Our last item of footwear is not “footwear” at all, but an essential piece of protective wear that works seamlessly with a good pair of field boots. Outfitter C.C. Filson of Seattle (there will be a full write up of Filson, along with my other recommended outfitters coming soon) got his start supplying rugged men headed north to the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s. Filson goods aren’t cheap, but they live up to the company founder’s motto of: “Might as well have the best.”
For those looking to purchase a first Filson piece of kit, you’d be hard pressed to find a more useful item than Filson’s Tin Cloth Chaps (currently cataloged for the basic model at $115 a pair). I paid pretty darn near the current asking price as a young man for a set of tin cloth chaps some thirty years ago and they are still performing the chore of keeping me from being treated like a pin cushion by briars and sticktights as I thank the Lord to be headed into at least one more fall hunting season.
Teamed up with Maine Hunting Shoes, Filson chaps always remind me of a couple of pieces of advice I have found to be very true: “The most important part of any job is the right tools.” and “I can’t afford to buy things twice.” If you’re tired of scraping burs from your jeans or being compelled to handle bad English as your thighs are tenderized wading through a thicket to retrieve that squirrel you just anchored for the soup pot; get yourself a set of Filson Tin Cloth Chaps (were I doing it again; I’d get the now-offered zippered bottom model for easier taking on/off). As with all Filson products, they’re purchases that last a lifetime. Ends up being pretty cheap when you do the actuary table.
Next Week: Man-at-Arms
Happy 28 to my sweet little wife!
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