Pro Hunter - Clothing Care

Pro Hunter - Clothing Care

The Pro Hunter Suit is the flagship clothing range manufactured by Harkila of Sweden. The Harkila range is undoubtedly renowned for its excellence within the stalking and hunting community. Equipped with GORE-TEX®‎ for breathability and waterproofness and sporting an ultra tough outer layer of CORDURA® which stands up to all environments and weather conditions the UK throws at it.  What makes this suit stand out even further from its competitors is the 5 year warranty which applies to the outer CORDURA® layer and any production faults.  

Like all clothing you have there are specific ways to care for the Pro Hunter range, so to guarantee you get the best bang for your buck, this weeks blog is going to look at how we should care for our Pro Hunter trousers and jacket.

Now, rather than giving you my 'mans' interpretation of best care I went straight to the source.  I had a chat with my friend, Kim, who is the After Sales Manager for Harkila.  Caring for your Pro Hunter gear is actually very simple and regular care guarantees a long lifespan and continued top quality.   

The simplest way to care for you clothing is to follow the products care label.  Before placing your products in the washing machine, all zippers and straps should be closed before hand.  Only ever wash your Pro Hunter products at 40°C or below, and spin gently.  One thing Kim pointed out specifically was that you should “avoid detergent in powder form, fabric softener, stain remover and bleach…” the reason for this is that they can influence the performance of your clothing by impeding the waterproof membranes.  A pure liquid soap, like NikWax, would be better suited.  With the suit having a GORE-TEX® membrane I was advised that it must hang-dry or tumble dry at low heat. If you go for the tumble drying option, once the outer shell is dry, tumble dry for a further 20 minutes, as this will secure the water-repelling function.

I’m sure we all know that GORE-TEX® is waterproof but did you know that the CORDURA® outer fabric is also treated with a Durable Water Repellant? (DWR)  The DWR basically aids in the water repellency properties of the suit as a whole.  The DWR will last for 80 washes.  Kim mentioned that Harkila to do not produce any products that revitalise the DWR treatment.  Do not fret, however, as there are plenty of products on the market that do, and luckily, you can get them from BushWear.

I also had a little chat with Kim about the the 5-year warranty.  Kim confirmed this was for the outer material and any production faults.  It does not cover normal wear and tear.  If you decide to crawl through barbed wire you would not be covered by the 5-year warranty.  I can also confirm that using a DWR revitaliser on your clothing would not affect the warranty either.

In essence you need to do very little to care for your Pro Hunter clothing.  The range itself is that tough and durable it doesn’t even need washed every time you take them out into the field.  For more information, keep an eye out on the Harkila website where Kim has mentioned they are currently working on a care centre.