I once had a University professor that said, “Check your Sources”. Just because it is written doesn’t make it true. Check and verify. He was right. My daughter, who has arrowed quite a few critters, just ran headlong into a good example of this. It was at a major university. She was taking a speech class and her professor asked her to write and deliver a speech on a conservation topic. In that my daughter is my partner in a business where we operate adventure photographic safaris in Africa she chose to write on the problem of rhino poaching for their horn.
White rhinos are being poached at an alarming rate in South Africa. More than one a day fall to poachers.
The speech was great. Heck, we’ve captured several White Rhinos and have worked with some of South Africa’s top wildlife vets. She is informed. Last time we were filming in Kruger Park they bagged up two rhino poachers in big garbage bags. She knows this topic. Well the speech was compelling and she submitted it online via a Youtube account. The professor gave my daughter a “B”. My daughter is a 4.0 student and feisty.
She did some investigation and learned via google analytics that the professor watched only 1-minute and 40 seconds of a 7 ½ minute speech. My daughter went for the throat. After backing up with a bunch of lies the professor watched it in its entirety and gave her an “A”. Check and verify. This goes for waterproof labels on rain gear.
When traveling in the Arctic you must be prepared with the best gear. I treat mine with Silicone Water-Guard.
Although I work with whitetail deer and have conducted whitetail seminars in over 400 cities my competing passion is Arctic adventure. I have been exploring Alaska’s wild Arctic rivers for a lifetime. I’ve ticked off somewhere around 2000 miles of rivers in my Klepper expedition kayak and Zodiac. There have been years where I have spent 100-days camped in a tent while exploring or filming. Why am I telling you this? Because I know how quickly Alaska can put you on your heels. There are many popular ways to die if you are off in the wilderness and contrary to popular opinion, giant bears probably come in near the bottom of the list. The culprit that stalks you is water.
The Waters of Prince William Sound are fed by the swirling North Pacific and is surrounded by icefields and glaciers. The water is always cold enough to kill within minutes.
Most deaths by recreationalists in Alaska have water as part of the equation. The rivers can be icy cold and swift. Twice I have seen a snowstorm in the Arctic on the 4th of July. The ocean is often so cold that you may have only 10-15 minutes of intense praying available after immersion. Hypothermia attacks most effectively when you are wet and the temp is between 40-50 and that is often Alaska’s temperature. In Alaska rain can kill the unprepared.
My friends and I on a rare clear day in front of Nellie Juan Glacier. With over 200-inches of rain this part of Alaska is not forgiving if your rain gear fails.
So how do you win against this stacked deck? You stay dry. Off the shelf raingear will fail you after a couple of hours in a cold Alaska rain. Much of it may fail within minutes and can best be used to run between your car and Wal-Mart.
Here is the answer. All High Tech raingear works the same. There is a thin layer of expanded Teflon bonded to a nylon shell. The shell is treated at the factory with a spray-on waterproofing or it may be calendered with polyurethane. If the Teflon or the outer shell gets dirty or clogged with detergent residue, the rain gear stops breathing and you sweat. If your raingear leaks at the seams you’re wet. Some raingear just fails and gets you wet. Just because you spent $250 on rain gear, doesn’t mean it will keep you dry. There is a solution.
The best way to tell if your rain gear is working is to look closely and see if water is beading on the surface.
There is an engineered detergent called Sport-Wash ZERO that will remove all residue and dirt. It alone may rejuvenate your rain gear. At a minimum, you must wash your raingear in ZERO yearly. But if your raingear is worn and needs a new shot of life you must first clean it with Sport-Wash Zero then treat it with Silicone Water-Guard. Silicone Water-Guard will not interfere with the Teflon layer but it will bond with the Nylon Shell fibers using polymer cross-linking, making your rain gear bead water for the season.
I know this because I often ride the edge where life and death is the difference between staying dry and getting wet. Check and verify.
Also: Washing High-Tech Clothing, Waterproofing You Stuff, Death Dance
Sponsored by: Whitetail University, Atsko Products
For more please go to: Wade Nolan and Scent Control
