Fera are making serious headway on their outdoor activity bingo card. Just the other day, they released a mega fly-fishing capsule, and now they’ve just announced a new, rather niche activity-inspired capsule…
This time, the brand has traded water for air, and trout for tits. Obviously, we’re talking about birdwatching. Get your head out of the gutter.
Now let’s get one thing straight: birdwatching is a niche activity – most people who are into it probably wouldn’t even tell you that they are. But we think there’s something quietly powerful about the humble birder. Not the part-timers who don’t know their starlings from their swallows, but the ones who wear fleeces older than you, can identify a call from half a wood away, and make a thermos flask seem like a sacred object. There’s an intricate, patient art to birdwatching, and it’s definitely admirable.
The gear they wear also has a lot of merit – it’s got to be quiet, inconspicuous and above all, highly functional. Think big explorer hats, tactical vests and lots of green. Kind of like a military uniform, but instead of knives, bullets and a firearm in the pockets, there’s binoculars, sandwiches and a notepad.
Fera’s new capsule is built with this kind of setup in mind. It’s a nod to the quiet magic of birding and the functional gear its participants wear.
At the heart of the capsule is The Dipper Vest, cut from lightweight herringbone cotton and features more pockets than a geography teacher’s jacket. Alongside plenty of D-rings and a plethora of zips. Whether you’re scanning the horizon for a rare seabird or scanning the crowd at a festival for your absent mate, this will certainly do the job.
Following the vest is the Crane Shorts – ripstop nylon, quick-drying, lined, belted and zipped. No messing. The kind of shorts you could wear while paddling through a stream or dashing across a muddy car park at 6am because someone heard a Hoopoe.
And of course, to finish, there’s a big old hat – a striking explorer-looking washed cotton bucket with an embroidered swallow on the front – an understated nod to one of the UK’s great travellers.
Two graphic tees round out the capsule – one with that same swallow and one with a knowing wink to those old Rare Bird Alert pagers.
And just to hammer the point home, there’s even a 4-part YouTube short documentary following Bill Spoon, a man on a mission to become the first person in the UK to spot the mythical Devilled Crownhawk. Is it real? Doesn’t matter. The beauty lies within the search.
In every Fera release, you can tell they’re doing this for the love of it. They eat, sleep and breathe the outdoors, whatever activity that may be, fishing, birdwatching, cheese rolling, etc.
The Fera Dipper Capsule is available to purchase from FERA, funny that.