Friday, December 28, 2012

Field Test: Drake Waterfowl LST Down Vest with Magnattach

In a typical Maryland winter, hunters might set decoys in the morning to temperatures that are below freezing, yet expect to spend most of the day in temps that are above 40 degrees. Its the kind of weather pattern that finds a heavy down vest particularly useful, good at keeping your core warm and giving you the flexibility to do things like climb in and out of blinds and boats in the predawn darkness.

I bought the Drake Waterfowl Down Vest after feeling its dense weight and seemingly durable outer shell. Tough, warm, and with big pockets, including a magnetic chest pocket that snaps shut for protection of cell phones and goose calls, the vest looked like a good addition to my outdoor closet.  It also helped that in olive green, and not Mossy Oak Duck Blind, I could wear the vest with a pair of jeans, as well.

But in the year that I have owned the Drake Waterfowl Down Vest, I have only worn the thing a handful of times. The first sign that things were not right was when I got out of my truck and saw that my seat was covered in feathers. When I made it back into the house, I took the vest off and saw that it was hemorrhaging goose down, big and small feathers were poking out of the vest everywhere you looked, and I was trailing feathers around the house like a molting mallard.  Chasing aloft feathers with a broom is not a task I anticipated when I bought the Drake down vest.

Because of this unfortunate quality, I have had to use the vest only in the most utilitarian of chores, and even then it generally hangs in the closet as I opt for some other less messy option. Everything else about the vest is great, but the feather leakage is a deal breaker. At nearly $100.00, this should be a much better product.

The Drake Waterfowl LST Down Vest with Magnattach is NOT RECOMMENDED by Kline Online.





1 comment:

Eastern Shore Outdoors said...

I was sorry to read this post and of your quality issues. Of the gear that I have, I have found Drake to provide a solid product at a reasonable price and their customer service is top notch. I expect that they would make it "right"..Phil