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The Orvis Pro
Guide Stretch Wading Jacket shields anglers from the elements
(continued)
 
On the back of the jacket
is a large rear pocket that is able to hold larger items including lunch and
even two small water bottles. While there is a lot of capacity offered with this
pocket I preferred not to load it with anything but the essentials as you do
feel the weight pulling against the shoulders and front of the jacket. Finally a
net retainer D-ring is positioned near the back of your neck making it easy to
draw your net when it comes time to land that trophy fish.
A look at the cuff, notice the
strap to tighten the cuff firmly around your wrist
When wading deep into the
water or releasing fish Orvis includes what I consider to be the very best
feature of this jacket… the Dolphin Skin™ cuffs.
These cuffs can be adjusted underneath the sleeve to hug you wrists. Not only
are the cuffs good at holding the sleeves in position while casting they prevent
water from moving up and into the jacket when you dip your hands into the water.
With other jackets I’ve made moves where the cuff came into contact with fast
moving water and the next thing I knew I had freezing water all the way down my
sleeve, not fun on cold days! The Dolphin Skin™ cuffs on the Pro Guide Jacket do
a great job locking out the water and keeping you both dry and comfortable.
Even the zippers are special, they
are laser cut to ensure the large pockets remain waterproof
One final
thing we noted in actual fishing tests was the Pro Guide jacket is cut a little
higher than some of the other jackets we have fished in the past including those
from Simms. I personally appreciated this as I was able to wade through higher
water without concern about the jacket getting wet. While you can still get away
with wearing this garment as a normal rain jacket the styling is something to
take into consideration if you prefer a longer cut.
The pockets are large enough to
hold big items like digital cameras and fly boxes
Durability:
Destroying a garment like this always breaks my heart but to see just what the
Orvis Pro Guide could handle I put the garment through all the typical usage one
would expect on two extended trips then moved on to a series of destruction
tests. Two trips is hardly enough time for a long term test so we accelerated
the damage by deliberately rubbing the arms and side of the jacket against
various rocks and wood structure lining the banks of the river. Surprisingly
neither was able to do more than scuff the surface of the garment and the
membrane continued to deliver a watertight seal. We then tested the surface with
hooks and unless the hook was directly pressed downwards against the garment
they would glide over the surface without snagging. Fly hooks will do no damage
to the garment but traditional hooks can pierce the surface if pressed against
the garment directly. We were able to make a small hole that beads of water were
able to get through, but again this is really an abnormal scenario that is
unlikely to occur in the field. By the end of our tests I was confident that the
jacket would hold up well over the long term when employed in normal fishing
applications.
On the back is a handy net snap
Price & Applications:
As we move on to the category of price things get a little hairy for the Orvis
Pro Guide Jacket. A lot of anglers are willing to pay 300 plus for a wading
jacket but a requirement is that it needs to be built with Gore-Tex. There are a
lot of materials out there that compete with Gore-Tex but few are as well known.
The biggest competition for this jacket comes from Simms which prices their
Rivershed jacket for $279.95 and the standard Guide jacket at $349.95, their G4
Pro jacket retails for $479.95, and all of these jackets make use of Gore-Tex
material. If you’re not hung up on Gore-Tex the Orvis Pro Guide Jacket’s price
of $329 dollars will be more acceptable to you. If you are already a fan of
Orvis outerwear or a previous owner of the Tailwaters XT jacket then the price
will not seem out of range at all.
The Orvis Pro Guide Stretch wading
jacket offers exceptional mobility and free range of motion for your arms
Orvis jackets have a
unique styling and differ greatly from offerings from both Simms and Patagonia.
The Pro Guide Jacket is much more modern looking than the Tailwaters XT. When
the Tailwaters XT jacket debuted it retailed for $298 dollars and we think the 31
dollar price premium over the Tailwaters XT makes buying the Pro Guide a no
brainer, but Orvis has been blowing out the old Tailwaters XT jackets for only
$159 dollars which is an exceptional price, if
you can still find one. The company also has a new "Tailwaters" jacket
for $229 dollars that has more traditional pocket design, a zinger patch, a roll
in store hood as well as the dolphin skin cuffs but no stretchy yoke or laser
cut pockets. Overall I prefer the more modern look and features of the Pro Guide
Stretch Wading jacket but it is hard to overlook hundred dollar delta between it
and the new Tailwaters jacket.
Ratings:
(We've
re-calibrated our
ratings standard for
2008 and have
included a key at
the bottom of the
following matrix as
a guide):
|
Orvis
Pro
Guide
Waterproof
Stretch
Wading
Jacket
Ratings
(?/10)
|
|
Construction/Quality |
The
Orvis
Pro
Guide
Waterproof
Stretch
Jacket
is built
well and
makes
use of a
nylon
shell
and
nylon
tricot
backing,
we
suspect
it is
Toray
material
|
8 |
|
Performance |
The Pro
Guide
Jacket
performed
well in
all of
the
tests
from
casting
to
actual
breathability
and the
ability
to keep
anglers
waterproof
and dry.
It even
performed
well in
our
accelerated
durability
tests.
It is
the most
comfortable
jacket
to cast
in that
I have
ever
fished |
8.5 |
|
Price |
The
jacket
retails
for 329
which is
considered
expensive
and puts
it in
range of
quite a
few
competitors
including
Simms.
The Pro
Guide is
jacket
is
cheaper
than the
premium
offerings
from
Patagonia
and
Simms
however |
6.5 |
|
Features |
Plenty
of
features
including
waterproof
laser
cut
pockets,
stretch
fabric
on
shoulders,
large
waterproof
pockets
for
storage,
two way
adjustable
hood,
dolphin
skin
cuffs,
net
snap,
large
pocket
for
lunch
and
water.
Still it
is
missing
a few
popular
features
including
an
attachment
for
zingers
and a
roll up
hood |
8 |
|
Design
(Ergonomics) |
Extremely
comfortable
to wear
and cast
in. So
light
that it
is easy
to
forget
that
your
wearing
it, and
big
enough
to layer
up
underneath
even
though
it has a
modern
fit |
9 |
|
Application |
Great
for a
wide
range of
applications
and can
be
appreciated
by more
than
just fly
anglers,
this
jacket
is great
for warm
water
fishing
in the
rain and
all but
extreme
cold
locations |
8 |
|
Total
Score
|
8.00 |
Ratings
Key:
1 =
terrible
: 2 =
poor : 3
=
lacking
: 4 =
sub par
: 5 =
mediocre
: 6 =
fair : 7
= good :
8 =
great :
9 =
excellent
: 10 =
unbelievable!
For More
Details
of the
updated
rating
system
visit
our
explanation
here |
Pluses and Minuses:
|
Plus
Minus
|
|
J
Extremely
light
and
comfortable
to wear
and cast
in |
L
If you
are
looking
for a
jacket
made
with
Gore-Tex
your out
of luck
with
this
garment |
|
J
Great
barrier
against
the
elements |
L
No
attachment
for
zingers
on the
front of
the
jacket |
|
J
Cheaper
than
some of
the
premium
jackets
from
other
brands |
|
|
J
Plenty
of dry
storage
behind
laser
cut
zippers |
|
|
J
Dolphin
skin
cuffs
keep
your
arms dry
when
close to
the
water or
releasing
fish |
|
The Orvis Pro Guide jacket
features a clean modern design and will keep anglers dry and warm even in heavy
rain
Conclusion:
Overall the Orvis Pro Guide Wading jacket is extremely well laid out and anglers
will love the way it feels when fly casting or just hiking from spot to spot
with conventional gear. The definitely lives up to all the company’s
waterproofing and breathability claims. I have fished with the Orvis
Tailwaters XT jacket and the Pro Guide is indeed a step up in both design and
construction. The Tailwaters XT jacket is a more traditional jacket and is
already one of the most popular on the market, with good reason, but anglers
looking for the highest level of protection from the elements will appreciate
Orvis’s new top of the line Pro Guide Stretch Jacket. The Orvis pro Guide
Stretch Wading Jacket properly shields anglers from the elements, and you don’t
have to be a fly angler to appreciate just how good this jacket is. Whether you
plan on fishing on a warm day and you want extra splash protection or you are
facing a deluge the Orvis Pro Guide Jacket will keep you comfortable and dry
through it all.
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