- Jul 1, 2019
- 261
- 282
You’ve heard me say it before, and I’ll say it again: I’m a gear nut! Any chance I have to test new gear, I jump at it. When I learned about the clothing company Aspinwall out of Billings, MT it definitely piqued my interest.
Aspinwall sent me a set of their softshell jackets and pants in solids and in camo to test in the field and give them honest feedback.
THE BEARTOOTH JACKET
I was very impressed with the fit of the jacket, the first piece I tried on out of the box. We get to test virtually every brand of clothing on the market and each brand fits just a little different, as would be expected. The Aspinwall Beartooth jacket fit like it was tailor-made for my upper body, including plenty of sleeve length for my long arms.
This is a full-featured jacket, including a generous collar and articulated hood with shock-chord adjustment to help with thermoregulation and overall fit of the hood in a variety of conditions. It also has two horizontal zippered vents on each side of the armpit area on each side of the jacket to help dump heat during exertion. The Beartooth has a handwarmer pocket on each side of the jacket and an internal zippered chest pocket on the left side.
Another handy feature are the elastic/hook-and-loop adjustable closure wrist cuffs to give you a custom fit no matter your wrist and glove size (this also helps manage bowstring clearance during archery season). The jacket also has a waterproof center zipper, further adding to its water repellency to go along with the DWR treatment on the fabric.
THE BEARTOOTH PANTS
The pants are fully featured, too, including front hand warmer pockets on each side, front thigh zippered cargo pockets on each side, and back zippered pockets below the waistline.
One of my favorite features of the pants is the waist adjustment system. Like most pants there is a vertical zipper that leads up toward the waistline, but rather than a button or snap closure there is an integrated belt with a hook/buckle on the right side of the waistline that attaches to a loop on the left side of the waistline. This gives you an infinite amount of adjustment (helpful for when you are lean and mean at the start of the season and have eaten too many candy bars and pumpkin pie the closer it gets to Thanksgiving and late season hunting).
Like the jacket, the Beartooth pants have ample ventilation with one vertical vent on the outside of the legs and one horizontal vent on the upper inseam areas.
The included internal knee pad pockets are perfect for easily inserting knee pads in and taking them out without losing your religion over the process.
I found the inseam to be generous on these Beartooth pants, while the hip flexor area is a bit snug so consider that when placing your order on their website.
Shop Aspinwall Here
COMBINED FEATURES
The outer shell of both the jacket and pants are made of a quiet material for use in all seasons, plus have a grid-fleece interior for added warmth in mid to late season. I love the fact that ALL of the zippers have silicone-dipped zipper pulls that are easy to use with gloves on and are super quiet.
Both layers are available in Granite Grey or Easy Company Camo (proprietary to Aspinwall).
THE BEST PART
Besides being killer pieces to wear in multiple seasons during the fall and spring, the price point isn’t something that will make you choke on your coffee. The jacket is $209 and the pants are $179. These prices are a steal for the quality of this gear! Check ‘em out at www.aspinwall.com and click on the Technical Gear dropdown menu.
Aspinwall is planning a launch of more layers in the coming months so make sure you sign up for their email list to keep informed on the latest and greatest from this innovative company.
Shop Aspinwall Here
