Raingear Review – Blackfish

Earlier this season I was in need of some new raingear. After A LOT of research I decided on Blackfish. I went back and forth between the Endure and Aspire series. I finally decided to go with the Endure series. I never thought I’d ever pay 800.00 for raingear, And I didn’t. I found a deal for 40% off. Near $500.00 was also not a easy decision. I justified the purchase with how long I expect it to last, and amount of use its needed for. I got the chance to use it a few different times this summer in some rather hard storms. I have to say so far it has keep me totally Dry. I will say it is rather warm ( I was aware of this prior to purchase ) that was one of the reason I chose the endure series. I really wanted good warm raingear for the 2 Canada trips I make each year in the spring and fall. Its not uncommon to run into some rather cool temps on both of these trips and we almost always get a few days of all day rains with some of them being really heavy rain. I would say the sizing on them run rather true. I am 5’10” and weight about 220 ( Chubby guy as my friends like to call me ) I ordered the XL and they have some room in them to layer some additional layers under them. The are a little long in the legs but the Large were the same leg measurement. I have not had a need to wash them yet this year but plan to do so at the end of the open water season. They claim that washing them does not effect the water repellency as all. I hope that is true as that is one of the reasons I paid what I did for them. All my old raingear was effected by washing and no amount of after market product did a good job of returning them to good repellency. How well they will hold up over time – Only Time will tell. Overall at this point I would say I am more than happy with the purchase.

So is it insulated or uninsulated?

gimruis wrote:

So is it insulated or uninsulated?

They don’t list it as insulated and I’d not call it insulated. It is a heavier material than some of the raingear I’ve seen. About like the Cabelas Guide series raingear.

fishthumper wrote:

They don’t list it as insulated and I’d not call it insulated. It is a heavier material than some of the raingear I’ve seen. About like the Cabelas Guide series raingear.

Thanks, I may be in the market for a new set before next spring. I can’t wear insulated though because most of the fishing I do is in the summer when its raining and I’d sweat my balls off. On rare occasion I do fish in the spring/fall when its cooler out so I can layer underneath but I don’t fish in the winter or extreme cold.

Gimruis – the Aspire by blackfish May be a better option for you. I believe they will be slightly lighter weight and not as warm. I’ve got a lightweight set around that I still plan to use on warm summer rain days.

Something to be aware of with taped seams is that they don’t like heat. My black truck on hot days is enough to continually wreck the taped seams. Keep it cool, hope it lasts you a long time.

I love my PVC, and most importantly a great bimini top

fishthumper wrote:

Gimruis – the Aspire by blackfish May be a better option for you. I believe they will be slightly lighter weight and not as warm. I’ve got a lightweight set around that I still plan to use on warm summer rain days.

Thanks I’ll keep that in mind

I have an Endure suite and an Aspire jacket from blackfish and have been very happy so far. I got a similar deal to thumper on the Enduree suite and then found the Aspire jacket on clearance at fleet farm for about $60 so I could walk away from that. I have actually used the Aspire jacket the most and really like it for warm weather rain. Another thing to note is that the cut of the two models of jackets is a bit different also. The Endure is longer, maybe more coat length and the Aspire is shorter, more jacket length.

Fishthumper

Where did you find it for 40% off? I looking possibly at buying something from Blackfish.

fishthumper wrote:

Earlier this season I was in need of some new raingear. After A LOT of research I decided on Blackfish. I went back and forth between the Endure and Aspire series. I finally decided to go with the Endure series. I never thought I’d ever pay 800.00 for raingear, And I didn’t. I found a deal for 40% off. Near $500.00 was also not a easy decision.

gimruis wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fishthumper wrote:</div>
They don’t list it as insulated and I’d not call it insulated. It is a heavier material than some of the raingear I’ve seen. About like the Cabelas Guide series raingear.

Thanks, I may be in the market for a new set before next spring. I can’t wear insulated though because most of the fishing I do is in the summer when its raining and I’d sweat my balls off. On rare occasion I do fish in the spring/fall when its cooler out so I can layer underneath but I don’t fish in the winter or extreme cold.

Heard a layer of grease could help the situation, but what do I know