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Bib & Brace / Salopette Recommendations

Richard Eynon

Richard Eynon

Senior Member & Supporter
Do any of you have any recommendations for a decent Bib & Brace for walking up an down the river during the Winter. Ideally, it needs to be waterproof and warm but more importantly, breathable as I will be roaming around rather than sitting static in one place. I can't stand sweating profusely and have normally not bothered in the past but am now beginning to feel the cold a bit and want something warm but practical. The ESP 25K Salopettes look good on paper but at £160 I would appreciate any personal reviews or other suggestions?

Many thanks.
 
I have for the best part of 20 years used a pair of snugpak salopettes, fortis do a pair which are made by Snugpak. The pair I have are still in good nick and will last me another 20 maybe. The reason they are as, is that I put over the top a set of British forces lightweight goretex, they take all the rain, blackthorn, blackberry bushed, mud etc... to allow my salopettes a very long life indeed... paired with a good set of boots or wellies, it would be hard to find anything better.
The salopettes pack down to nothing, as does the over goretex...
 
As Jon said above, you can’t go wrong with snugpak gear my brother put me on to their stuff as he used various products whilst he was in the forces and if it’s good enough for the army / special forces then it’s more than capable for fishing situations 👌🏻
 
Snugpacks are probs top of the tree in terms of warmth but also look at Fortis Tundra and maybe even the lighter weight Korda Polar jobbies if you don't want to pack additional waterproof layers. Depends on the amount of static fishing vs roaming you'll be doing. Personally for the minimal super freezing cold fishing I do the Aldi Crane £20 specials do a job!
 
If you’re ok with second hand then you can get decent used grade snugpak gear from army surplus stores for a fraction of the price of the fortis gear which is made by snugpak anyway 👌🏻
 
Indecently there’s also another brand called “Fortis” (fortis clothing uk) different to the fishing brand, that also do outdoor gear who also make the SAS smocks but there stuff is very expensive but is also very good 👍🏻
 
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I think most of us will have tried many different brands over the years..
My first pair were from the little woods or Walmart catalogue, and if I remember correctly we're Ron Thompson, quilted version, after about 10 outings, it looked like id been savaged by a wolf!..
God they were awful...
About 10 or so pairs of, pro logic. ,esp korum, the list goes on......
I've had for about 12 months now the Nash scope , which are excellent and very hard wearing light weight, and very warm.
But 5 yrs prior to that, i had the fox tri layer salopettes, and although they were still going strong, got bleached accidentally somehow.
The Nash scope being almost identical in construction....
 
Nash Scope - Bib and Brace for me, very durable with four large front pockets which suits my style of roving fishing.

I always wear them with tracksuit buttons in the winter so I don’t feel the cold. They’re a bit snug around the tummy (I like my Guinness) but the next size up we’re huge on me. I don’t normally zip the zipper all the way up anyway as typically have a jacket over the top.

That Snugpak stuff looks good and is 1/2 price at AD currently depending on your size.

Whatever you get just make sure its “bramble proof” and has decent knee pads.
 
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