Really, truly waterproof?

I always have such high hopes for gear I buy. I've imported gear from the UK and States, often proclaimed as the latest and greatest. Brands like Simms, Drake, Scierra. And Columbia. The common denominator with all have been that they are ultimately constructed in China or Taiwan. I have plenty of stuff made in those countries that work like a charm.... but household consumables and electronics are not really things that you put your faith in to keep you dry, and maybe one day, alive. On the local front I've tried top end rain gear stuff from Macpac and Kathmandu (neither are true hunting or fishing gear brands). Of all of the coats and jackets that I've tried, an old Kathmandu Gore Tex rain shell has served me best on the keeping water out front... as long as the water was coming from a semi-vertical position. Let me explain a bit further. When you're fly casting, your casting arm spends plenty of time above the parallel to earth position, so rain ends up running down your arm and you're wet to the elbow. One Scierra jacket had neoprene cuffs which worked OK until the neoprene got a bit worn. I wore the old Kathmandu the other day on a goose hunt, having chosen it over the Drake and Columbia jackets because the day was warm and because neither of the other 2 jackets are waterproof and if you're lying around in a paddock getting wet then you're going to not enjoy yourself greatly. By the end of that hunt and owing I guess to age, salt water exposure and walking backwards and forwards carrying stuff, the zipper (rubber coated) had leaked and the shoulder areas were wet.

So, time to bite the bullet. For a wee while now I've been looking at Sitka gear, represented in NZ by the Safari Supply Company. The general feedback around the traps has been that it's top of the line kit. Last night, Tim and I had a beer with Paul Stenning, who I noticed had been wearing the waterfowl line of gear, so literally the first thing I blurted out was "so Paul, is your Sitka gear really waterproof?" After a detailed rundown of why the Optifade camo pattern is so good, he confirmed that the gear is about as watertight as its possible to make a garment. Given that Sitka is owned by the Gore company, that ought to be the case. So I'll drop some coin on new gear, and sell off some used waterfowling gear.

Will report on the gear as I go out and get wet.

(Still keeping the old Kathmandu jacket though!)