Gill Foul Weather Gear Review

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Last Updated on September 8, 2019 by Amy

Every cruiser has a set of foulies for when the weather gets rough. After five years on the boat….what have we learned about foul weather gear?

Our Gill Foulies

We elected to go with the Gill OS1 jackets & pants given our offshore sailing plans. The gear fits great, and Amy’s really glad she got the drop-seat style.

Do We Use It?

When we crossed the Atlantic, we didn’t have our helm hardtop or the custom enclosure yet. We were very exposed to the elements, and we wore our foulies quite a bit.

We did also wear our foulies a lot while in the higher latitudes. The highest latitudes we have sailed on Starry Horizons was La Rochelle (leaving the factory) and Nova Scotia and Maine. Nova Scotia was during peak summer, so we didn’t wear our foulies much then, but it was creeping towards late October when we left Maine and it was getting cold!

Since then, we haven’t worn them much at all. We stay nice and dry in Starry Horizons and the temperature is way too high to be wearing the full outfit.

Storage

We converted one of our heads to a wet locker to store our foul weather gear, our deck vests, and our dive gear. This has helped maintain the quality of the foul weather gear, as the outfit hangs and airdries.

Do Cruising Boats Need Foulies?

Yes, just like we need deck vests, tethers, drogues, and an EPIRB, all sailors should have a good pair of foul weather gear.