Frabill has been around since 1938, making quality products for very demanding anglers of all varieties worldwide. With that in mind, the Frabill management team realized that the marketplace was lacking superior quality, nasty-weather gear built explicitly for active fishermen, so they felt it was their duty to make it. So they did, introducing the FXE Stormsuit, the inaugural ICAST award-winning entry in Frabill’s Extreme Elements (FXE) series of outer weather gear.
The “X” in FXE stands for extreme. That means it is engineered and designed to extreme limits, with the toughness and durability to withstand extreme weather conditions, and built for extreme anglers – those diehards who willingly beat into wind-blown whitecaps and drive through the night to catch a peak bite when the fish are ready for a fight.
AWARD-WINNING DESIGN
It’s not everyday that raingear, even the new and improved variety, can steal the thunder from a tackle show that literally has thousands of new and exciting and colorful rods, reels, lures and other items on display, but that’s exactly what happened at the 2010 ICAST annual tackle show in Las Vegas. Frabill’s revolutionary new FXE Stormsuit copped the “Best New Apparel” award at this prestigious event and the industry and consumer accolades having been continuing ever since, over a year later. One of the best leading indicators of an item’s popularity is its scarcity and its price. In conducting my preliminary research for the Frabill FXE Stormsuit, I discovered two interesting phenomena. First, almost every internet sales source was selling it at the same recommended MSRP, and secondly, many of the sites I visited to get more intel were totally “sold out”. That, folks, is a marketing product manager’s dream scenario. Charge top dollar for your product and then you can’t make them fast enough! But what makes the Frabill FXE Stormsuit so great? Let’s take a closer look at the details.
QUALITY COMPONENTS
Great minds were brought together by the Frabill engineering team to develop the concept of the FXE Stormsuit. Legendary angler and TV personality Al Lindner tested and retested FXE Stormsuit prototypes until his toughness requirements were satisfied. Al’s co-conspirator was ergonomic apparel master designer, Chris Leonard, famous for launching Snosuit, which, to this day, is the benchmark in extreme cold weather wear. Leonard plugged in Al’s input, along with the many other professional anglers who tested this gear, and the blueprint for the FXE Stormsuit was drawn.
Structurally, Stormsuit is founded upon a rugged waterproof, windproof, breathable, and totally seam-sealed shell. Before getting near the outer fabric, however, pelting rain and sleet must contend with a shielding treatment of DuPont Teflon fabric protector. Securing this dryness on the inside, the FXE Stormsuit features YKK Aquaguard zippers throughout. Key storm-surrendering amenities on the FXE Jacket include a fully adjustable, oversized vented hood with reinforced sun visor, internal wire for custom shaping to your face, large chin flaps and an adjustable collar. Signature features on the Bibs include wide bunker-gear straps with tough cam buckles, a reinforced tool pocket with several oversized pockets, an exclusive patent-pending waterproof crotch design, plus articulated knees with padding to keep you comfortable, even while crawling around the hard deck of a boat.
Other notable product features on the FXE Stormsuit include a unique four-layer storm shell made up from: (1) DuPont Teflon fabric protector; (2) 250 Denier Oxford nylon throughout and 500 Denier nylon in all wear areas; (3) Waterproof, windproof and breathable membrane; (4) Rip-stop internal lining. Yet another neat item is the internal sunglasses pocket with attached sunglasses towel to clear things up for those extreme situations when your eyewear seems like it needs a built-in windshield wiper. Dolphin Skin wrist enclosures with internal and external hook-and-loop cinch-stops prevent cold and salty water from running down your arms. Nice!
The MSRP for the Frabill FXE Stormsuit Jacket is $209.99 and it is offered in a six-pack of sizes ranging from Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, XX-Large and XXX-Large. The matching Bibs retail for $219.99 and are offered in similar sizes. Two colors are currently available, Terra (brown) and Russet (maroon). From what I could observe from my experience with the Frabill FXE Stormsuit, this is totally top-shelf foul weather gear designed for active fishermen, and not the generic lemon yellow stuff worn by those salty lobster boat and longliners that you see on the Discovery channel. If you really want to stay dry and you are tired of spending good money on foul weather gear that falls short, why not check out the Frabill FXE Stormsuit? Sometimes you actually get what you pay for.
