I have known Scott Shultz since the 1990s when he was working for Robinson Labs and its chemist founder Bill Robinson, who developed the then-radical new scent-control product, Scent Shield. In 1997 the company developed a carbon clothing line called ScentBlocker. In 2002, Shultz purchased the company from Robinson; he still runs that company today.
A native of Pennsylvania who now living in Minnesota, Shultz has always been an avid hunter; he shot his first whitetail deer with a bow before he was shaving. He’s hunted big game around the world, adventures that have helped him come up with new and better ideas on how to build technical hunting garments. Now in his early 60s, Schultz’s vision is to take a lifetime of in-the-field adventuring plus 20-some years designing, building and marketing hunting clothes and launch a new apparel brand that handcrafts the most well-built, technically advanced hunting gear available: Pnuma.
Late last week Grand View Outdoors was granted an exclusive first-look at the Pnuma line of garments, which aren’t slated to be available to the public until the end of July, at the Shultz family farm. What I saw made me drool with anticipation.
“Hunters have specific needs when they head afield,” Shultz said. “They need to stay cool when it’s hot, warm when it’s cold and dry when it’s wet. Sometimes we face all those needs in the span of a day — sometimes in the same hour! Hunters also need their gear to be silent, tough and keep them concealed. When those expectations fail, the results can range from leaving the field early to being life-threatening.”
“Pnuma apparel is designed to exceed expectations on every hunt -- no matter what conditions hunters face,” said David Strandberg, Vice President of Pnuma. “Each piece of Pnuma apparel performs a specific task. Purpose-driven design and engineering is what we do exceptionally well. From our unique IconX zoned thermal regulation and muscle supporting base layer, the quality of our Merino wool, our waterproof insulation, fabrics that cool and warm depending on conditions, an all-weather Porelle membrane with a game-changing MVT (moisture vapor transfer) rating of 120,000 — most of today’s top-end garments have an MVT rating of 40,000 — and the best zippers in the world made by YKK — every aspect of Pnuma apparel is designed to deliver hunters a system that will keep them safe, dry, warm or cool.”
And get this: Pnuma is so confident of its quality they are offering a one-of-a-kind lifetime guarantee. “We hold ourselves and our products to the absolute highest standard of manufacture and performance,” Shultz said. “We are so confident our apparel will get you there and back we will fix, repair, or replace it -- for life. It is one thing if you are selling a garment that gets light use, but it’s another thing when that product goes up and down a mountain, up a tree, over fences, and into the bush. Pnuma is built to be beat up and keep going.”
It gets better. By selling direct to the customer via the internet, consumers get two big advantages. “Without retailers making demands to change designs or lower the quality of our gear to meet requested price points and required margins to their corporate headquarters, we’re eliminating the retailer altogether,” Strandberg said. “Pnuma apparel is designed and built to meet the needs of our customers -- not the financial projections of retailers. And since we’re not selling through retail we’ve also removed retail markup from our pricing; markups that frequently double the price of apparel.”
As someone who spent decades working as a consultant to hunting clothing makers, my first impression is, this stuff is the real deal, built to last and designed by a very serious hunter who has done all the little things no-compromise outdoorsmen have been asking for for years but have rarely found in the hunting gear available today. Shultz has incorporated so many “little” things you’ll never see with the quality of thread, fabric, stitching, strechability in all the right places, and so much more that I can’t wait to get this stuff into the field for a hands-on trial.
You can learn more about Pnuma and shop Pnuma Apparel Systems exclusively at www.pnumaoutdoors.com. You can also follow them on Facebook (@PnumaOfficial), Twitter and Instagram (@pnuma_official), #MoveInTheSpirit.
