Price and Applications: When it is cold, windy and wet the STORMR STRYKR jacket and bib is at its best, keeping anglers warm and dry and out in the field doing what they enjoy doing the most. However when conditions are more on the warm and rainy side the gear can feel a little like overkill and standard Gore-Tex Paclite jackets and pants feel more breathable and and are lighter and easier to move in.

The STRYKR Bib is very flexible, just make sure to get the right size, the medium size was short for me

If you are constantly travelling to fishing destinations the STORMR jacket does take up more room in your luggage and also weighs more, so if portability is a primary concern over warmth then this gear is not the right option. Interestingly the further north we journeyed up the coast the more the STORMR gear made sense. When we fished in Oregon and Washington we surveyed anglers and were surprised by how many professional guides not only knew of STORMR but had purchased the STRYKR gear for their own use.

The shoulder straps are adjustable and the bib also moves very well thanks to the 4 way stretch material

Multiple guides told us about how they had tried just about every type of rain gear and the STORMR offering was the one that kept them the driest and none of them had experienced any failures with the jacket whatsoever. It was interesting that while this apparel is not yet very well known among bass anglers that so many salmon and steelhead anglers in the Pacific Northwest had already started employing this product for their applications. When asked about how they had heard about the product most of them simply replied, “word of mouth.”

Guides in the Pacific Northwest had a lot of positive things to say about the STRYKR gear

One guide told us that while he liked the Gore-Tex based garments for fishing on the Columbia when he took his business to the Olympic Peninsula or Alaska those same garments simply were not robust enough to handle the increased amount of rain, or provide protection from the low temperatures, it was then that he became a true fan of the STORMR STRYKR jacket and bib.

Washington State Guide Ron Holt purchased the STRYKR and uses it to shield himself from the rain and cold on the Columbia and Lewis River throughout the entire season

Another interesting attribute of the STORMR STRYKR gear is that it adds buoyancy, for example the STRYKR jacket adds about 5lbs of positive buoyancy so that in the event you fall in the water the jacket will actually help you, versus feeling like it is fighting you. How many other foul weather jackets and bibs can claim that? 

The reinforced areas provide extra protection yet still remain flexible

The STORMR gear is considered a premium foul weather offering and you might expect to pay a premium for the truly differentiated features but the company has priced them in line with the competition’s high end offerings. The STRYKR jacket currently retails for $299.95 while the bib retails for $259-$289.95 depending on size, this is just about the same as the Simms Contender Series and significantly less than the Simms ProDry Series.

Even after a drenching the jacket kept me completely dry and in the field

In terms of availability the STORMR STRYKR jacket and bib are available now at e-tailers including Amazon.com but we expect more and more retailers that cater to bass anglers to start carrying the lineup as well. We have confirmed that in the next few weeks Tackle Warehouse is planning to bring the line on and the STRYKR series will be available just in time for winter fishing.