I was curious when I first heard about clothing made for birders and was keen to try it out. I have been using one of the Wunderbird tops for the last couple of weeks - despite the rather warm weather.
I'm now writing this up with my Gyrfalcon hoody in the washing machine for the first time - I have used it every time I've been out birding since it arrived in the post and will continue to to do so as soon as it is dry again.
Most of my birding consists of walking in rough terrain with a rucksack on my back - and this is where the top scores very well. The padding in the shoulders make carrying a heavy rucksack a lot more bearable. The other major advantage from my point of view is that binocular swing is a thing of the past - meaning that is possible to walk and climb normally without having one hand constantly on the bins - something that makes life a lot easier.
When guiding I normally carry a telescope on a tripod over my shoulder and have trialled the top under such conditions - a definite improvement. I've not been bothered too much about the weight of my rather heavy binoculars in the past but now that they sit in the high pocket I have noticed a big difference on my neck - both the reduced swinging and support help alleviate strain more than I had anticipated.
The roomy larger lower pocket is handy for phone, notebook or whatever it is you want to carry. However, a couple more zips here would probably be an improvement as things can fall out both when taking the garment off and when climbing around.
I have used the top a couple of times in light rain and it dried very quickly indeed. I ordered an XL which suits me perfectly, a very good fit with long arms. The top is very comfortable and seems like it will keep me warm when autumn finally kicks in - I received my hoody during a spell of unseasonably warm weather so I'm looking forward to using it even more in the autumn and winter, both as an outer garment and under a waterproof.
I'm now writing this up with my Gyrfalcon hoody in the washing machine for the first time - I have used it every time I've been out birding since it arrived in the post and will continue to to do so as soon as it is dry again.
Most of my birding consists of walking in rough terrain with a rucksack on my back - and this is where the top scores very well. The padding in the shoulders make carrying a heavy rucksack a lot more bearable. The other major advantage from my point of view is that binocular swing is a thing of the past - meaning that is possible to walk and climb normally without having one hand constantly on the bins - something that makes life a lot easier.
When guiding I normally carry a telescope on a tripod over my shoulder and have trialled the top under such conditions - a definite improvement. I've not been bothered too much about the weight of my rather heavy binoculars in the past but now that they sit in the high pocket I have noticed a big difference on my neck - both the reduced swinging and support help alleviate strain more than I had anticipated.
The roomy larger lower pocket is handy for phone, notebook or whatever it is you want to carry. However, a couple more zips here would probably be an improvement as things can fall out both when taking the garment off and when climbing around.
I have used the top a couple of times in light rain and it dried very quickly indeed. I ordered an XL which suits me perfectly, a very good fit with long arms. The top is very comfortable and seems like it will keep me warm when autumn finally kicks in - I received my hoody during a spell of unseasonably warm weather so I'm looking forward to using it even more in the autumn and winter, both as an outer garment and under a waterproof.
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