ST. CROIX ROD: Team Building Exercise

Here's a cool article from one of my go to rod manufacturers. St Croix rods are American made, and they stand behind their products with a good warranty program for sometimes clumsy oafs like me.

ST. CROIX ROD: Team Building Exercise

Gillz Performance Apparel

Last year I was bombarded by Gillz Performance Apparel ads and their Pro Striker series long sleeve shirts which incorporate a face shield into the shirt itself. Unfortunately, they never seemed to have any 2XLs in stock. This year, I ordered a pair of the Striker shirts, as well as the Tournament series in time to head down for some early season Florida fishing. On the whole, I've been extremely pleased with their products and customer service.

I spend many days sun up to sundown on an open skiff. With the Pro Striker series, you'll never be without a face shield, and yet it's unnoticeable when pushed down.  The Tournament series incorporates much of the same design without the face shield. The shirts are super light weight with mesh sides and underarms to keep you cool and ventilated on the hottest of days.

The shirts are made in China, and yes, I really do try and buy American as often as I can. The stitching on one of the shirt cuffs pulled out after one use. After inspecting the other three, there appeared to be no similar issues.

My initial e-mail to customer service was promptly replied to and including a return shipping label. After several weeks and a few e-mails, I had not received the replacement. However, the initial e-mail came with a direct line to Lori in customer service, whom I reached without any annoying, "Press 1 for..." She apologized for the oversight as the replacement had been out of stock, allowed me to choose any of the other shirts, and promptly mailed me the replacement. She even followed up today with a phone call to make sure it arrived.

I'd probably rate the Gillz shirt a solid 4/5 for producing really cool, lightweight apparel made for long days in the sun. Customer service, should you need it, is a real person located right here in the USA. My only knock is the manufacturing country of origin. 

https://gillz-gear.com/

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