Testing Mountain Hunter Expedition

In September 2022, I had the pleasure of testing Härkila's new shell set – Mountain Hunter Expedition - during a primitive mountain hunt in Kazakhstan for mid Asian ibex.

The trip offered a wide variety of challenges. Along the way, the set was tested in weather conditions that were very varied and offered both warm sunny days and very windy periods with, among other things, snowstorms, bordering on outright blizzards. The hunt took place on foot and on horseback at altitudes between 2,000 and 3,000 meters above sea level.

Temperatures ranged from minus 8 degrees during the coldest times of the day to plus 20 degrees on sunny days with no wind. I used the kit on the hunt itself and in the tent camp for all the activities that take place in a tent camp.

On mountain hunts, a little noise is not the main factor in the outcome of the hunt as game is often spotted at long distances, but on the other hand, you can sometimes end up being close to the game, so quiet clothing is always an advantage.

The first thing I noticed was that the Mountain Hunter Expedition Set was very quiet, even in sub-zero temperatures, where membranes in general can tend to be noisier than when used in warmer temperatures - but this is not the case with this set.

The mountains in eastern Kazakhstan are full of very sharp rocks. In general, clothing used for mountain hunting needs to be durable, as the hunter will be crawling on rocks or leaning on them when scanning the mountainsides with binoculars.

Shooting is also often on rocks or in low, slow-growing and thus very robust vegetation that is tough on clothing without the right durability. After the test, I found that there were no holes or abrasion damage to the clothing.

During the test, we were also in valley areas where many of the herb and grass species had seed heads. The seed pods are "designed" to attach to animal fur, among other things, which is why they often attach - sometimes in large quantities - to some types of hunting clothing. The seed pods can be prickly and irritating when hunting, and they can take a long time to raise the fabric. The fabric the Mountain Hunter Expedition is sewn in repelled the seed pods 100 percent, which was also the case with small thorns when we later rode through a thicket of mountain roses. In the evenings, I could relax in camp while my guides had to clean weed seeds from their clothes.

The surface of the scarf set also has the advantage that it can easily be washed clean if blood gets on it after slaughtering slaughtered animals. Ice cold water from the river made light work of the job.

The placement of the pockets in the jacket worked well and there was plenty of room for gloves, hat, cartridges, and cell phone in the pockets. The hood is a nice size and easy to pull over the hood of a duvet jacket, for example.

The Mountain Hunter Expedition has a great fit, you won't notice the set even if you wear it over other hunting clothes. There is built-in elastic at the waist that acts as a kind of built-in "belt" - a really smart detail. The zippers were tight. However, I would have liked them to be fitted with a drawstring in a signal color to make them easier to find in the dark, as the camouflage is so good that it easily hides the dark drawstring in the zipper.

I didn't experience any moisture on my body under the membrane. Not even during hours of riding, but of course, like all other membrane clothing, it is not suitable as clothing for hard physical exertion, as the moisture from the body accumulates on the inside. But that's exactly why this set comes into its own, with large openings and easy to put on and take off.

The pants have a smart zipper in both legs from waist to boots. A detail that is also great if you want to "air out" along the way. It's easy to zip up and move around with the trouser legs open at the side during the hunt. This makes it easy to take off when you need to exert yourself physically, and it's very warm and easy to put back on when you need it.

It also works perfectly as a windbreaker, which I found very useful on cold windy days. You can clearly feel the comfort when sitting on a cold and windy mountain top in the kit versus without. With the Mountain Hunter Expedition Set, you also have the advantage of wind proofing at the wrists and at the bottom of the jacket around the waist, and the hood can be closed around the face.

The scarf set, which is often carried in the backpack, is very easy to carry and takes up almost no space when packed.

We didn't have rain on the trip, but at home I tested the set in the good Danish rain - I was bone dry along the way.

The light camouflage is particularly well suited for hunting in mountainous landscapes but can definitely also be used for hunting in snowy landscapes. This is certainly a set that I will use on my hunting trips around the Nordic region, and the rest of the world.

Recommendations:
I would recommend getting it in a size larger than you normally wear, so that it, for example, can be worn over a duvet jacket.

The set gets my highest recommendations and will be a regular companion in my backpack for hunting and hiking in the future.

Below you will be able to see some of the pictures captured from the expedition: