Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

I just got the mid winter cabelas sale catalog and need your opinon of which is the best of the two raingear jackets carried by cabelas. The dry plus $159 or classic gore-tex guidewear $149
Thanks Ken

The guidewear, hands down.

I just got the Guide Wear and it is great.

I can only speak for the unisulated Guidewear, and I would highly recommend it.

I received the dry plus thinsulate rain gear as a gift from a sponsor a few years back and love it for fishing Shasta or Oroville in the dead of winter or back east in the late fall when air temps hover in the 30s and low 40s. It is great if you are fishing in the real cold but a bit much when it starts getting above 45 and into the 50s.

Obi

have the guidewear parka and the dry plus bibs - the guidewear has a heavier outer layer fabric while the dryplus has a much lighter and easier to move around in outer layer. both are reinforced in the joint areas with durable material. dry plus prob easier to pack around, and while I like the heavy material on the guidewear I dont think I've been in a situation where it was really useful. in the end you can't go wrong with either of them, both great products

edit to add: both parka and bibs are uninsulated. felt like it was easier to manage warmth with my own layers, getting the insulated versions meant that I would be using them in mostly cold weather which wasnt going to be the case for me. i'd buy uninsulated again going fwd, fleece and hoodie sweatshirts underneath are money

Thanks for the answers, looks like guidewear is for me.

Smart choice- Guidewear all the way

I've had the Dry-Plus jacket and bibs for a couple years now. It is one of the best investments I've made for fishing. It is plenty warm for winter fishing in Cali/AZ, but you need to layer. I wear a t-shirt, hoody, fleece, and the jacket when it's real cold. I fished at Havasu in Feburary flying down the lake at 70, and was good to go. The Dry-plus is a little lighter duty than the Guidewear.

Myles

If you haven't ordered yet. Check out the Cabelas website ,click on bargain cave. Click on the 70% off box, then the men's clothing section. I just ordered two of the Dry plus guide parkas for me and a friend. Used the $20 off $100 coupons I got in the mail. The parkas and jackets are $98 had to order a lure to get to $100. If you find a size that will fit its a great deal. Coupon covered my shipping and a little more.

My guidwear is close to 10 years old and is still working as good as new.

My wife machine washes it every spring after the end of the rainy season and air dries it.

I spray it with a tent and boot waterproofing which causes the water to bead up and run off like a freshly waxed car.

My motorcycle helmit is big enough to wear over the guides wear hood. with the neck piece on the jacket closed and the helmit on I have fished in single console boats as an AM with the pro running full throttle into a heavy rain without getting any water penetration whatso ever

Mine is the uninsulated version and I have never been cold in it at winter tournaments at both Shasta and Oroville. I have a couple of times worn thermal underwear with it but not often.

Knowing what I know if it ever wears out I will replace it with more guides wear.

Jim, What brand of boot and tent water repellant do you use. I have used Scotchguard on Omega rain gear but it didn't work plus had a very strong smell. Now we just need some rain!!!

get the parka. not the jacket. i found the jacket too short when you sit or bend over. it rides up too much and u have to keep pulling it down.

go with the uninsulated parka. is not a bulky as the insulated. if its real cold i just add a sweat shirt and im toasty warm.

cabelas also has the reguvenate spray if you wash ur jacket.

I have used some that I got from Cabellas but was not happy with it
The stuff that has worked best for me is from two different companies one called Second Wind and the other is Kiwi brand which I think is the same people who make shoe polish.

They both have a pretty strong oder but I hang my gear in a very airy place for a week or so and the odor pretty much disapears. I have never had any reason to think that the faint remaining odor scared off the fish.
I always use a little Smelly Jelly on my hands when I am fishing to mask any odors that may transfer to my bait and tackle.

I also reccomend the parka and the bibs.

I've had the guidewear now for 5 years, Very Happy with it...

The guidewear is the best rainwear on the market. I have two sets. I wear the one with the thinslate in the winter and the lighter suff when it isn't as cold.

Very good investment!

ken wrote:Jim, What brand of boot and tent water repellant do you use. I have used Scotchguard on Omega rain gear but it didn't work plus had a very strong smell. Now we just need some rain!!!

You have to be careful about how you clean Gore-Tex garments. Use powdered laundry detergents only and rinse a second time in clear water. Do not use fabric softener, as these will kill the water-repellancy of the fabric. Using any product that has an oil or petroleum-base ingredient will ruin the Gore-Tex.

Even some of the products that were mentioned earleir are silicone based with a petroleum-based carrier, so you have to read about what you are using!

I have had good results on my snowboarding jackets with a product called Revivex that is available at some outdoor specialty shops.

Even though the Cabela's/BPS proprietary material is not exactly the same as Gore-tex, it has the same properties and will be ruined by any petroleum-based product.

I just got my Cabelas Guidewear set bibs and parka .
4 days ago at the cabelas in WA. and got over $100.00 off
the set so it like the bibs are free..Nice place in WA.
I hope i like it ..

Hey I'm a newbie to this forum and as a first post I must say I'm a bigtime cabela's supporter even though they won't come here to cali....well at least anytime soon... I own the Cabelas 3-in 1 rain gear jacket and pants. One word "bitchin" the jacket has the removable fleece liner and the pants are easy to get in and out of. The gear is comparable to the brand name that we all know best! same stuff as far as I'm concerned! I do recommend getting the bibs for the most protection from the elements. If anyone was at the Stren opener at Lake Shasta 08 you know it was cold last year in January...it was snowing in pre-fish and rainy on day 1.....I was very comfortable with the gear as a co-angler. Check it out and for the price I'd say you can't go wrong....next problem to take care of are the fingers and toes which is tough and im open to any suggestions on that. Check the gear out!