When an item of clothing makes the transgression from the world of sailing to our world of angling, it often means that it is bulky and bright orange, with comfort and safety being the primary factors when at sea. Well, the Mallard Sweater from MaxMarine is certainly comfortable, but bright orange it isn’t! However, the Mallard does possess one other specific attribute that makes it equally suitable for anglers, whatever your chosen discipline – water just runs off it. The fact that it is windproof too is just an added bonus!
The outer fibres of this garment are invisibly Teflon® coated, which results in no change in appearance from a standard sweater and water-resistance that surpasses all expectations. When you are wearing the Mallard, you are wearing a sweater. When you get a screaming run in the middle of the night and run out in the rain without thinking, you are wearing a water-resistant sweater!
The first test we performed on the Mallard was the ‘crease it up and see if it will hold water in the crease’ test. Very scientific! Of course, it worked. In fact, MaxMarine had already performed a similar test and have the picture to prove it on their site.
Next test was the user test, and the Mallard was worn over the course of a weekend’s fishing. Honestly, the only time I knew I had it on was each time one of my ‘friends’ thought that they would ‘test’ it for me with a mug of water. The ones that didn’t end up in my face didn’t bother me at all! I just thank my lucky stars that I wasn’t testing a life-jacket. Who needs friends, eh?!
All in all, a comfortable fisherman has the opportunity to be a good fisherman. I won’t pretend for one minute that the Mallard is an essential buy for a fisherman, but it is certainly one that will keep you warm and dry when enjoying your sport, allowing you to make the most of those precious moments by your chosen source of water. It’s also quite fashionable – it’s the only piece of angling clothing I own that I could get away with wearing out in public with my wife!
The Mallard costs £59.95 plus p&p, which is no more than an equivalent ‘normal’ top from the high street.
All in all, a good product for any angler.
Elton Murphy
5th April, 2000
