SWEDTEAM Granasen Green Jacket and Trousers
This jacket and trousers combo from hunting clothing experts SWEDTEAM comes together nicely to form a full suit and may be supplemented with matching fleece gloves, baseball cap and gaiters. Like most gear available from the Swedish manufacturer, it comes supplied in either full Realtree Hardwood Camouflage (also known as "Fagerhult") or a dark, sotto green (known as "Granasen"). I was fortunate enough to purchase the matching green / Granasen jacket and trousers as part of a full suit offer from a leading internet retailer for £200, plus a bonus inclusion of the gloves and hat for free.
Personally, I've lost enough stuff in the field to be very wary of what I'm carrying and how it is stored. Having donated enough mobile phones, keys, knives, lens caps, empty ammunition clips and torches to the rolling English countryside over the years, my general approach is to expect to lose something every year. Since the Granasen came into play, I'm thinking of revising that estimate. While a large number of pockets is not really anything to be excited about, it's actually the construction and assuredness of these that make them stand out. Most are secured by a combination of a sturdy, chunky zip and also a button down pocket over the top to act as both a safety net but also tidier and rain protector. Plus, the actual cut and lay of the pockets feels good - they actually place things very ergonomically, such that you feel comfortable with how things are sitting (and can quickly tell if they are about to slip anywhere).
The colour of the suit is ideal for me - discreet enough to slip through the woods and blend into the darkness and shadows and not extreme enough to be full Hardwood. I'd be happy to bump into the landowner and not feel I was being assessed as a member of a rebel militia headquartered in his barn. If you were to break the matching trousers/jacket combination with a different pullover or jeans you could probably get away with stopping at the supermarket on the way home (outside the M25, that is...!).
Movement in the suit - given it's waterproof, windproof and everything else that usually makes things rustle - is actually very good. It tends to "swoosh" and glide more than the typical crisp packet effect many suits tend to let off when moving. Sure, it's not going to be as silent as tweed, or any other extreme materials of bygone times, but I haven't attracted any disapproving looks from Peter at County Deer Stalking when moving in it, although I do snap 80% of branches underfoot still. It does tend to get a little warm though, so might be worth considering this as an October through to May suit, and donning something lighter for the balmy summer months. The jacket does seem heavier, relatively, than the trousers, but does have good breathable netting inside.
This does mean I see the suit as an excellent "sole use" piece of kit for stalking. I couldn't see myself rough shooting in it (too much movement, would get too warm), nor fowling (not enough movement, would get too cold), so the stop/start, slow, measured and deliberate pace of stalking woodland and fields seems just right.
Something I would draw out as a straight disadvantage is the apparent lack of internal padding at the joints. Peter and I are both blessed by relative youth, so enjoy really working for our deer, which results in stalks often comprising a crawl and a shot from prone. Personally I'd like the elbows and knees to be padded more to compensate for this, but I suppose you can't have everything and this is still an amazing price.
The Granasen is a really credible option from SWEDTEAM for anyone looking for a well constructed stalking-focused outfit that will serve you in all months but straight summer.
Matthew is a regular client of County Deer Stalking and enjoys writing reviews and treatise on subjects of interest to stalkers and the wider shooting community. He has some twenty years experience as a generalist shooter but only recently converted to Deer stalking.
