Blocker Outdoors® NEW Flyway Insulated Jacket and Bib keep waterfowl hunters warm and dry through the end of the season, in the field or on the water, at a price nothing else touches
Bluebird days make for pleasant hunts, but they rarely make for generational stories. The mornings that stick with you are the ones when sleet came in sideways and the birds dropped into the decoys like they were taking cover. That’s late-season waterfowling, and it’s here.
It’s the stretch hunters wait all year for, and it’s also when gear stops being an afterthought. Whether you’re tucked into a layout blind a cornfield or hunkered down in a boat blind, staying warm and dry is what keeps you out there long enough to tap your limit. That’s the job Blocker Outdoors® built the Flyway Insulated Jacket and Bib to do, and it’s a job Blocker has been doing a long time.
Late Season Has a Long Reach
Up north, late season on the water means skim ice and frozen decoy lines. The final batch of hooded mergansers and goldeneyes ride the edge of the ice until the open water runs out. It’s the season’s swan song, so to speak.
Farther south, the hunting is just hitting its stride. Texas and Arkansas, the two biggest waterfowl hunting states in the country, see duck seasons run deep into January. Don’t let the latitude fool you, though. A blue norther can drop the Texas coast 30 degrees in a matter of hours, and freezing rain in Arkansas flooded timber is as raw as anything the North can throw at you.
Back in the breadbasket, the freeze just moves the action to dry ground. Late Canada goose seasons from the Dakotas through the Corn Belt run into the heart of winter, with big flocks feeding hard in cut corn and snow-covered stubble. Lying in a layout blind on frozen ground, with the wind ripping across open fields, is about as tough a test as outerwear ever faces. Wherever you hunt, the back end of the season is when birds are thickest and conditions are toughest.
A Legacy Built on Bad Weather
Blocker Outdoors has been designing and building hunting apparel since 1998. Its reputation comes from cold stands and long, wet sits, the kind of conditions that expose cheap construction in a hurry. Over the decades, that experience has shaped how Blocker seals a seam and cuts a garment to fit a hunter who has to move. Flyway draws on all of it. The same construction standards that built Blocker’s name in the deer woods and turkey timber are now in the duck marsh and the goose field, in the weather that tests gear hardest.
Warmth for the Long Haul
Early in the season, a waterfowler can get by on a shell and good intentions. Late in the season, insulation isn’t optional. The Flyway Jacket carries 120 grams of insulation through the body and 80 grams in the hood and sleeves. That zoned approach puts the most warmth at your core, where heat loss hurts most, while lighter fill in the arms keeps you free to shoulder a shotgun without fighting the sleeves.
The Bib matches the Jacket’s core with 120 grams of its own, and that matters more than most hunters realize. Your lower half spends the morning on frozen ground or a cold boat seat, and that’s usually where the chill wins first. “Everything we’ve learned building hunting apparel over the years went into Flyway,” said Steve Allie, Marketing Director for Blocker Outdoors. “This is the time of year it was built for. The birds are moving, the weather’s turning nasty, and you want to be out there for every minute of it.”
RainBlocker®: The Science of Staying Dry
At the heart of both pieces is Blocker’s RainBlocker® membrane, rated 10K/10K. RainBlocker is waterproof, windproof and breathable all at once. Sleet and spray stay out, and that late-season wind doesn’t cut through either.
The 10K/10K rating tells the story. The first number is the waterproof rating: the fabric resists the pressure of a 10,000-millimeter column of water before anything gets through. The second is breathability: RainBlocker moves 10,000 grams of water vapor per square meter over 24 hours. Heat and sweat from a hard walk in or a long drag of decoys pass out through the membrane instead of soaking your base layers. Dry from the outside and dry from the inside is what keeps you warm when you finally sit still. Stitching leaves tiny needle holes, and on most garments that’s where water gets in first. Every seam on the Jacket and Bib is heat-sealed and secured with waterproof tape, so the membrane protects the whole garment, seam to seam.
Jacket Built for the Ugly Days
The Flyway Jacket’s honeycomb polyester shell is tough and quiet, so you can shift your weight or reach for a call without making noise while birds circle overhead. Inside, a poly tricot lining feels soft and warm. Smooth poly sleeve linings slide over your layers, so nothing binds when it’s time to swing. Bad weather finds every gap, and the Jacket closes them. Pull the adjustable hood tight, cinch the cuff tabs down over your gloves and snap the hem closed to lock out wind and rain. Fleece-lined handwarmer pockets snap shut to hold in heat. The Jacket has five pockets in all: a zippered chest pocket sized for a phone, two top-load snap waist pockets and two open side-entry pockets.
Bib Built to Match
The Flyway Bib carries the same honeycomb shell, RainBlocker membrane and taped seams. A smooth lining slides right over base layers, even when you’re dressing in the dark. Full-length side seam zippers let you get in and out over boots without sitting down in the mud.
Fleece-lined handwarmer pockets warm up cold hands, while a zippered chest pocket and two angled snap-closure thigh pockets keep essentials handy. Adjustable elastic suspenders hold everything in place, and Blocker’s athletic cut stays out of the way, whether you’re wading out to set decoys or lying flat in a layout blind.
Both pieces come in Mossy Oak Bottomland, which suits flooded timber and marsh edges alike.
Performance That Outclasses the Price Tag
Plenty of waterfowl outerwear costs a whole lot more and doesn’t deliver a whole lot more. At $149.99 each, the Flyway Jacket and Bib bring real waterproof protection and real insulation to hunters who’d rather spend their money on shells and that sweet upgrade at the pawnshop. “Waterfowlers shouldn’t have to choose between staying dry and staying on budget,” Allie said. “Flyway gives you serious protection and serious warmth for the toughest part of the season. You won’t find a better performing suit at this price, full stop.”
Flyway Insulated Jacket FEATURES:
- Quiet honeycomb polyester shell, lined with poly tricot and smooth poly sleeves so layers don’t bind
- RainBlocker® waterproof 10K/10K membrane and taped seams to keep you dry
- Warmth where you need it: 120g body insulation, 80g in the hood and sleeves
- Fleece-lined handwarmer pockets that snap shut
- 5 pockets: 1 zip chest sized for a phone, 2 top-load snap waist, 2 open side-entry
- Adjustable hood, cuff tabs, and snap-closure hem to shut out wind and rain
PATTERN: Mossy Oak Bottomland
SIZES: S – 3XL MSRP $149.99
Flyway Insulated Bib FEATURES:
- Quiet honeycomb polyester shell with a smooth lining that slides over base layers, even in the dark
- RainBlocker® waterproof 10K/10K membrane and taped seams to keep you dry
- 120g insulation for warmth on long, cold sits
- Fleece-lined handwarmer pockets
- 3 pockets: 1 chest zip, 2 angled thigh snap-closure
- Full-length side seam zippers so they go on and come off over boots
- Adjustable elastic suspenders
PATTERN: Mossy Oak Bottomland
SIZES: S – 3XL MSRP $149.99
