The L.L.Bean Northwoods Rain Jacket has a soft brushed polyester shell designed to help hunters stay quiet while hunting.
To get us a closer look, L.L.Bean sent Man Makes Fire a review unit. After testing the L.L.Bean Northwoods Rain Jacket while elk and deer hunting in Idaho, this is what we learned:
The Northwoods Rain Jacket in Hunter Orange
I first became interested in the L.L.Bean Northwoods Rain Jacket as I was looking for a solid, reasonably priced blaze orange rain jacket for hunting. Why blaze orange and not camo? Visibility.
It seems as if — perhaps more than ever — hunters are getting funneled into smaller pockets of available hunting land. Private and public land access, sometimes coupled with shorter hunting seasons, seems to result in more hunters being within range of other hunters.
At least it feels that way. I don’t have hard data across multiple states to prove this, but where I hunt in Idaho, changes to land access are having an effect. While I very much prefer archery elk hunting, come rifle season, I’m happily out there trying to rattle in a buck.
Which is good — obviously I believe in our hunting heritage and think it’s critical that at least a good portion of our population knows where meat comes from . . . and appreciates it. So I expect to see other hunters out hunting, too.
The Northwoods Rain Jacket Fit
The L.L.Bean Northwoods Rain Jacket fit is good — not fantastic. Let me explain. I’m about 6’3″ and 220 lbs these days. I generally wear a size XL jacket. I have long arms and broad shoulders. I was expecting the Northwoods to have slightly short sleeves for me but was pleasantly surprised. The sleeves are slightly longer than average.
The fit and mobility is very good overall, with one small exception — the shoulders. I can lift one arm up and have great mobility, but when I lift both shoulders and arms at the same time, the Northwoods Rain Jacket gets tight across the shoulders.
Granted, I don’t do that move a lot while hunting, but I do wish the XL was a bit roomier in the shoulders.
As it is, I can layer a base layer and a light jacket underneath and still have acceptable mobility. In addition, I can fit my binocular chest pack underneath the rain jacket, too.
The fit doesn’t adversely affect my ability to raise and shoot a rifle.
If you are typically on the large end of your typical size, I would size up — but I don’t recommend sizing up if you’re in the middle of your typical size range. I’m a borderline case because my shoulders are wider than average.
Quiet Exterior Fabric
One of the most important features to hunters is a quiet exterior fabric. The Northwoods Rain Jacket has a soft, brushed polyester shell that is relatively quiet in brush. It’s very good for a rain jacket, though not as quiet as wool or a soft non-waterproof synthetic.
The interior TEK 2.5 material is seam-sealed and breathable.
It all comes together to create a midweight rain jacket. It’s not insulated, but the fabric is definitely more robust than your typical lightweight rain jacket. Our XL review unit weighs in at 18.95 oz.
L.L.Bean includes two large mesh pockets on the inside, as well as two exterior hand pockets.
The hood has a drawstring and adjustable depth strap in the back. Visibility is good.
Hunter Orange vs Camo
Some states require hunters to wear a certain amount of ‘blaze orange’ material while hunting, but not not all states do — and some have varying laws. Of the states that do require blaze orange, most require it during firearm seasons. This makes sense because bullets can fly far and travel through brush.
Last year I had a close call.
I was hunting with a new hunter on the last day of deer season. As we were walking along a game trail, we came upon a large doe about 50 yards in front of us, broadside. It was a good shot opportunity for a new hunter. As he was raising his rifle, I looked at the doe through my binoculars. It was looking away from us — which was great. But then I noticed a flicker of movement beyond the doe. I thought maybe there was another deer, maybe even a buck a bit farther in some timber.
And then I saw what looked like the shape of a human head — and a rifle rising up, pointing in our direction.
“Another hunter, get down!” I yelled, and dropped to the ground. My young hunting partner dropped down without hesitation. I wasn’t sure if the hunter had seen us, and I didn’t want to wait for a shot in our direction, so laying down, I waved my blaze orange hunting cap back and forth above the level of the grass. The deer bounded off.
Thankfully no shot came.
Back on our feet, we went to talk to the other hunter. He was a good guy, and certainly not a reckless shoot-fast hunter. He wasn’t wearing any hunter orange, and his dark green pants and camo jacket made him hard to see. He said he saw us just as he was getting ready to shoot the doe.
If I hadn’t noticed that the doe was looking toward the trees — and then intently looked there myself with my binoculars — it’s possible that a shot from my hunting partner could have hit the other guy.
Lots of hunters never have close calls and seem to think blaze orange is for sissies. I’m still not sure if the other hunter in camo realizes how much danger he was in.
The moral of this story is simple: If you want to be seen, wear some blaze orange. Especially on dark, foggy, and rainy days.
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Why Not Just Throw an Orange Vest Over the Top?
You might be thinking, Why do I need an orange rain jacket when I can just throw a lightweight orange vest over the top of my rain jacket?
If you care about visibility, the vest will give you a much smaller patch of orange. And when you turn sideways to work your way through brush and trees, your camo arms will lead the way, giving you just slim patches of orange to work for you.
You might trust yourself to take good shots and always make good decisions . . . but do you trust everyone else? When I walk through heavy brush during rifle season cow calling and bugling for elk, I want some blaze orange. If you’re considering the Mossy Oak Country version, at least consider grabbing a Hunter Orange Hunting Hat.
The Verdict
If you want to be seen — and especially if you want young and new hunters to be seen — the L.L.Bean Northwoods Rain Jacket in Hunter Orange is bright and waterproof. It has enough room for a couple of light layers underneath, but if you plan to layer over a coat, consider sizing up. Overall quality is excellent and the price-to-value ratio is spot on. It’s so good that we included it in this year’s 55 Best Gifts for Hunters 2021 guide. Very highly recommended.
