SAN CLEMENTE— I was as pretty stoked to be tasked with field testing AFTCO’s Hydronaut insulated bib and jacket combo, but looking at my calendar, I had nothing coming up in the near future with a shot at inclement weather. Rather than wearing the stuff through a gas station car wash followed by a couple hours in a meat locker, I swallowed my pride and sought out a more qualified reviewer.
WON Field Reporter Brady Garrett was the no-brainer. He was about to camp and fish in the Eastern Sierra in early spring, and the bulk of the fishing time spent on that trip was going to be in a kayak on Crowley Lake.
“I had reservations at Brown’s Owens River Campground, just south of Mammoth, and the nights were going to be in the high 20s to low 30s,” said Garrett. “That’s extreme for me, and for someone who hadn’t camped in about 20 years, it was a seriously challenging welcome back to the world of camping. I was handed the AFTCO bib and accompanying jacket. Both are suitable for rain, but I was just prepping for cold.”
Garrett said the AFTCO Hydronaut bib and jacket combo not only kept him warm and dry spanning multiple days in the ‘yak on Crowley (which included staying on the water into the darkness when a last-minute hookup on what turned out to be a trophy cutthroat on light gear seriously delayed his return to dry land), but the suit didn’t stop putting in work when he got off the lake.
“In short, I don’t think I ever took off the bib except to shower,” he said. “I was even wearing it while sleeping in the tent. I never felt the cold and was never uncomfortable. I’ve worn other bibs before, and they would scratch my neck or the zipper would annoy me somehow. Not this pair. The only issue I had with them was remembering in which pocket I had put my key, wallet, or phone, because there’s plenty of storage for such things in both the bib and the jacket.”
Since that inaugural test, Garrett —who has a questionable fascination with fishing under sucky conditions— rarely took the Hydronaut get-up out of his truck, at least in the colder months. Recently (as in, covered on page 1 of the previous issue of Western Outdoor News and on WONews.com), the top-notch outerwear came through for him in personal-best-largemouth fashion when he bagged a 10.5 pounder in the cold at Lake Wohlford.
He told me he might not have been out there if not for the Hydronaut one-two punch. As it turns out, Garrett even uses it for off-the-water bachelor-life purposes that…saves him money?
“Fast forward to March of 2025,” said Garrett. “My apartment temperature currently sits at 57 degrees, and here I sit writing this article in the AFTCO gear with the heater off. I have yet to run the heater at all this winter, even when the very cold January fronts moved through. I simply didn’t need to. I strap up the bib and jacket, rig gear, make dinner, watch shows, and at no time have I wondered about the temperatures. My wallet is very appreciative of the gear as well, with the price of heating these days. Super comfy, check. Incredibly warm, check. Gets you on the water in any conditions, check. Saves you money on your heating bill, check. Sleep-in-able, check. Not sure how I survived 43 years without them, check.”
Unfortunately, photos of the Hydronaut Insulated bib and jacket putting in work in a domestic setting were not provided, but WON’s field testing of the gear does not end with Garrett’s fishing adventures or apartment life. The 2024 WON BASS Lake Shasta Open probably the wettest and certainly one of the coldest events in WON history. Along with various pro and AAA anglers competing in the tournament, WON staffers who were outside well before each morning’s launch through well after each weigh in (as well as, the days leading up to and following the event) shrugged off the rain, wind and even snow in their own AFTCO Hydronaut outerwear.
For more details, features and technical info on the AFTCO Hydronaut products, visit AFTCO.com.
