by Miles Nolte
Do you understand how a modern car engine works? Sure, you get the basic concept—new technology increases efficiency so your car burns less gas. But do you really understand how that system works? Could you fix one if it were broken or build one yourself? Probably not, but when you press the pedal it goes, and when gas costs a small fortune, you appreciate the extra milage.
Our Fusion jackets are kind of like that.
The Stuff You Probably Don’t Care About
We could tell you that our Fusion 3/2 Puffy has 90 grams of insulation in the core and 60 grams in the arms (hence the 3/2 name, for you math geniuses out there). We could also tell you it’s stuffed with Toray 3DEFX+ stretch insulation, which offers equivalent heat retention properties to natural down. Unlike down, however, these spiral shaped fibers can stretch, flex, and move without succumbing to heat dissipation and won’t lose insulation capacity when wet. We could geek out on the Primeflex, stretch-woven face textile shell coated in C6 DWR water repellent finish, or the fused hydrophobic cuffs, or the highly articulated arm pattern for increased range of motion when casting, or the unique shallow hood design to keep your head warm without restricting peripheral vision.
The 3/2 Puffy packs furnace like insulation when you really need it.
We could give you the nitty gritty on our Fusion Hybrid Jacket (get it, like the car), which has 60 grams of that same spiral shaped Toray 3DEFX stretch insulation in the core, with two-layer Karushi fleece down the arms.
Let's be honest, though, you likely don’t care—unless you’re weird, like us. The previous two paragraphs probably affect your fishing as much as that manual sitting in the glove compartment does your drive to the river.
The Stuff You Probably Do Care About
High-tech sounding fibers named by slick marketing firms aren’t the reason you buy, or wear, fishing apparel, so here’s the deal: We make two insulating jackets, one for cool temps (the Hybrid Jacket) and one for cold (the 3/2 Puffy). Both have more insulation in the core than the arms (cause that’s where your vital organs are) and won’t feel at all tight or constrictive when you’re casting (even if you have that bad habit of raising your elbow. Seriously, though, keep your damn elbow down.) They’re both exceptionally light, so you never feel weighed down, and have enough water repellency to hold up in a light drizzle.
We build these jackets to cover as many situations as possible. The Hybrid will hold its own on a temperate fall day in Montana, or keep you comfy before sunrise on a crisp late summer morning. Use it as a mid-layer under a Carbon Jacket and you’ve got a shoulder season kit that will keep you warm and dry on all but the coldest fall and spring days.
The Fusion Hybrid is perfect for early mornings on the river.
The 3/2 Puffy will work as a winter coat on dry days across most of the country (if you’re reasonably hardy), and holds up well even on a biting fall or spring day here in the Northern Rockies. Layer it under an RS Jacket, and you’ll be warm and dry fishing midges in an early spring blizzard or swinging through the coastal rainforest for winter steelhead.
That’s really all you need to know, because when you’re truly comfortable, you don’t care about all the reasons why. You’re just fishing, and happy.
About the Author
Miles Nolte probably burned your favorite spot in some fishing publication or another over the past couple decades. He also made a living pimping out the rivers of Southwest Montana and parts of Bristol Bay, Alaska for much of his adult life. He was the cohost of the fishing podcast, Bent, which pissed off fly anglers and bait fishermen alike. In his twenties, he waited tables at a country club, which is why he hates golf and golfers.