Grundens Full Share waterproof jacket (£120) and Grundens Transmit X waterproof jacket (£180) review
I don’t know how much you keep an eye on fishing gear from around the world and around the different disciplines, but the Grundens brand has been gaining a lot of traction within the sport fishing world. They started as a commercial fishing brand back in Sweden around 100 years ago, but within some fly fishing circles I began to hear more and more favourable stuff about their breathable waders especially. I didn’t actually know that Grundens were starting to make their gear available in the UK until I ran into them at the Big One Show last year and we got talking about all things potential bass fishing clothing.
I won’t bore you with all that we talked about, but one of the designers I spoke with was THE first person I have ever talked to within the fishing tackle trade who knew instantly what I was on about when I said the two words “neoprene compression”. It also helped that he was a hardcore saltwater sea trout angler from Scandinavia who was routinely putting their current and future products through a hell of a lot of real fishing time. Yep, as you can guess I was really keen to try some of the Grundens gear out, and I have been using these two Grundens waterproof jackets for a good few months now. These are the technical specs:
Grundens Full Share jacket (£120):
Waterproof/Breathable - 10K/10K
Zippered Hand Warming Pockets
Heavy-Duty YKK®Aquaguard Zips
Adjustable Hood and Cuffs
Reflective Logos for Added Safety
Grundens Transmit X jacket (£180):
100% Nylon 15K / 10K Waterproof/Breathable Performance
Dunkable Neoprene Wrist Cuffs to Prevent Water from Penetrating up Sleeves
Placketed Center Front Zipper Construction Offers Protection from Wind Driven Rain
2 Fleece-Lined Handwarmer Pockets With Zippered Closures
Internally Routed Shock Cords on Hood Adjustment for a Custom Fit to the Wearer's Preference
Reflective Logos & Visibility Striping for Low Light Visibility
It will come as no surprise that I have worn both these jackets a lot in the pissing rain and around splashing seas, and I am pleased to report that they are both properly waterproof. Of course you’re going to get a bit of water down the front if it’s driving rain AND the wind is howling into your face, but that’s part and parcel of fishing to me, and especially when it never stops bloody raining like it has done recently! So here are my thoughts on each jacket:
The Grundens Full Share waterproof jacket, around £120 - after a lot of fishing time with both of them in all kinds of weather, I think of the cheaper Grundens Full Share waterproof jacket - there is also a smock available which I haven’t seen yet - as a year round, lightweight fishing jacket which I can roll up and stick in my rucksack and not even know it’s there until I need it. Layer up underneath as required, exactly as you’d expect with a waterproof “shell-type” jacket. The end of the sleeves where they secure over your wrist are perfunctory at best - simple velcro closures - so I would advise that you buy some cheap as chips sweat bands if you want to prevent water going down your sleeves in a good bit of rain (secure the sleeves over the sweat bands). To be fair to this particular Grundens jacket, I haven’t come across a waterproof jacket at any price which doesn’t let in at least a bit of water down past the sleeves when it’s really hammering it down for a while. Cast and retrieve repeatedly and you are naturally sort of offering your sleeves directly up and into the rain if that makes sense.
I find the Grundens Full Share waterproof jacket very easy to wear. I am an XL in most things and I am an XL in this jacket. It doesn’t “grab” me at all when I am walking or fishing, indeed a jacket which gets in the way at all really annoys me, so big plus points to this one. From the technical specs it’s not quite as breathable as the more expensive Transmit X jacket, but I can’t pretend that I have noticed any meaningful difference. Walk a long way in a waterproof jacket in warmer conditions especially and I don’t care how much the thing costs - there’s going to be a bit of sweat build up. I don’t know how you look at a price of around £120 for a waterproof jacket, but it’s definitely not high-end. I think this Grundens Full Share waterproof jacket is bloody fantastic for my lure fishing and indeed dog walking. It just works without any fuss in any conditions I have put it through.
Now we come to the more expensive but still not high-end Grundens Transmit X jacket which you can find for around £180. Again I tend to be an XL in most clothes and an XL in this jacket fits me perfectly. This very slightly heavier duty Grundens Transmit X is for me an autumn, winter and spring waterproof jacket, but of course you can wear it year round without any great hassle. I find this jacket noticeably comfortable to move around and fish in. I have been trying to find even something tiny about the cut of this Grundens Transmit X jacket which bugs me, but nothing annoys me when I am walking or fishing in it. I layer up accordingly, but if needed this thing definitely works well as an extra protective layer against the cold.
I did fish a specific session in this Grundens Transmit X jacket a few weeks ago when I honestly don’t think it could have got any wetter, as per the photo above (with thanks to Dave Trickey of Labrax Mafia lures for letting me use his photos of me fishing in this blue Transmit X jacket on this blog post). I will generally avoid yomping up cliffs in a waterproof jacket when I am carrying a rucksack if at all possible, but it was so bloody wet I had no choice. When I took the jacket off I dried my hands and had a good feel/look around, but I couldn’t find a single sign of water ingress. I do like the fact that both these jackets don’t seem to take too long to dry out when you hang them up at home after a wet session.
One thing I don’t quite agree with in the specs of this Grundens Transmit X jacket is this: “Dunkable Neoprene Wrist Cuffs to Prevent Water from Penetrating up Sleeves”. Sure they help a bit, but they are not tight around my wrists and you can’t tighten the neoprene sleeves up anymore. You can tighten the outer shell of the jacket around the neoprene wrist cuffs which does help a fair bit, but if you tend to suffer from wet sleeves as I do with waterproof jackets then as I said further up the page, get some sweat bands and use them because they really help.
There is undoubtedly a bit more of a luxurious feel to the overall experience when fishing in the more expensive Grundens Transmit X jacket, but so there should be for the increased price. Saying that, I have worn a lot of different jackets over a lot of years and for £120 I can’t recall using anything better for the price than the cheaper Grundens Full Share jacket. Both jackets are nice and light for rolling up and carrying in a rucksack etc. which I think is really important for how I use gear like this. Aside from these minor sleeve-related niggles I described above, as my introduction to Grundens gear you can colour me massively impressed. This is some serious fishing gear……………
Very excited about Saturday afternoon when England take on Scotland in Scotland. One round in and I think we have the makings of a classic Six Nations, or is that the kiss of bloody death upon England and their progression? France look scary-good to me and I feel for Wales this weekend, and can Italy turn over Ireland? You all have a good weekend…………
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