Under Armour Conquers the Elements with Ridge Reaper Foul Weather Gear

Total Score: 8.08 - GREAT

Introduction: Under Armour is a giant in the sports apparel industry and has now firmly set their sights on addressing the fishing market. The team at Under Armour has been hard at work creating technical garments that are specifically tailored towards anglers, and this season they introduced their highest end set of foul weather gear yet with their new Ridge Reaper Hydro Jacket and Bib.

A new contender on the foul weather gear scene, the Under Armour Ridge Reaper

The Ridge Reaper is designed for both fresh and saltwater fishing

A look on the inside and you can see the Ridge Reaper logo

Real World Tests: For the purposes of this test we decided to review the Ridge Reaper Jacket and Bib as an entire set. They are designed to be used together but can certainly be paired with garments from other brands. For our tests we fished with the Ridge Reaper for three months on the California Delta, Clear Lake, and also local reservoirs in the San Francisco Bay Area. Unlike the last few years of drought we were blessed with an El Nino pattern which brought an abundance of rain to the Bay Area this winter. To further test durability and mobility of the garments we also fished from shore and even went on a few hikes in the rain.

Dual zippers allow the jacket to be opened from either direction

Quality/Construction: The Ridge Reaper features a 100% polyester material construction that is both breathable and waterproof, critical factors in good foul weather gear. The Ridge Reaper features a 20K/20K waterproof rating. So what does this rating actually mean to anglers?

The bibs and jackets both offer excellent water resistance and breathability

Manufacturers like Under Armour describe the waterproof breathability of fabrics with two numbers. The first is in millimeters (mm) and is a measure of just how waterproof a fabric is. For example in the case of a 10k or 10,000 mm fabric, if you put a tube with inner dimensions of 1” x 1” over a piece of this fabric, you could fill it with water to a height of 10,000 mm (32.8 feet) before water would begin to come through the material. Thus the higher the number, the more waterproof the fabric is.

The recent rains in Northern California gave us plenty of opportunities to try the Ridge Reaper

The second number is how manufacturers measure just how breathable the fabric is, and is described in terms of how many grams of water vapor can pass through a square meter (m2) of the fabric from the inside to the outside over the course of a 24 hour period. In the case of the Ridge Reaper for example the 20k fabric would be 20,000 grams. The larger the number, the more breathable the fabric.

The cuffs on the jacket are large and adjustable

Most anglers are going to be fine in most conditions with a 10K/10K rating but outdoor enthusiasts or fishing guides will definitely benefit from the higher rating. The overall build quality of the Ridge Reaper is very good and all the seams are taped up, and many of the key panels on both the jacket and bibs are well reinforced.

Inside is a second cuff to help seal out water and prevent it from running into the sleeves

Both garments have an abundance of storage, some of which is contained within the waterproof zipper pockets. One of the more interesting construction elements of the bibs is that they go all the way up the chest, which is higher than most competing bibs, and offers an added layer of protection from wind and rain.

A clever feature is the pull down bib, we just wish the buttons on the suspenders did a better job keeping the bib latched on

The bib is attached to the suspenders with two buttons and can be pulled down to provide access to your shirt. While this is a nice feature I did experience many times the buttons coming loose and allowing the front panel to come down unintentionally. This would happen whenever there was too much pressure on the suspenders, for example when I bent down to land fish or reached into the livewell. I ended up loosening the suspenders which helped, but either larger buttons or a clip fastening system would help eliminate this issue.