Ridgeline Monsoon Smock and Ranger Trousers Review

Hello there, welcome back. In this video, we're going to be taking a look at some Ridgeline gear. I've got two awesome pieces of Ridgeline clothing that I'm wearing now. You'll probably recognise this from many of my other videos. This is the Ridgeline Euro 2, I think it's called Euro 2 Monsoon. It's actually been superseded by the Monsoon Elite, which is... For all intents and purposes, exactly the same, but I think it's got ventilation under here, zips under here, and there might be a change to the collar as well. I've had this for a few years, and it is an absolutely excellent smock. The other thing that I want to talk about is a new pair of Ridgeline trousers that I've got, and they actually had £80 off, they were less than half price. I think I got them for just under £50, £50 English pounds, which is about... I don't know, $56 to $60, which is absolutely nothing for the quality that they are. I think they may be the best trousers that I have ever owned. I'd imagine the people watching this video are either into shooting or some sort of outdoor sports, or they're into bushcraft and survival and so on. That's what this gear is aimed at. It's from a New Zealand company, Ridgeline, and... The weather can change faster than practically anywhere on the planet in certain parts of New Zealand, so you need good clothing, and they definitely manufacture it. Now, when I decided to buy a quantity of serious outdoor gear, I looked at companies like Ridgeline and Harkala. I don't know whether you've seen the Harkala videos I've done, but I'm actually wearing the boots now. I do awesome boots, I've got the full Pro Hunter kit, it's absolutely excellent, but it's a lot heavier than this gear, and it's more for much colder weather. This is not for the summer, but kind of spring and autumn I would say, or if you were layering clothing up, certainly it would see you through the winter as well. It's a very versatile system. I have tried wool shirts and so on, I find them itchy as hell. God I think I've got two or three of those. I bought them on a whim and they feel absolutely awful on. I'd rather just go for high wicking, nice man-made fibers. It's a lot more comfortable than those scratchy awful wool things. I think they must, god I don't know, they must make some of them from the wool that grows around a huge backside. I think it's so scratchy it's horrible. This is very comfortable and very quiet as well. You just hear the material folding a little bit But on some outdoor gear, you get like a... And if you're hunting, that's just no good at all. Or if you're just outdoors and you want to see wildlife, that's no good at all. This stuff is very, very quiet. I'll just give you a look at the trousers now. These are Ridgeline Ranger trousers. Double stitched everywhere, pockets where you need them, good quality zips, good quality material. The knees have sort of a Well, it feels almost like a neoprene sort of waterproofing on. It's like an extra layer that's sewn over the main trouser. That means when you kneel down in the ground, your knees don't get wet. The amount of so-called outdoor pants that don't have waterproof knees is unbelievable. And how many times do you see, like, a bushcraft video where people are kneeling down in the muck, blown on a fire? Practically every one. They also have that coating. on the backside as well because nobody wants a wet backside and even even when i'm crouched down there these aren't riding up they just fit absolutely perfectly i'm just i'm over the moon with them i'm absolutely loving them we've got an adjustable strap on the bottom so you can tighten them right up onto your boots now we've got like car key pockets sort of things here or we've got fairly big and expanding leg pockets about here we've got a good quality zip Various compartments in there if you want to, I don't know, it's almost like a Maxpedition bag in there, the amount of little compartments there is, made with material. Ha ha ha ha. But the front of this pocket is actually made from two different parts of material. You'll notice there's like a ridge in here, and what that means is if you really pack this pocket out, it expands. And that means it doesn't put stress on all this stitching around here. And that is a very, very good idea because one place I've noticed trousers seem to fail. Is the pockets, when you've got things in the pockets, pulling on here, pulling this stitching out, but it's all double stitched around there. The Kraken trousers. I hope you can see that there, but there's a raised bit on the back of the trousers. They're not just square cut, and that helps to keep your back warm. Look at that. The stitching is absolutely immaculate. Good zip, and a huge pocket there should you need it. And same on the other side. The Smock's got really, really good zips as well. Well, they're like self-sealing zips. Just give you a close-up of that. No water gets in here at all. I've worn this, you know, as I say, I've had it for two years or so, and I've never had any water get in at all. There's been times when I've been walking quite fast, and it's generated sweat, and if I haven't had this open... It gets a little bit foisty in here, but the Elite version, with the zips for ventilation, would alleviate that. That's the one minor gripe that I have with this. It can get a little bit foisty in warmish weather, or if the sun gets out, even on a cold day. If you're doing something vigorous, it's best just to take this off. It's got a lovely big pocket, lovely big breast pocket. And in that pocket, I have this thing. And if the wind is really blowing hard, the only bit that would be exposed would be my face. So I'll just put that on, and that keeps me lovely and warm. Something as simple as that. I forget exactly what that's called, but it's from a company called Condor. I'll look it up and put the link to it in the video description. But you can wear it as a hat or a face mask, like a ninja. You can have it as a neck warmer. It's basically just a piece of stretchy material, but it's a really, really good idea. So that lives in this pocket all the time. You can actually get quite a lot more in that pocket as well. No zip on that one, just a couple of press studs. There is a zip on this breast pocket, that says it all about me, chewing gum and something at the light of fire. All my coats have something to light a fire in them Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. because you never know. It's also got a draw cord around the waist, just helps to keep it pulled in nice, gives it a nice cut. This is a very long smock and I like that. I don't like short coats or short smocks because if you do get caught out in the rain, the rain gets shed up here and you end up with a wet crotch or a wet backside. It's horrible. This ensures that that does not happen. Hangs well down front and back. And with regard to the hood and the collar, there's actually quite a lot going on here. It zips up, it then press studs, it's like a storm flap. You've got a nice big hood, And that adjusts so you can tighten it down and this always stays up. I did have another smock and this was awful. It was hanging down like that. It wasn't a Ridgeline smock. I can't remember who made them but it was crap. This is so much better. There you go. And again that on me is just absolutely perfect. This will also zip off as well if you didn't want that on. I would say have it on because you never know. Now, the outermost material on here is almost like, it isn't felt, but it feels like a smooth as felt. It's a very nice material, and that's what makes it so quiet. The cuffs have been really well thought out as well. You've got some strong Velcro there, and inside of there, you've got a storm cuff that's made from neoprene. So again, that stops water getting up here as well. Obviously, if you dip your hand in a pond or something, you're going to get wet. But under normal circumstances, everything that's inside this coat is going to stay nice and dry. So there you go. I haven't mentioned the boots because I've reviewed those in a previous video. They're actually Härkila Pro Hunter GTX Gore-Tex boots. Um... Best boots ever. Best boots I've ever worn. And I cannot imagine... a better boot being made to be brutally honest with you. I reviewed those about a year ago and they're still, I wouldn't say they're as good as new because I've had them in all sorts of muck, they don't look as good as new but they perform and they feel as good as new. This still feels awesome when it's on, it's extremely comfortable, it has to be. As I say you've seen it in a hell of a lot of my outdoor videos, I just thought I'd take the time to talk through what it was. And just how good it is and also to mention those trousers as well. So that's two absolutely excellent products for the outdoor enthusiast. Shooter, bushcrafter, survivalist, excellent gear. I would recommend it wholeheartedly. Thanks very much for watching. See you in the next video.