And now for something a little different!I loved what Foxy Huntress and SHE Safari brought to the SHOT Show, but today I found something really cool: Prois Hunting Apparel - "Serious Huntwear for Real Women."
This is not to detract from what Foxy Huntress and SHE Safari are doing at all, because I love both of their clothing lines.
But Kirstie Pike, president of Colorado-based Prois (pronounced PRO-iss), is producing gear strictly for the huntress - not for hunting wives on safari, not for street wear. I totally respect that.
Kirstie is a fellow tomboy who sympathizes about the kinds of body proportions that make finding the perfect pair of pants difficult (though if you ask me, she is rail thin). And as she went through the features of her clothing line, it was clear that functionality is of utmost importance.
The company's jackets are lined with nylon that doesn't get caught up on whatever clothing you wear underneath them. The pants have elastic and an adjustable strap on the sides of the waistband, and a side zipper and a drawstring on the hem of the pantlegs.
Click to enlarge detail.
The long-sleeved shirts - made with the same wicking fabric you get in running apparel - include thumbholes, which Kirstie assured me come in handy when bowhunting because they allow you to keep the sleeve taught and out of the way. "Do you bowhunt ... yet?" she asked. Man, she's got me pegged. I'm sure it'll happen.
And the jackets? They've got pockets in the lining - one right between your shoulder blades, one on your lower back - where you can put a heat pack to stay warm. Nice! I tried one on with a heat pack in the "scapular" pocket (between the shoulder blades) and got to thinking how nice that would feel out in a marsh in the middle of a storm.
Which brings me to camo. The current Prois lineup does not include waterfowling wear, but if the jackets were done in a waterfowling camo pattern, they'd be almost perfect with little or no additional modification. Kirstie said the company's looking into it, but can't promise anything for the duck huntress just yet. She's pretty adamant about not releasing it until she's been able to field test it thoroughly, so she won't rush to market.
Interestingly enough, Kirstie's website popped up a few weeks ago in my Google alerts, which notify me of anything new online that has to do with women hunting. So it was very cool not only to meet her, but to see her product line.
Kirstie Pike, president of Prois Hunting Apparel, with blaze hoodie
3 comments:
I like the idea of the pockets for heat packs. Up here in Michigan it can get very cold. Looks like she's got some neat stuff in her product line.
I'm jealous - why couldn't I go to the Shot Show...
The hard part of the SHOT Show was that while it looks like Cabela's on steroids, this was an enormous gathering of companies marketing their wares to retailers, so they didn't necessarily have a full line of sizes, and most didn't have dressing rooms (of course not!).
The cool part? Very few women, so there was NEVER a line in the restroom. Mwah ha ha ha!!!!!!!
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