Through a series of fortunate events, I ended up essentially spending just over two weeks on two different continents, in four different countries…and every day of it in the rain. I should hire out. The good news is that I had thought to bring Leupold’s new Storm Warden rain jacket and pants along with me.
My first experience wearing Leupold’s Storm Warden rain gear was while setting up decoys for clients during the south Texas turkey season. It was 80+ degrees and drizzling while I was trudging through a muddy field and cutting a shooting lane through the mesquite. I sweat buckets.
Leupold advertises the Storm Warden gear as “breathable” and it is, barely. It just doesn’t have the same airflow as a lighter weight lined garment. If you’re working hard in a relatively warm environment, this isn’t what you’re looking for, but it’s pretty clear that’s not what Storm Warden gear’s intended use is. It’s not “Drizzle Warden” or “Summer Sprinkle Warden.” It’s Storm Warden, and that’s exactly what it’s made for.
The next time I had on the Storm Warden gear was in Guatemala and Honduras while doing some volunteer medical aide work for remote tribal villages. It rained almost constantly, every single day. Even the locals considered it remarkable. I have never seen an area rain that much and not experience catastrophic flooding. As I was in and out of a kayak much of the time, I only used the Storm Warden jacket. Here, the Storm Warden jacket did very well. Not only did I and my gear stay completely dry, the jacket never tore while moving through the jungle, a feat more impressive than it sounds. The jungle looks soft, but for anyone who’s spent time in Central America will tell you that half the leaves hide thorns, and there’s a whole lot of leaves.
Both the jacket and the pants are solid. They feel much thicker than they actually are, especially at first. There’s a 4-way stretch material built in that makes the gear a lot more comfortable and mobile than you would think. When I put the jacket on, I assumed it would be pretty restrictive, but it’s not at all. The rugged build, as well as the stretch fabric, meant no tears, no rips, and no binding around the chest or shoulders either.
The material also has a huge added bonus for the hunter, the exterior is soft and smooth, so it doesn’t make that “zippy” sound that synthetic fibers usually make when moving through brush. I expect this is also one of the reasons why I didn’t get any cuts or tears when moving through so many thorns and branches, they just slid off.
It was on this trip that, for the first time ever, I understood why hood design is so important. On a couple trips through open water, my hired open-hulled boat had to plough through the rain and waves. The boat raced forward, the rain driving back at an equal pace. The captain had a covered plexiglass cockpit. I was left exposed on the bow. With the tab pulls on the chest of the jacket and the rear of the hood cinched down tight, and sunglasses pressed to my face, I stayed completely dry.
All of the zippers are YKK’s “Aquaguard” style. Think of it as a seam seal for the zipper. A hood covers each zipper in its top position so no drips leak in. Storm Warden gear goes the extra mile here on the jacket and adds a wide additional flap behind the zipper. All the zippers are medium sized and also have thicker plastic tabs built on them, also clearly intended to be able to grasp with cold or gloved hands.
The last place I got to use Leupold’s Storm Warden gear was chasing a particular free-range Southern Greater Kudu in South Africa’s Free State, right on the border with the tiny mountain nation of Lesotho. It was roughly 7,000 feet in elevation, low 30’s Fahrenheit, rain mixed with sleet, for days on days of glassing, hoping to spot our quarry any time the rain let up.
This is where the Storm Warden gear really shined.
The waist of the pants have a built-in belt with a buckle you can actually get on with gloves or cold hands. Very much appreciated. The pants include a stretch waistband and rubberized strips to both fit around and then hold on to your clothing.
The jacket falls well below the waist level so even when you’re sitting for long periods of time, no rain slides down your back and into your pants. Velcro around the wrists keeps water from slipping in, and hooks on the bottom of the pants clip to your laces. Tighten everything up and you’re protected from the rain and the wind alike. It’s obvious that a lot of thought and experience went into the design.
While some members of the party were stuck in the bakkie, I sat outside in the elements, impervious. It was hard not to get a little haughty.
Specifications: Storm Warden Rain Jacket and Pant
Material face: 70D nylon-spandex
Material Liner: Leupold Stormshield
Zippers: YKK AquaGuard
Colors: Black or Tan
Jacket Price: $299.99
Pant Price: $279.99