Spring has arrived!  Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and rain is falling.  Lots of rain is falling!  In my neck of the woods, we seem to be stuck in an endless cycle of sunshine, rain, another glimmer of sunshine and then more pouring rain.

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I’m quite accustomed to rainy weather.  I actually really like the rain and get excited when it’s in the forecast after weeks, or even months, of sunshine.

The recent gloomy skies had me thinking about hunting season and the torrential downpour I got stuck in last season.  November, much like spring, in Washington can be an unpredictable month weather-wise.  Sometimes we get snow, sometimes it just rains, and other times it’s just cold with beautiful skies.  We really never know which way it’s going to turn out.

Not knowing the conditions I’d be out in, I wanted to be prepared for the worst case scenario.  My goal was to find a hunting coat that would keep me warm, dry, and not break my budget.  The search was harder than I thought.

I always read reviews online before buying a product.  This time was no different.  I spent hours reading countless reviews on several coats.  I was surprised by how many waterproof jackets had reviews where someone ended up being soaked after wearing it.

I don’t think bad reviews necessarily mean a product is bad.  But, I didn’t want to find out a coat was in fact not waterproof as I was out hunting.  Eventually, I found this coat from the Bass Pro Shops SHE line.  It was true to size and comfortable to wear.  It kept me warm and I could easily add layers underneath if I needed to.

One of the things I love most about this coat is how quiet the material is when moving around.  Overall, it definitely lived up to what they said the coat would do.  Being in the rain for a few hours and finding my upper body completely dry after taking the jacket off was proof enough.  The only downfall to the coat is the lack of pockets (three small pockets doesn’t cut it when they can barely hold more than a couple of shotshells).

This year, I plan on investing in waterproof hunting pants.  I’m prepared to spend a little more for these.   With plans to bowhunt in a couple of years, I want clothes I can use for both rifle and archery seasons.

What waterproof hunting gear do you use and swear by?  I’d love to hear what you’ve found works the best before I get back to scouring the internet for product reviews.

Great news!  I’m pleased to say the company I mentioned in my previous post, has responded to my email and addressed the incident exceptionally well.

Last week, after thinking about it for awhile, I sent an email which echoed what was written in my blog post.  I decided this was too important of an issue and I should address it.  The next day, I received the following email.

As you might imagine, when I received the email, I wasn’t quite sure if this was simply to appease me or if they would actually make good on their promise to escalate the issue to the top.  This week, I received the following email from the company’s Creative Director.

I’m very pleased with their quick response, as well as how professionally and personally they addressed the situation.  It was great having a woman reach out who understands what it’s like being a female in the hunting world.  It means a lot that she shared her personal story with me.  That really went above and beyond what I had expected.

She makes a great point that as a female hunter, you need to be sure your voice is heard.  It was similar to what a few of you shared in your comments on the last post.  This was definitely a learning experience for me.  Taking her advice, plus what some of you wrote, I know I’ll be more confident in a situation like this if it happens again.

I’m happy with how they handled the situation and it has restored my respect for the company.  My intention in sending the email was to make the company aware of the issue, but I do appreciate their offer of apology.  I look forward to trying their product and will give an honest review after using it.

I’m glad that this unfortunate situation now has a good ending and that I can continue on knowing I did what I needed to do to make sure the issue was addressed. I hope this experience of mine can help you in handling similar situations if they should ever arise.

Sometimes, as you’re dreaming of white tail deer, your friend is dreaming of their picture perfect wedding day.  Every now and again, these happen at the same time.  As a woman in my late twenties, there’s an ever growing number of engagements, weddings, and babies happening in the lives of those closest to me.  That can mean trading in your camo and rifle for a dress and heels.

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