighty big rock for the past decade (give or take a few years) to have missed the explosion of technical clothing that has flooded the marketplace for outdoorsy folk (the lady’s side of the equation has been lagging a bit, but catching up impressively).
When we write about outdoorsy folk here on Chi Wulff, clearly most often we’re talking about the fly fishing world, though most of us chase / hunt various winged and land-dwelling critters, during the fall season in particular, to put sustenance on the table (and in the freezer) and engage more fully with world around us.
Now and again we stumble across share-worthy gear created by those enjoying other outdoor endeavors, today’s Showers Pass Short Sleeve Bamboo Merino Henley a great example. Showers Pass happens to be a West-Coast based (Portland) designer and manufacturer of cycling clothing, built from the ground up to keep damned active athletes warm in a pretty challenging local climate area (particularly during the cool, wet PNW late fall, winter, and spring seasons). The features that make this gear work so well for cyclists are the very things most fishers need during the later fall and winter seasons.
When we were given a chance to take a hands on look at some of their gear, we were immediately interested in their bamboo-merino henley’s, figuring they’d make great layering pieces for fall and winter fly fishing and roaming the plains and ranges during the hunt.
The moisture wicking and antibacterial properties of bamboo are under-appreciated though well documented, and it adds a soft hand and durability to an already amazing natural wool fiber, which of course is moisture wicking as well, very warm ounce for ounce, and combats the odors that accompany hours (or days) spent making sweat under the Big Sky.
Looking over a long sleeved version, that is right now en route to be hard-tested (and later reviewed) during the Montana fall fly fishing, bird, antelope, deer, and elk seasons by Jake in Livingston, we’re damned impressed by the overall build of the shirt, the soft hand of the fabric, and nice little extras like mesh panels under the arms and flat lock stitching throughout.
DRAWING CLOSED AS OF 0900 MONDAY 14 AUGUST.
Thanks to the good folks at Showers Pass, we have a brand-spanking new short sleeve version of the shirt (Showers Pass Bamboo-Merino Henley) in black, XL, still sealed in the original bag to give away this week. If that’s a fit, or fits someone in your clan, fire an email here with SP Shirt in the subject line. We’ll announce the winner and drop this in the mail first thing Monday morning, 14 August.
Fall will be knocking on the doorstep in just a few weeks…
