Buzzard Jacket  

Customer Reviews

1. Jeff Baker BTO Review by Highly Recommended

   I always liked to look of this jacket when Country Innovation introduced it to their range a couple of seasons ago. It is a smart looking garment – ideal for birdwatching because of the colour, but also great as a jacket for everyday casual wear too.
   
   It was great therefore to be asked to review this jacket back in summer 2010. Of course towards the back end of that summer we had quite a bit of rain and I was concerned that in a heavy downpour in the middle of nowhere on the north Norfolk coast that this jacket might not live up to its claim of being waterproof – it’s only a fleece isn’t it! Incredibly, it has never let water in, even in heavy and prolonged rain. CI has cleverly fitted this fleece with a lining but, unlike most linings you find in lightweight waterproof jackets, this one is breathable so you don’t even get wet from perspiration!
   
   The coldest winter for 30 years - another great test for this jacket! Actually, in the extreme cold I found I needed a lightweight body warmer under the jacket, but that was it. In most ‘winter’ conditions all I needed was the jacket on top of normal indoor clothing. Marvellous!
   
   I really can’t fault this jacket. Even the fleece doesn’t pill – but then this material doesn’t really resemble ‘fleece’. The large lower pockets (with zip) are generous and the breast pocket is neat and hidden (also with zip). The reinforced black shoulder and sleeve patches add style to the jacket, while the reinforced collar helps cushion binocular strap ‘cutting’.
   
   Highly recommended.
   
   Jeff Baker
   BTO (Posted on 28/01/2011)

2. This jacket was essential in the Shetlands! Review by Oliver Smart

   Whilst touring Shetland earlier this year, I visited Hermaness, the most northerly inhabited location in the British Isles. The dramatic cliffs hold host to thousands of breeding seabirds during the summer months. Even at this time of year a warm jacket and fleece were essential as I was working until nearly midnight photographing the obliging Puffins. Here a friend was precariously poised on the edge of the cliff with a very tame Puffin paying no attention to him at all! Being so close a wide-angle lens can be used to really show the subject within the environment!
   
   Reviewed by Oliver Smart of Smart Images Sept 2010 (Posted on 16/09/2010)

3. Eureka! I have finally found a jacket that suits all needs! Review by Stuart Winter - Sunday Express

   Price
   Value
   Quality

   Eureka! After years of looking for the perfect birdwatching jacket i have finally found one that suits all my needs!
   Rain and wind are an awful combination of weather conditions that often need heavy-duty clothing.
   Over the past few months i have been road-testing the new Buzzard fleece Jacket from Country Innovation and found it an absolute boon during the recent extreme weather. Unlike most fleeces the Buzzard is a waterproof windproof jacket that really keeps you dry and warm when the heavens open and the gales race in. Several times i was stranded on hillsides when blue skies suddenly darkened, leaving me exposed to monsoon-style rains. Rather than being left looking like the proverbial drowned rat, not a single drop of rain penetrated the Buzzard Jacket.
   Besides functioning perfectly as a comfortable waterproof, the Buzzard is also incredibly bird friendly. it comes in a pleasant dark green colour, has two extremely large zippered pockets and has reinforced collar and shoulder patches to stop binocular and tripod straps rubbing. Elasticated cuffs and drawcords around the neck and hem also prevent the wet seeping in. It doubles up as a smart car coat!
   Reviewed by Stuart Winter Sunday Express Nov 2009 (Posted on 09/12/2009)