milarm_cody
08-08-2016, 09:30 AM
I’m in the group of hunters who spend my hunting season in a number of different situations through out the year. I spend the first couple months hunting waterfowl in a duck blind. I spend approximately 4-6 weeks a year in the backcountry scouting & hunting. I spend a few weeks in the tree stand in November for Whitetail. And since the regs have changed for upland birds to allow for longer seasons in Alberta, I spend as much time as I can in December & January pursuing grouse with my dog. All of these situations call for very different gear. I never thought I’d find a jacket that covered every single base. And now First Lite has released the Woodbury Jacket and all other hunting jackets pale in comparison. (I understand that people have their loyalty with specific brands, but brands aside, this jacket is far better than anything I’ve ever seen in 10 years of being in the hunting industry)
To get my only single complaint out of the way, this jacket is a little heavier than I had anticipated it being when I saw it. At 3lbs 4oz in size large, it’s no ultra light backpacking jacket. I will still bring this with me into the backcountry in late season regardless.
I first saw this jacket at the 2016 SHOT Show in Las Vegas and I instantly knew it was going to be an incredible addition to my hunting gear. First Lite, since its inception, has been pretty focused on back country hunting gear. This jacket is their first big venture into AG/tree stand hunting and they have knocked it out of the park.
The first thing I noticed is how quiet the First Lite outerwear has gotten. I’ve had an Uncompaghre for a few years and it is just a little too noisy for me to be super comfortable inside tree stand distances. The Woodbury is DEAD quiet. Late season archery hunters will fall in love with this thing, you won’t have to strip down and freeze during the stalk to prevent excess noise.
The 37.5 Technology keeps this jacket waterproof. I have yet to test this in a torrential down poor but I have had no issues in the few rain storms I’ve made it outside in and snow will not be an issue. I went on a few hikes in it to test the breathability and while it got very warm very quickly the technology featured in the material does an excellent job at breathing and removing moisture. I would have included pit zips myself, but it still breathes very well without them.
This thing fits perfectly too. I’m a large across the board in all First Lite garments. This is roomy enough to allow for a few layers of wool underneath but there is no excess bulk and your movement is not constricted at all. There is full range of motion. I’ve also tested this garment with the SEAK overtop and the fit is great.
Let’s talk about pockets. You have your standard 2 front pockets. In each of them you’ll find a zipper closure portion for secure retention and a flap closure portion allowing you to access your gear without having to use a zipper in the field. (I put a range finder & pocket knife in the flap portion and made every motion I could to get them to fall out and they both stayed put.) The chest pocket features a seam sealed zipper (tags, licenses or range finder). First Lite has also included a grunt tube pocket on the right hand side of the torso. Honestly, my elk tube does not come close to fitting, but all my external deer & waterfowl calls fit and there is a closed loop for securing your call lanyard to the jacket itself. On the back of the jacket is a large storage pocket (read, peanut butter and bacon sandwich pocket). And while not a pocket, they have designed a port on the back shoulder area where you can pass your tree stand harness through the jacket; and boy is it a cool feature. I always hated dealing with the harness tether beside my face with my hood up and that won’t be an issue anymore.
One of my favorite features on the Woodbury as well as the rest of the 2016 line-up is the turret hood. I’ve come to the conclusion that magic has been involved in the hood design. Once the hood is cinched up, it really does move with your head movement as they claim it does. Long gone are the days of choosing between a dry head and being able to see left and right without moving your entire upper body. The whole hood is removable too.
There is a ton of features in this jacket, so much so that I’m still discovering things about it now almost 2 weeks into ownership. It’s warm enough for late season tree stand hunting, the camo and waterproofness are ideal for waterfowl right up until the end of November. It is honestly too much jacket for 80% of back country hunting, but it would be ideal for a post rut elk hunt.
Bottom line on the First Lite Woodbury Jacket, if we run into each other this hunting season, I’ll be wearing it.
First Lite has released this jacket in Fusion & ASAT. It retails at MilArm for $434.99 and is in stock now.
All images are from First Lite's website:
http://www.firstlite.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/650x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/w/o/woodbury_jacket_fusion.jpg
http://www.firstlite.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/650x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/p/b/pb120088-1200x901.jpg
http://www.firstlite.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/650x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/h/a/harness-passthrough1.jpg
To get my only single complaint out of the way, this jacket is a little heavier than I had anticipated it being when I saw it. At 3lbs 4oz in size large, it’s no ultra light backpacking jacket. I will still bring this with me into the backcountry in late season regardless.
I first saw this jacket at the 2016 SHOT Show in Las Vegas and I instantly knew it was going to be an incredible addition to my hunting gear. First Lite, since its inception, has been pretty focused on back country hunting gear. This jacket is their first big venture into AG/tree stand hunting and they have knocked it out of the park.
The first thing I noticed is how quiet the First Lite outerwear has gotten. I’ve had an Uncompaghre for a few years and it is just a little too noisy for me to be super comfortable inside tree stand distances. The Woodbury is DEAD quiet. Late season archery hunters will fall in love with this thing, you won’t have to strip down and freeze during the stalk to prevent excess noise.
The 37.5 Technology keeps this jacket waterproof. I have yet to test this in a torrential down poor but I have had no issues in the few rain storms I’ve made it outside in and snow will not be an issue. I went on a few hikes in it to test the breathability and while it got very warm very quickly the technology featured in the material does an excellent job at breathing and removing moisture. I would have included pit zips myself, but it still breathes very well without them.
This thing fits perfectly too. I’m a large across the board in all First Lite garments. This is roomy enough to allow for a few layers of wool underneath but there is no excess bulk and your movement is not constricted at all. There is full range of motion. I’ve also tested this garment with the SEAK overtop and the fit is great.
Let’s talk about pockets. You have your standard 2 front pockets. In each of them you’ll find a zipper closure portion for secure retention and a flap closure portion allowing you to access your gear without having to use a zipper in the field. (I put a range finder & pocket knife in the flap portion and made every motion I could to get them to fall out and they both stayed put.) The chest pocket features a seam sealed zipper (tags, licenses or range finder). First Lite has also included a grunt tube pocket on the right hand side of the torso. Honestly, my elk tube does not come close to fitting, but all my external deer & waterfowl calls fit and there is a closed loop for securing your call lanyard to the jacket itself. On the back of the jacket is a large storage pocket (read, peanut butter and bacon sandwich pocket). And while not a pocket, they have designed a port on the back shoulder area where you can pass your tree stand harness through the jacket; and boy is it a cool feature. I always hated dealing with the harness tether beside my face with my hood up and that won’t be an issue anymore.
One of my favorite features on the Woodbury as well as the rest of the 2016 line-up is the turret hood. I’ve come to the conclusion that magic has been involved in the hood design. Once the hood is cinched up, it really does move with your head movement as they claim it does. Long gone are the days of choosing between a dry head and being able to see left and right without moving your entire upper body. The whole hood is removable too.
There is a ton of features in this jacket, so much so that I’m still discovering things about it now almost 2 weeks into ownership. It’s warm enough for late season tree stand hunting, the camo and waterproofness are ideal for waterfowl right up until the end of November. It is honestly too much jacket for 80% of back country hunting, but it would be ideal for a post rut elk hunt.
Bottom line on the First Lite Woodbury Jacket, if we run into each other this hunting season, I’ll be wearing it.
First Lite has released this jacket in Fusion & ASAT. It retails at MilArm for $434.99 and is in stock now.
All images are from First Lite's website:
http://www.firstlite.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/650x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/w/o/woodbury_jacket_fusion.jpg
http://www.firstlite.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/650x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/p/b/pb120088-1200x901.jpg
http://www.firstlite.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/650x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/h/a/harness-passthrough1.jpg