My Striker Ice Floating Suit Review

[NoWiser]

Well, I finally was able to use my new Striker suit for a few days last week. Although it wasn't as cold as I had hoped, I believe I put it through enough to form an opinion on it. So, here is what I like and dislike about it.

Starting with the dislikes:

1. The buttons. To me, they seem like they have no holding power. If you breath on them wrong, they come unsnapped. For instance, the hood has a zipper on the back, with a button on each side. Many times, with the hood up, just turning my head was enough to unbutton one of the sides. In the scheme of things, it really is just a minor annoyance, but definitely one I noticed.

2. The big front pockets on the coat. The coat has a big pocket on each side in the front that closes with buttons. Because of the issue I stated above, the buttons come undone, and the auger tended to snag on the pockets when I was drilling holes. A nice zippered pocket on each side that doesn't stick out would be a big improvement, in my opinion. I'm going to sew velcro on each pocket when I get a chance to help keep them closed.

Now for what I like about it:

Everything else....

I really, honestly, can't find any other complaints about it after 5 days of use, all day long. The suit is exceptionally warm. All I wore under it every day was my long underweat tops, and light fleece pant bottoms. The temps ranged from about 10 at the coldest to the mid fortys some afternoons. Even on the 20 minutes snowmobile rides doing 50-60 mph to get to our spots on the cooler mornings, I couldn't feel one bit of cold or wind through the jacket. It was great. I did heat up in a hurry when it was warm when wrestling the sleds on some of the portages, but the vents under the arms did wonders. If you opened up these, and the jacket just a couple inches, you could feel the nice dry, cool air flow through and cool you down. I never once got sweaty or clammy the entire trip.

Two days it snowed, and I spent hours climbing on and off a snowmobile seat with melted snow on it. I stayed 100% dry the entire time. Kneeling in the slush around the hole the bibs performed very well, keeping my knees padded, dry, and warm. Slush and ice didn't build up on the ankles either, on the cold mornings, which was always a problem with my old Cabelas Motorsports bibs (which I LOVED). I also never ended up looking like a giant snowman like anyone who has snowmobiled with the camo AA on has.

I also like the well placed pockets (besides the two mentioned above) where I could keep my camera warm and my ice picks handy. I don't keep much in my coat pockets, but its nice to have them located where things are handy.

The zipper on the bibs. I've never had such an easy time taking a leak on the ice before. It must zip down farther than my old bibs or something.

One more plus on the bibs is they easily zip over my Predator boots. My old bibs just didn't quite have enough room to zip them all the way down. They also zip far enough up to easily put on over the boots.

Overall, I'd say I give the suit a 9 out of 10, compared to the Arctic Armor I bought a few years back that I'd rate a 4 or 5 out of 10 at best. The Striker suit was definitely designed by people that fish! I'm headed back up in February and really do hope for some good -20 or -30 weather to test it out in. I'm very confident that this suit will keep me toasty warm fishing outside all day. I really like that it floats, too.

Oh yeah, and my last complaint is the material is too slippery to effectively wipe trout slime off of my hands

Also, for reference, I'm 5'11, about 155 pounds and the medium bibs and large coat fit me very nicely.

[DTro]

Great review, thanks. I wouldn't disagree with one thing you said. Awesome laker too!

[Northlander]

X3. I wish the jacket pockets had velcro instead of the weak snaps. I love how big they are though. Been around 5 degrees with -10 to 20 below wind chills up here and I took the dog out and did a few hours standing on the ice with my new Striker suit on. I think Im going to like the warmth of this suit. I also like that my knees didnt get wet when kneeling in some water to get fish out of the hole. My old AA suit lost its water repeling properties a few years back. I spray camp dry on the knees and that helps for a bit but wears off.

Im still waiting for some real cold to test this suit out. A few long snowmobile rides too, if we ever get snow.

[randallt]

Nice review and nice laker!

Like you I am extremely pleased with my Striker Suit.

[harvey lee]

I have done this to numerous snap locks and it has worked very well. Just do it a very small amount at a time and they should hold much better.

Take a pair of pliers and gently squeeze the post part of the snap. You’re trying to make it a little bit oblong so the fit into the socket is stronger. Just a little squeeze at first. Then try it out. If it’s still loose, give it another squeeze, and so on, until it gives a satisfying “snap” when you try it out in the socket.

Let us all know how well this worked for you.

[Bucket_Butt]

My first post... just joined the site last night.

Nice laker! Thanks for the review.

This suit is now on my wish list!

Not sure about Regular or Lite (how tough)

I'm a walker. I'm thinking regular for durability.

Good luck out there!

[NoWiser]

Having gotten more use out of my jacket and bibs, I am still quite happy with them, and they have been too warm for the weather we've been having. The vents take care of this problem quite well, though. However, I have to report that the crotch completely ripped out of my dad's bibs, and mine are showing signs that they might be going that way in the near future, too. We've each worn them a total of about 12 full days on the ice. It has to be a design flaw. We each had a pair of Cabela's Motorsports Bibs that lasted 10 years without so much as a rip in the material or a torn seam. Very unfortunate. I love the suit, but it is going to have to hold up better than this...

We'll contact Striker and hopefully they will take care of us.

[fisherman-andy]

Having gotten more use out of my jacket and bibs, I am still quite happy with them, and they have been too warm for the weather we've been having. The vents take care of this problem quite well, though. However, I have to report that the crotch completely ripped out of my dad's bibs, and mine are showing signs that they might be going that way in the near future, too. We've each worn them a total of about 12 full days on the ice. It has to be a design flaw. We each had a pair of Cabela's Motorsports Bibs that lasted 10 years without so much as a rip in the material or a torn seam. Very unfortunate. I love the suit, but it is going to have to hold up better than this...

That is what I was worried about. Some minor stitching issues all over my new pair of Striker Ice bibs. The front zipper doesnt go all the way down to the crotch which was my dislike. Makes it that much harder for one use the rest room without having to pull the whole bib half way down. But the crotch sewing area does seem at times like the sewn seams are gonna tear.

We'll contact Striker and hopefully they will take care of us.

[remington 300]

nowiser, i had the same thing happen to my bibs, the seam near the crotch tore, while pulling them on over my boots,called striker and

was informed to send them in, which i did, they ended up putting a patch over the torn area,and got them back in a week, so we will see hosw that holds up,

also when packing them for shipping i also noticed small cuts in the outter shell near the cuffs on both legs,1 in each leg, most likely from my auger,so , only having used them for 6 or 7 outtings, i too am concerned with the longevity of the outter shell,i have a feeling at this rate they will look like edward scissorhands was trying to zip up the zippers after a few seasons, i pointed the cuts out to strikerice and they sent some patch material to cover the cuts,But?? more like a bandaide for a bigger problem.

i will need to be way more careful from now on when augering holes to prevent more damage, my old ice bibs ive had for over 20 years and show no signs of auger cuts,there fleet farm field and forest,non water proof,but last forever,

enough rambling, i guess im not real happy so far considering the price of these bibs,

goodluck to everyone else who has these bibs,

mike.

[remington 300]

nowiser, i had the same thing happen to my bibs, i just got them back from strikerice,they ended up putting a patch in the crotch area to repair the tear,mine tore while pulling on the bibs over my boots, it took about a week to get them back, and i think your right on a design flaw, ive heard of others with this issue, and i also noticed while packing them

for shipping i had 2 small cuts in the outter shell, near the cuffs on each leg, probably from my auger blades,and am wondering now about the durability of the outter shell, they did send some patch material to fix myself, but after only 6 or 7 outtings this year with the bibs im concerned about how they will look after a few years? considering i had my old FF field and forest bibs for many years with no issues with auger cuts im not liking the out look for these bibs,i now know ill neeed to be more carefull while boring holes,only time will tell, but considering how much they cost im not real pleased,

goodluck to all that have these bibs,

mike,

[Northlander]

No bibs will take a sharp auger blade on them without damage. Even my old tuff car harts had slices in them from auger blades.

My regular bibs have been awesome except for the snaps and the falling shoulder straps.

[NoWiser]

My cousin just texted me a picture of his Regular Striker bibs, with the crotch ripped out. Definitely a design flaw. We'll send ours in and get the patch. I also noticed a couple small cuts in my jacket. They look like they would be from an auger blade, but I know that they aren't. My auger is always covered when I'm not using it. I'm getting nervous about the durability of this suit. I guess if I can get 5 years out of it, I'll be happy, but my last system lasted 10 years and was still in good shape. Maybe my expectations are just too high. Other than that, I do really like it.

[StrikerBrands]

From the Manufacturer:

We have had about 3% rate of failure on the external front crotch seam on the regular Ice suit (Black/Gray). Such a low rate of failure is acceptable to many manufacturers but it is not good enough for us. In most cases this is due to overstressing the seam due to our slightly undersized stretch panel. Most competing bibs don't have this panel but we incorporated it to allow for the severe stretch position many anglers find themselves in. Torn seams are covered under warranty and we will typically install a patch if the condition is severe. Our customers have been totally satisfied with our repairs, even if it takes more than one return.

Cuts and tears are not covered under warranty because they typically are not related to manufacturer defects. The regular ice suit uses a pretty tough 600D Oxford Endura which has many great attributes, including being waterproof/breathable. The lite suit has only 228D Taslan, which is not as durable but still has the desired W/B properties.

[fisherman-andy]

Add me to the list of a ripped crotch for my 2 week old Striker Ice suit , bummer. I was kneeling and decided to stand one leg and the rest is history. Before this I notice the stitching on the crotch area was already stretching after single use. The crotch are tore and this was the 2nd time I had only worn my Striker Ice suit.

Looks like i'll be sending it in for warranty and putting on the oversize and length Strikermaster that dont fit me very well...

[SalmonSlayer]

Seems like everyone is having issues with the exterior of the crotch blowing out. Any one having issues with the stitching coming out in the crotch area on the inside? I've had my suit since the first of the year. I've used it often, but it seems pretty weak to me that it's coming apart already.

[live4chrome]

Any more issues with these? Has striker fixed the issues with the crotch blowing out

[DTro]

Yes they have made changes. Have they fixed it? Only time will tell, but the guys at Striker seem confident in the new design.

[StrikerBrands]

From the manufacturer:

Our new Hardwater suit is an upgrade from our regular (heavy) suit from last season. Note that we totally sold out last year and we had only a small percentage of warranty returns related to crotch tears, and these seemed to appear only in certain sizes. The current model has a crotch panel that is double the size (14cm instead of 7cm) and has double french seams for more holding power, so we do not expect any more issues with this. Other upgrades for 2013: The Hardwater has smaller front pockets with zip closures, longer zips on the hoods and slightly larger bib sizing. Also, we have added fleece-lined high bib pockets, added removable wipe towels, changed the suspender connectors, we raised the bib height and changed colors for 2013.

Our new Climate suit sets a new standard in ice fishing apparel by using a mid-weight shell and removable liners to extend the wearing season from fall to spring. Available in black/gray or brown/camo.

The LITE suit remains the same as last year.

We have more new products this year including performance hoodys, Climate gloves, casual wear, base/mid layers and rod cases.

We pay attention to what peple are saying on the forums and we appreciate all feedback. We do our best to provide the best possible gear at reasonable prices. We gladly answer all questions and inquiries made by phone or email and we are proud of our customer service. If you have a problem with our products, or you can't decide what to buy, do not hesitate to contact us or ask your retailer.

[Northlander]

I talked to the owner of Striker at the Blaine Show and he told me they have fixed the crotch issues and said there was only a small % that had that issue. I was impressed with the new suits. Nice to see a company listening to people using their products and improving them when needed.

[beebsout]

I bought a striker suit myself at the Blaine show. I have been wearing it around any chance I get just because it is so comfortable. I can't wait to put it through the paces when the weather cools and the slush is flying.

I have had an Arctic Armor for three seasons, and wore it out. It was a good suit overall, but the Striker is greatly improved in my opinion!!!!

[TruthWalleyes]

Why in ***'s name would they make ZERO improvements to the LITE suit??

I'll be replacing my worn out Striker Lite bibs with a different brand since they obviously do not want to put any effort into the LITE version. Bologna!!!!!

[PerchJerker]

Why in ***'s name would they make ZERO improvements to the LITE suit??

Sounds like their plan for this year was to come out with the new Striker Ice Climate Suit .... a brand new model with some new features .... and the new Striker Ice HardWater Suit .... a revision to last year's regular suit. One of the key items taken care of in the revision is correcting the problem with the crotch ripping, after having seen the construction on the new bibs it sure doens't look like that will be a problem with the new bibs.

There were no changes to the Striker Ice Lite Suit for this season, but I think you'll see them in the future.

If you want you can see all of the Striker Ice Floating Suits at Pro Fishing Supply, we have them in stock and shipping is FAST and FREE!

[NoWiser]

I've emailed Striker multiple times about the ripped crotch in my suit with no reply as of yet. How they handle this will play a major part in my decision as to what will be my next suit because, as much as I do like this suit, I just don't see it holding up for more than 5 or so years no matter how careful I am with it.

[Borch]

I've emailed Striker multiple times about the ripped crotch in my suit with no reply as of yet. How they handle this will play a major part in my decision as to what will be my next suit because, as much as I do like this suit, I just don't see it holding up for more than 5 or so years no matter how careful I am with it.

They will take care of you. Just sent mine in on Monday. May want to give them a call. I did email and it took about a week to hear back with instructions and a RMA number. They report a 2-3 day turn around and guarantee the suit will remain waterproof after the repair.

[NoWiser]

They will take care of you. Just sent mine in on Monday. May want to give them a call. I did email and it took about a week to hear back with instructions and a RMA number. They report a 2-3 day turn around and guarantee the suit will remain waterproof after the repair.

Two weeks of emails and voicemails and no response. Can't say I'm too impressed. I'll be sure to post when (if) I hear from them.