IceShanty Main > General Ice Fishing Chit Chat
Floating ice jacket preferences
wirenut45:
o.k. , gonna give opinion since i,ve owned BOTH striker and arctic armor, ,n, tested both by going in to satisfy me they,re what they say they are: floating suits. a.a. first; floats fine for 140-150 lb. guy. a.a. does feel clammy due to no venting, so DO NOT break sweat in them. strikers are like a BMW vs chevy, ford, dodge argument. very, very well thought out suit . features up the wazoo. had them 2 yrs. ,n, someone on here sez about a drink holder, ,n, i go "WTH " why dont mine have that? guess what, they do! will easily float a 180-190 lb. guy ( thats why i got striker, got FAT. i have the hardwater coat ,n, predator bibs. don,t really need them for Pa. but we go to mn., n.d. to ice fish ,n, they keep me warm in the coldest, windiest conditions. imo, you cant go wrong with Strikerice products. wire
VTMatt:
I'll add info about Arctic Armor that was horrible for me......I even made a few threads about the company and owner
Materials are cheap. They literally just stitch bulky foam inside a crappy suit. The velcro ripped the inside of my jacket apart just from walking. Also NOT breathable at all. Waterproof? Hahaha...I knelt down in wet slush and both knees got soaked instantly. Best part is when I called and talked to the owner. He insulted and yelled at me over the phone and said I was lying about my issues. When I said I would make sure people knew what was wrong with the suits he threatened to sick a lawyer on me and hung up - lol. Went to Striker immediately after and its like night and day.
Bucket Rump:
--- Quote from: VTMatt on Mar 20, 2018, 08:10 PM ---I'll add info about Arctic Armor that was horrible for me......I even made a few threads about the company and owner
Materials are cheap. They literally just stitch bulky foam inside a crappy suit. The velcro ripped the inside of my jacket apart just from walking. Also NOT breathable at all. Waterproof? Hahaha...I knelt down in wet slush and both knees got soaked instantly. Best part is when I called and talked to the owner. He insulted and yelled at me over the phone and said I was lying about my issues. When I said I would make sure people knew what was wrong with the suits he threatened to sick a lawyer on me and hung up - lol. Went to Striker immediately after and its like night and day.
--- End quote ---
It sounds like my situation is more the exception than the norm, but I have had great luck with the Arctic Armor Pro suit I wear in regards to holding up and comfort - only have three full seasons on them, though, along with a few cold weather boat excursions. The bibs and jacket are not bulky at all, fit me really well and, at least with the AA Pro's, there is a zippered vent under each arm of the jacket - I haven't overheated in them yet, nor have I gotten cold in weather down to -10° F or so with some pretty stiff wind at times. Most trips I fish in a flip shack and usually take the jacket off when I'm inside or it gets too warm. Kneeling on the ice, be it snow, slush, or bare ice hasn't gotten me a wet knee yet. All that said, if I had the customer service experience that VTMatt described I would certainly look elsewhere for suit when the need to do so came up.
hardwater diehard:
--- Quote from: Bucket Rump on Mar 21, 2018, 12:09 PM ---It sounds like my situation is more the exception than the norm, but I have had great luck with the Arctic Armor Pro suit I wear in regards to holding up and comfort - only have three full seasons on them, though, along with a few cold weather boat excursions. The bibs and jacket are not bulky at all, fit me really well and, at least with the AA Pro's, there is a zippered vent under each arm of the jacket - I haven't overheated in them yet, nor have I gotten cold in weather down to -10° F or so with some pretty stiff wind at times. Most trips I fish in a flip shack and usually take the jacket off when I'm inside or it gets too warm. Kneeling on the ice, be it snow, slush, or bare ice hasn't gotten me a wet knee yet. All that said, if I had the customer service experience that VTMatt described I would certainly look elsewhere for suit when the need to do so came up.
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https://www.idigear.com/arctic-armor-pro-suit
I believe the Pro suit is breathable ...and they may have addressed other issues/concerns ...when I first started looking at float suits several seasons ago I came across Artic Armor IDI...at that time some IS members were having issues with breathability..so my search continued I located SI website some research and a good May sale I had a Climate set up ...only after buying a Predator set up from the same retailer ..only to be told my size wasn't available ...so I went all in on the Climate..not knowing what to expect as it was an internet purchase I was quite pleased ..but after my first season with the Climate set up it was way too warm for my area...so after finding another deal on a Predator set up I am now a proud owner of two SI set ups. I must say the hardest part of the SI gear is what to wear or not to wear underneath the suit as you go from early through midseason ....plenty warm ...plenty of pockets ...plenty dry one of my best investments for my passion . :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Tye:
Do yourself a favour and check out the FXR Excursion jacket. I have the whole suit and love it! Super comfortable and extremely warm yet still comfortable on warmer days don't over heat. Very durable high quality material. Give them a look.
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