What's your favourite item of clothing - Iain Watson
Welcome to the first of a series of articles asking well known Stalkers what their favourite piece of outdoor clothing is and why. This week we have asked Author and renouned deer expert Iain Watson for his thoughts. Enjoy!
The Stalkers Best Friend?
Hunting clothing, well it comes and goes. Choices vary between the seasons, the quarry and the territories’ we hunt over. Heavy in the winter when perched shivering in a high seat, lighter as we forage for spring bucks, minimal even in the short summer months, as the stags feed in the high pastures. Fashions and colours change; smocks one year, full length zips the next. Hats become old friends totems till we lose them! Some shooting clothing become part of our very identity, our mates recognise us by the presence of certain items, the familiar after all brings comfort.But is there a piece of clothing ticks all the boxes for you? The one you always take, the one that simply works? For me only one has become indispensable. 8 years ago I invested in a pair of Harkila Pro Hunter trousers, at the time I was hesitant, the outlay seemed high, would they perform in some of the extreme environments I regularly work in? Could they stand up to the punishment of crawls through boulder fields and soggy peat bogs? The short answer for me is yes. Waterproof in all weathers, they hold back the force of Hebridean storms, coping with deluges of biblical proportions. They are tough enough to cope with dodgy crofters fences and sharp stony edges and recover quickly when misjudgements result in knee deep plunges through thin peat crusts which whip the unsuspecting of their feet. They defeat ticks and midges and in more civilised southern climes, offer a comfortable passage through bramble suckers and stinging nettles. Provisioned with secure storage pockets aplenty, and niches for extra ammunition, regardless of weather when I stalk they go with me, yes the cost was high but the performance it has turned out even higher!
