Author: Frank Ross

When the weather doesn't cooperate, you need Guideshield®.

Anglers and other outdoors addicts have known the truth for a long time; the finest rain gear on the planet is Cabela's Guidewear®.

Guidewear has sent many an outdoor writer to the thesaurus, searching for superlatives. It's the industry standard for durability, and functionality, but Jeff Smith, who heads up the design team for Cabela's clothing is never satisfied. His latest innovation is like adding leather seats, a mondo stereo system and a hot tub to an Abrams M1A1 tank.

Two problems confront everyone who spends any time on the water -weather and how to deal with it. This is especially true in the early spring and late fall months when temperatures can make dramatic swings from sunrise to sunset. When you throw in wind and rain, the challenge of staying on the water requires a system that is both topnotch and flexible. With the introduction of the revolutionary new Guideshield® jacket you'll have both, in spades.

On a recent trip to Canada, I was hunting and fishing near the Arctic Circle in all types of weather conditions, but the one constant was wind. When you throw intermittent rainsqualls and falling temps into the mix, your day on the water can be ruined, especially when you're miles from your change of dry clothes back at the lodge.

Fortunately I was field-testing the Guideshield® jacket as an addendum to my Guidewear. It performed flawlessly. I used it both as a liner on rainy days and as a light jacket when we were fishing on sunny days. Up that far north, simply crossing a lake in an open boat with spray wafting in the air can be bone chilling. Guideshield is highly water resistant, provides an impenetrable barrier to the wind, has excellent heat dispersal properties and is ideal for layering due to its fabric characteristics.

Innovation is an amazing part of life today, and all too often I take it for granted. The heart of this remarkable jacket is a technological breakthrough developed by GORE-TEX®. Guideshield is made from a bonded, triple-layer material that combines a Windstopper soft shell sandwiched with a water resistant nylon outer shell and a soft fleece lining for what can only be described as the ultimate in warm, windproof protection.

"With the speed of today's fishing boats, just crossing a lake at 50 miles-per-hour is a weather event in itself. We wanted to develop a system that provided an entire package for anglers, and the addition of Guideshield and our new pants puts Guidewear at the forefront of the industry. The warmth to weight ratio is excellent, and the fabric's ability to stretch with movement gives anglers the flexibility they need to cast and fight fish without feeling constrained," Smith explained.

"Through our research we found that anglers were layering under their rain gear with cotton T-shirts and sweatshirts to keep warm, and once the cotton fabric attracted moisture they felt damp, often thinking that their rain gear was not working. When you eliminate the cotton, you eliminate the moisture and dampness. Guideshield eliminates the need for those layers and due to the texture of the fabric it is much easier to slip into and out of your rain gear," he said.

"We've spent a lot of time in the design of this garment, and we took fieldtesting to the extreme for this introduction. We wanted to make sure it was exactly right before we put it on the market. Some very critical anglers have tested it in every possible environment from Florida to Alaska and the Arctic Circle. With their feedback we've made some adjustments and what you see is the product of those efforts. The sleeves were the most challenging. The wide range of wrist sizes were a challenge, but we resolved the need to have a tight, comfortable fit that would mesh with the waterproof cuffs of the Guidewear parka, and now I'm confident that we've got a winner"

On those days when you know you're going to be layered all day, the jacket is designed to attach by way of a loop on the sleeve and the zipper that bonds it to the parka, making it in effect, one garment. When you know that you'll be stripping layers, I prefer to simply wear it as a separate item so that I can shuck off the outer layer and not miss a cast.

Another clever innovation is the placement of the two pockets over the chest of the jacket. They're handy for storing items, but the intent is venting out heat. "Some jackets use pit-zips to vent out heat and moisture, but we feel that the chest is the most effective area to vent. The fabric inside the pocket is a special, highly breathable poly tricot material that will quickly bleed off excess heat."

"Some anglers want the durability and protection that our bibs provide, but there are times that they want something lighter without sacrificing their comfort. To address these needs we developed our Guidewear pants. They're made from the same GORE-TEX® 330-denier Cordura® nylon outer shell, and their articulated knees allow for greater range of motion. It's just a more light-weight option that completes the system for any angler under any condition."

"It's hard to say any rainwear parka is a "value" starting at $299.95, but the components of this system, if sold separately, would add up to over $400 (GORE-TEX shell - $230 plus Guideshield liner $170 = $400). By offering the combination of a Guidewear GORE-TEX shell and new Guideshield liner all in one, we are able to bring the package price to a level that most outdoorsmen can handle, when really shopping for technical rain gear. Our new Guidewear systems parka offers you flexibility, function, style and is the hallmark of durability," he said.

Over the years I've seen a lot of "latest and greatest," and some of these innovations are no longer on the market. A decade from now Guideshield will be absent from the ranks of the ill conceived. It's a garment that will make you turn around and drive back from the lake when you realize that you forgot it, no matter what the distance.

With Guideshield and the new Guidewear system, you'll experience comfort, style, and develop an invincible attitude that eliminates the limitations that weather puts on fishing.

See a complete selection of all types of boating gear.

For more information, check out our GuideWear Review.

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