Heralding from western Washington, where most of us have gills on our necks and moss growing between our fingers, I understand the need for high quality rain gear. I have hunted whitetails in the Mid-West and have chased elk in the Cascade Mountains, but until you have hunted blacktails in the water soaked, thick brush understory of the Pacific Northwest you don't know the meaning of wet. In these conditions, top-notch waterproof clothing is not a luxury but a necessity. Breathable clothing is also required, as body perspiration does become a major concern. Once you are damp in the fog and rain, it will not be long until you are heading back to the truck for a warm cup of Starbuck's best.

Recently, I had a chance to field test a set of Cabela's MT050 Packable Rain Gear. After examining the garments in the office, I was excited to go. Plead as I might, they would not send me back to Washington for a blacktail or bear hunt to really give the gear a workout, but I was allowed to take them on an early archery spring turkey hunt in the northern part of Nebraska. After checking the forecast for the next few days, I was eager to give the gear a go. The weather looked about as close to western Washington as it can get on the east side of the Rockies.

The following morning, I was startled awake by the shaking and rattling of my bedroom wall. Thinking I was in the middle of an earthquake, I was almost out of bed before I remembered I was no longer at home but had driven from work the night before to the turkey camp. My bed was no longer my wide mattress and comforter but my sleeping bag on top of a cot, and the wall was a thin piece of canvas that comprised one side of my tent. It was still dark when I climbed out of my bag and began stoking the fire but I didn't need daylight to tell me I had better cover my warm, polar fleece, pants and jacket with a little more protection.

Not only were the walls of the tent whipping around like laundry on a clothesline, but the wind was making the trees moan and creak under the strain. If the wind was not bad enough, the rain could plainly be heard coming down on the roof of the tent. It was not one of those soothing pitter-pattering rains but a deafening, maniacal pounding that was enough to wake the dead (namely my hunting partner-who was pretending to still be asleep till the warmth of the stove filled the tent).

I reached into my duffel bag and pulled out two bundles small enough to fit inside a normal size fanny pack. Unzipping the zippers I began to pull out material. The bundles quickly changed in shape and size and materialized into a complete outfit of MT050 rainwear.

Wearing the pants and jacket, I adjusted the hood, with the two cinch straps, for a perfect fit and strolled out into the pre-dawn, starless night. I had no illusions about hearing a bird gobble from the roost as I grabbed my bow and quickly negotiated down the ridge from camp. It was an old habit driven by the motto that "you will never get an animal from the comfort of camp." This theory has kept me out on many cold, wet, miserable days. 90 percent of the time, I don't see anything but the other 10 percent is worth the misery. This day was to fall into the 90 percent category.

After a long day of seeing nothing, I wearily made my way back to camp and the warm fire. I shed my MT050 and hung it up on the clothes rack next to the cook stove. Underneath I was bone dry even though I had been walking and sitting in the torrential down pour since six in the morning. Not only did the cloth shed rain but there was no perspiration build up even though I had been hiking through some pretty steep and rugged country for the better part of the afternoon.

Each morning when I awoke, the MT050 was dry and waiting to be put on for another day of hunting. I was actually surprised, as I have often had hunting clothes soak up enough rain on the outside to be clammy and wet the following morning. The next two days were repeats of the same weather and unfortunately the same dismal results on game. But during the last afternoon, my hunting partner successfully harvested a nice tom with an 8" beard, which put both of us in high spirits for the drive back home.

In review, I wore the MT050 constantly throughout the day in heavy rains, sitting in wet grass and while hiking steep terrain and never did get wet, experience a bleed through or a wet spot from either rain or condensation of sweat. The low nap cloth and the GORE-TEX® material were quiet and well designed to allow easy movement of both legs and arms. I walked through many patches of cockle burrs in the creek bottoms and brushy draws. The large cockle burrs and smaller Spanish nettles would temporarily affix to the low nap material, but with the simple brush of a hand they would easily come off. This is by far the best performance I have seen in any type of soft material. Not only was the MT050 quiet, soft and waterproof, it was also strong and durable. I sat on many sharp sticks, gnarly pine cones and walked through lots of thick brush without a rip, tear or puncture.

I have hunted in harsh conditions in many regions with a variety of gear but after this trip to the mountains in the early spring, I can guarantee that I will not go afield again without throwing a set of MT050 into my duffel bag (especially since both the pants and parka pack into their own attached zippered pocket). Each set is also available with a Scent-Lok® liner and in Mossy Oak® Break-Up™, Realtree® X-tra Brown, and Advantage Timber. I think I will get another set in Realtree® X-tra Brown™ with Scent-Lok® for big-game hunting this fall for whitetails in Nebraska, Elk in Montana and Blacktails back home in Washington State.

Click here for more information on Cabela's MT050 Packable Rain Gear.

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