Field testing doesn't get much better than this, chasing the famous Barra in some
best country Australia has to offer. Everyday we headed down river 100kms to find the prime fishing grounds this was normally unusual but as a result of a dry wet season, the Barra didn't come up stream to chase the bait fish as they would in a normal season. As soon as we arrived at the 'secret' fishing spots, it was obvious that these waters are teaming with fish. The first fish caught was a 76cm Barra, then a 95cm ThreadFin Salmon, more Barra's and then a nice Mullaway at about 90cm. After 3 days of fishing the biggest Barra caught was 93cm just falling short in becoming members of the exclusive 100cm Barra Club.
The temperature during the middle of the day was close to 40 degrees and the humidity was above 90%. The sun intensity was like nothing we had ever experienced before, to make things even worse we were spending 8 hours a day in the direct sunlight. Fortunately for the Columbia and Mountain Hardwear gear with their ultralight weight fabrics and 50+ UV protection we were as comfortable as we could get in this environment..but most importantly we weren't being fried by the sun. Gear Review:
We tested the Columbia's PGF ultra-light fishing gear the Columbia Bonehead shirt and Mountain Hardwear's Canyon Shirt.
On Day one we tried the Columbia Bahamas II shirt and Columbia's Silver Ridge convertible pants, as mentioned the temperature was damm hot, with a humidity at about 90%. The breathability factor of the clothing was hard to determine as in the heat & humidity you couldn't help sweating but the back venting was a relief when ever a nice breeze came around. The Synthetic fabric wicked moisture away from my skin and the fabric dried quickly leaving me realitively comfortible. Did I mention the sun was a killer, fishing all day without any other cover apart from the clothes we were wearing and our hats if it wasn't for the UV50+ sun protection that Columbia and Mountain Hardwear's clothing offered this would have been unbearable.
On day two we gave the Columbia's Bonehead PGF shirt a go. This shirt initially felt heavier and hotter to wear compaired to the ultralight synthetic fabrics but being made of the 100% cotton this shirt became my personal favourite. The natural cooling effect cotton has with water was great relief from the heat, combine this with the back venting pannels this shirt kept us comfortable. The Bonehead shirt technically can't offer a UV protection rating as the material stretches when it's wet, in saying this we had no problems, but this may be a different result for those with sensitive skins.
On Day three we put the Mountain Hardwear's Canyon Shirt to the test. This shirt is made of a synthetic fabric which is not as lightweight and the Columbias synthetic fabric but with the additional features of the underarm and back vents assisted to keep the sweat to a minimum. This shirt also features double folded collar that prevented the sun from burning our necks, plus this with it's 50+ UV rating the suns intensity was not a concern.
Overall the clothing performed better than expected, ideally in this heat you really want to wear as little as possible, but that is impossible under the intense sun. Every shirt suited each of us differently we all had our own favourites but at the end of the day there was nothing better that we could have worn for this adventure. |
