When Härkila say “By hunters – for hunters”, it’s not a joke. I am fortunate enough to be a part of this community and get to test various gear and thought I could share my summer favorites. When it comes to stalking, I am a fan of lightweight and noiseless material. With the weather we have in Scandinavia, they need to be flexible enough to handle rapidly changing weather conditions and still remain light and comfortable. Not an easy task and it has taken me a while to find my ideal outfit. In this blog, I will review the gear that I am using for summer hunting and explain why I favor it.
Härkila Vector – light, flexible and silent
If I were to give a thorough review of the Härkila Vector trousers and jacket, it would take half the blog, because this combo is packed with smart solutions. Most important is perhaps the fact that it is extremely comfortable to wear. Although being made in 100% waterproof GoreTex, it remains extremely soft and thin. The outside seem to be of some microfiber material – which rather reminds me of the soft cloth I use for polishing my car. That was until I tried it in the rain. It is not like the material I use for my car at all – because the jacket draws less moist than I expected and remained light even in light rain. Fabulous. When you add the possibility to open up the waterproof zippers for added ventilation whilst walking, then I have found my ideal match. So what you have is a silent, light, soft, waterproof jacket. After having to carry a few deer on my shoulders this summer, I have also tried washing it a few times and this does not seem to have changed the function of the material. I think the only thing I would have changed on the design is that I would have had a bit larger pockets on the thighs of the trousers.
So if you are into lightweight hunting and like stalking, this is the combo for you. It is a thin jacket though – so you will need to wear some extra clothes under it once the autumn draws closer. I am planning to use mine with extra clothes also for deer stalking in Kvinnherad in the second part of October – before I will move on to a warmer outfit.
Boots: Härkila Big Game GTX 8 – my feets best friend
Did you ever own a pair of old sneakers? You know – the ones that you just refuse to throw away because your feet love them? The Härkila Big Game GTX is the hunter’s equivalent to old sneakers. Although they may look large, they remain lightweight and cool. The boots are softer than my other hunting boots and a special inner sole gives added support. On the outside, they are covered by a soft and silent material – which reduce the scraping noise from rubbing against small sticks etc when walking. For practical hunting this is brilliant, but it requires some extra maintenance to keep them clean compared to traditional leather boots. I love them and I’ll guarantee you one thing; by investing in a pair of hunting boots which are made for walking in tempered conditions, you will never consider wearing your traditional all-year hunting boots again in summer.. (all year basically means that they are too cold for winter – too warm for summer – and too heavy for active hunting..).
Other gear for summer and autumn stalking
My rucksack is Härkila Reisa – it is small, noiseless and extremely soft. I wrote a review about it in the beginning of the year and it remains my favorite. I think the first hunt I will have without it this year will be when deer hunting in October – then I need to find something bigger. Suggestions appreciated J . Depending on the weather I may leave the jacket for the Vector set at home and use either the ultralight fleece Svarin or the Härkila Kalmar if it¨s a bit cooler.
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