Tried and tested

Finns are going to

change round here

From Scandinavia to New Zealand there’s a lot of shooting kit most

of us never hear about — and we’re missing out, says Richard Negus

cross-countryultramarathons

together.I sweatandpant,hetreats

themlikea countryramble.Like

mostFinns,heis generous,self-

deprecating,quietlyfunnyand

quitemad.Hehassisu.

TheclothingcompanySasta

epitomisessisu. Since1969,thebrand

foundedbyUrpoSaastamoinenin

Nurmes,NorthKarelia— oneofthe

lastgreatwildernessesinEurope

— hasmadeclothingforhunters.

HuntinginFinlandis,likemostthings

inFinland,tough.Theterrainand

weatherconditionsarenoplaceforkit

thatis nearlygoodenough.Sastais a

brandthatmanyintheUKwon’thave

heardof.Thosewhohave,andwho

wearit,tendtobethetypeofpeople

whoareworthlisteningto.

I wassenta SastaMehtoPro2.0

jacketandtrouserstotryoutbythe

I

n Finlandthereis a word,‘sisu’

(pronouncedsee-soo), that

doesn’thavea directtranslation

intoEnglish.Roughly,it means

strengthofwill,determination,

perseveranceandactingrationally

inthefaceofadversity.

I imagineit takesallofthose

qualitiesexpoundedinthatfour-letter

wordtobea Finn.Inthewinterit is

dark,allofthetime.Inthesummer

it is light,allofthetime.Wintersare

longandcold;-30ºCis normalfor

Lapland.Summersareshortbut

warm;inland,temperaturescan

reach35ºC.

TheFinnsarenotoriouslytough.

If theyaren’tthrowingthemselves

downski-jumpramps,theyare

runningmarathonsorswimmingin

ice-coveredlakes.I havea Finnish

friendcalledRaimoandwerun

S.

FARNSWORTH

20 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Designed in Finland,

Sasta is more than a

match for our weather

“The Mehto’s material slipped like an

otter through blackthorn, without a snag,

when I wore it to build a dead hedge”

hugely knowledgeable team at Elm

of Burford. Managing director Paul

Marshall not only sells the kit but also

helps Sasta to develop the brand with

British requirements in mind.

Crispy bits

Rather cleverly, the jacket I was

trialling had already been worn — on

an almost daily basis for three years

in the Highlands by a professional

stalker. For a three-year-old jacket

it looked remarkably unscathed.

Admittedly there was a mild tang

of sweat and red deer about it.

Crispy bits on the sleeves spoke

of gralloch, but after a wash

in Nikwax Gore-Tex reviver it

looked (and smelled) like new.

That in itself immediately put

this coat in my good books — what

a practical testimony of longevity.

The trousers, however, were brand

new. High-waisted, and equipped

Dedito Moorland: waterproof with a

temperatureregulating membrane