At the end of August, I headed to Canada. A seaplane took us deep into an remote landscape of dense forests and countless lakes. Long days in the rugged outdoors lay ahead, far from roads and everyday life. Our to-do list was simple: hunt, fish and experience it all. Naturally, we had the right clothing with us. Designed for whatever the wilderness might bring, this was the perfect opportunity to wear our pieces exactly where they belong. And whatever the conditions, there was always that reassuring feeling of being well dressed. In the end, we came home with more than memories of a remarkable journey. We also found the confirmation we were looking for. Proven by wilderness.
We travelled to northwestern Ontario. North of Red Lake lies a landscape where roads eventually cease to matter. Dense, unspoilt forests are interspersed with countless lakes, bays and small islands. A vast landscape best appreciated from the air.
Our seaplane took us straight to our accommodation by the lake. We were a group of family and friends, different generations united by our love of hunting, fishing and being outdoors. We also kept an eye out for black bears. But the wilderness follows no itinerary, and this time the bears remained out of sight.
Instead, we headed out onto the lakes. Walleye, pike and lake trout are at home in these waters, and part of our catch later went straight onto the open fire. Fresh fish, a place by the lake and a long evening outdoors. Sometimes that is all you need.
From dawn to dusk, from dry weather to wet, from icy winds to the warmth of the campfire, our clothing was there through it all. The new “Banff Mountain” Jacket in fine wool tweed joined tried and tested Meindl classics such as the “Finley” deerskin jacket. The “Long Island” deerskin trousers quickly became a favourite with both the young guns and the old hands. This trip was the perfect opportunity to wear our pieces where they belong: outdoors, in real conditions and right in the midst of life.
The “Banff Mountain” Jacket wears its hunting heritage with confidence. Inspired by classic workwear and hunting attire, it combines robust wool tweed with considered details. Generous flap pockets, three inside pockets and an integrated cartridge pocket keep everything you need outdoors close at hand.
Discover a jacket whose heritage is not only visible, but truly comes into its own in a place like the vast forests of Canada.
Some materials seem as though they have always belonged in a landscape like this. Traditionally chamois-tanned deerskin is one of them. Authentic, full of character and exceptionally robust. Our “Finley” Jacket and “Long Island” Trousers protect, provide warmth and take whatever the day brings. They give you the confidence to feel well equipped when the trail leads through dense undergrowth, the weather changes or the day lasts longer than expected.
This is not a material that asks to be treated delicately. It is a material you can rely on. One that gains a story of its own with every experience.
The “Yukon Field” deerskin jacket is a field jacket in the truest sense, following a design originally developed for the hunt. Practical and functional, the Yukon translates this idea into traditionally chamois-tanned deerskin. Generous bellows and flap pockets, a cartridge pocket and additional inside pockets provide plenty of room for everything you want close at hand. It is the kind of jacket that makes you stop wondering whether you have enough pockets. There is simply room for everything.
Yet for all its functionality, the “Yukon” remains a jacket that always leaves you well dressed. Not only out in nature, but just as naturally back in civilisation, far from the wild forests whose untamed character is so perfectly reflected in the leather.
Of course, as seriously as we took our real-world test, there was always time for a little fun. The boys in particular had their own ideas about how to make the most of life by the lake. With the seaplane moored right by the shore, its wing was soon turned into a diving board. Up onto the wing and straight into the water.
The days passed between hunting, fishing and life by the lake. Our minds stayed firmly in the here and now. No deadlines. No next item on the agenda. Just whatever the day had in store.
The days still felt like late summer, but mornings and evenings were already growing cooler. As evening gave way to night, another side of the Canadian North began to reveal itself above the lake: the Northern Lights.
No city lights to interfere. Hardly anything to distract the eye. Just water, forest and the extraordinary play of light across the sky above us.
The black bear did not show itself this time. But plenty of other things did.
Above all, I will remember the time spent with friends, family and the next generation. The days on the water, the evenings by the fire, the vastness of the landscape and all those small moments in between.
And, of course, the certainty that our clothing did exactly what it was designed to do. It was simply there. In every kind of weather, on every path and through whatever the day brought.
I am convinced that life itself is the best proof. Not the design on paper, not the clothes hanger and not the first impression. What matters is a long day outdoors, changing weather, a little hunting, a little adventure and, of course, the person wearing it.
The leather will carry traces of these experiences. Small marks that gradually become part of its surface. Yet it is only through the eyes of its owner that those marks become memories. Of the water. Of the fire. Of the vastness. Of a piece of life in its purest form.
Markus Meindl, August 2026
