Tannin
Common; sedentary.
I need a coat for my birding expeditions. I want it to be:
Right now, I'm considering:
At present, I am leaning toward a Drizabone. Farmers wear them all the time (probably have them skin-grafted on at birth), and farmers are very practical, sensible people. They are mainly designed, I think, for that market, especially for people who spend all day on the back of a horse or on a tractor. I wonder if by using one for bird watching I'll risk tearing it when I'm ducking under branches and on thorns and things. But then the same probably applies to the Goretex option.
What do you all wear when the weather ain't great?
Thanks,
Tony
- Not too heavy (but middle weight is OK)
- Comfortable: able to move my arms freely
- Windproof
- Waterproof
- Hard-wearing
- Dark, don't-scare-the-birds colour
- Lots of pockets.
- Quiet - no rustling fabrics,
- Mid-thigh length. (I think: long enough to keep the wind and rain out, short enough that I don't have to take it off to get comfortable in the car.)
- Some warmth in it but not too much. Suitable, in other words, to wear over a heavy jumper and with fingerless gloves when it's 4 degrees C, but light enough to wear over a shirt when it's 20 degrees. (If it's any hotter than that and raining, then please turn me around and send me home: I'm in the wrong state!)
Right now, I'm considering:
- A DryazaBone: Australian-made range of oilskins. Fairly heavy cotton treated with oil and beeswax. Available in various lengths and with a thin lining, a medium lining, or a very warm but heavy thick lining. About $200 to $250.
- Various brands of Goretex coats. Nice and light, but hard to find in the right length and fit, and also hard to find in non-dayglo colours. Expensive at $300 to $500.
- Various brands of things made in quasi-Goretex fabrics. Often half the price of the Goretex ones, otherwise seem fairly similar.
At present, I am leaning toward a Drizabone. Farmers wear them all the time (probably have them skin-grafted on at birth), and farmers are very practical, sensible people. They are mainly designed, I think, for that market, especially for people who spend all day on the back of a horse or on a tractor. I wonder if by using one for bird watching I'll risk tearing it when I'm ducking under branches and on thorns and things. But then the same probably applies to the Goretex option.
What do you all wear when the weather ain't great?
Thanks,
Tony