2025 Reboot - Winter is Coming! Time to break out your favorite jackets!

Hickory n steel said:
Everybody should own a vintage woolrich 503.
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They're an amazing piece that can be had for little money, I bought this 1950's example for $100 shipped and shortly after I was seeing them for $40-$75.
There's just nothing like vintage American wool, and the Shadow plaid ( buffalo check has become housewife fashion ) will always be iconic.
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Now I just need to find one in XLT!
 
My favorite is my Bruns Clothing jacket. Made in the USA, out of Watertown SD. Think Carhartt Type. It's black. It's got 14oz cotton duck, thinsulate, storm flap, lots of pockets, knit collar and cuff, no hood. I bought it to wear outside, and on my motorcycle. Had it custom made for less than the cost of a Carhartt back in 2010 I think??? He has since gone out of business unfortunately...

After that, it's mostly all made in the USA Carhartts and USA made FR Jackets. I recently picked up a custom USA Carhartt off ebay that I really like. It's a duck active jacket that had the hood removed. Job looks professional. I like it because I can layer a hoodie under and not have the bulk of two hoods.
 
Down below 30 F means I can bring out real winter coats. I realize some of you in the more Northern latitudes start to put on shirts, about then. For a Pennsylvania boy, it's cold enough.

Single-breasted pea coat. I wanted one of these for everyday wear, and I knew that if I paid MSRP for it, I would be paranoid about actually wearing it. So, I lurked the pretty much only remaining retail website until I found a known-brand for a silly discount.

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I wore it to work one night, and felt that it was A Bit Much, style-wise. After much enjoyable searching, I found more wool!

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Zip-front, from the "French Airplane Company". I don't know what it means, or how to pronounce it, okay?

I do know they make decent garments which I would never pay retail price for. This one is from the Bay, for about $45. A little lighter than the top coat, but perfect for the 150 yards of walking from building to car. I've worn it every night for the past two weeks and nobody has commented on my layering choices. Which was what I wanted.
 
Shorttime said:
Down below 30 F means I can bring out real winter coats. I realize some of you in the more Northern latitudes start to put on shirts, about then. For a Pennsylvania boy, it's cold enough.

Single-breasted pea coat. I wanted one of these for everyday wear, and I knew that if I paid MSRP for it, I would be paranoid about actually wearing it. So, I lurked the pretty much only remaining retail website until I found a known-brand for a silly discount.

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I wore it to work one night, and felt that it was A Bit Much, style-wise. After much enjoyable searching, I found more wool!

View attachment 3052191


Zip-front, from the "French Airplane Company". I don't know what it means, or how to pronounce it, okay?

I do know they make decent garments which I would never pay retail price for. This one is from the Bay, for about $45. A little lighter than the top coat, but perfect for the 150 yards of walking from building to car. I've worn it every night for the past two weeks and nobody has commented on my layering choices. Which was what I wanted.
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I like wool as well. Both of your's are very nice. I like the zip front one a lot. Wool is a classier look, and it's nice to wear on occasion. I bought a wool coat also from the Bay that's pretty nice. It's too nice for everyday wear, but it's all I could find in my size.
 
"Too nice for everyday wear" is what I thought for a long time, too. One day, I decided I hated the swishy, plastic feeling of modern puffers, anoraks, parkas and the like. Pea coats were issued to sailors on ships, and somehow they became "classy"?

Nah, I wear mine with a Carhartt button-down, blue jeans and boots. Swagger, own it, wear the "fancy" coat and feel a little more like Daniel Craig! It'll help distract you from the fact that your ears are burning from the wind chill....
 
Wool is a wonder material for winter, but good quality wool is expensive and there's hardly anything on the market that's made like it used to be.
Filson doesn't offer anything past 24oz these days, they use imported wool these days, and the prices just keep shooting through the roof.
Pendleton wool was unmatched, but they don't make garments anymore.
Woolrich is imported fashion bran crap now.
Johnson woolen Mills is just okay considering the price.
I don't know about Bemidji, but expect similar wool quality with significant pilling.
Weatherwool I hear good things about, but it's crazy expensive and I'm not sure I want an Anorack.
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Thankfully there's an endless supply of vintage wool on the secondary market to keep you warm, you just have to worry about moth holes and or that terrible moth ball smell.



The only drawback to wool is the fact that it has to be dry cleaned.
 
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Early winter I really like thick wool sweater (got few, one from Devold and one knit by Icelandish grannies) and shell jacket / anorak. This way you got the worry free shell on top of the wool itself.
 
I’m finding the older I get, the less I like tolerating cold when I don’t have to. I often find myself out in the weather for an hour plus at work…so when I came across this -50 deg. rated Viking Professional for $35, I said ‘screw it’ and hit the ‘Buy now’ button. I’ll probably only use it ~2-3 months a year. It actually got put into service the other night when we had a nasty bit of weather come thru…cold rain driven by 40 kt. gusts…taking the wind chill down to 30 degrees. It worked quite well. The only druther is it doesn’t have real hand warmer pockets, so it’ll be gloves when needed.

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BOSS1 said:
I’m finding the older I get, the less I like tolerating cold when I don’t have to. I often find myself out in the weather for an hour plus at work…so when I came across this -50 deg. rated Viking Professional for $35, I said ‘screw it’ and hit the ‘Buy now’ button. I’ll probably only use it ~2-3 months a year. It actually got put into service the other night when we had a nasty bit of weather come thru…cold rain driven by 40 kt. gusts…taking the wind chill down to 30 degrees. It worked quite well. The only druther is it doesn’t have real hand warmer pockets, so it’ll be gloves when needed.

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That's a heck of a deal at $35!
 
BOSS1 said:
I’m finding the older I get, the less I like tolerating cold when I don’t have to. I often find myself out in the weather for an hour plus at work…so when I came across this -50 deg. rated Viking Professional for $35, I said ‘screw it’ and hit the ‘Buy now’ button. I’ll probably only use it ~2-3 months a year. It actually got put into service the other night when we had a nasty bit of weather come thru…cold rain driven by 40 kt. gusts…taking the wind chill down to 30 degrees. It worked quite well. The only druther is it doesn’t have real hand warmer pockets, so it’ll be gloves when needed.

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Maybe some of their products are better than others, but the Viking rain jacket I was given at work is garbage.
Hopefully you have better luck with this.
 
^^ It seems ok, particularly for the pre-owned price. Zipper/snaps/insulation seem decent. It appears to be a ripstop type exterior material. I’ve sprayed it with some waterproofing to enhance it a bit, particularly on the seams. You’d definitely want some decent layers underneath if it were -50, plus all the rest of your body covered.

But so far, so good. I do like the high collar and it comes down to about the top of my thighs. Currently I’m routinely in long sleeves and fleece lined pants if I’m expecting outside duties.

As this is primarily a work jacket, I also like the hiviz…I don’t have to put on a separate vest.

We’ll see how it goes.
B
 
BOSS1 said:
^^ It seems ok, particularly for the pre-owned price. Zipper/snaps/insulation seem decent. It appears to be a ripstop type exterior material. I’ve sprayed it with some waterproofing to enhance it a bit, particularly on the seams. You’d definitely want some decent layers underneath if it were -50, plus all the rest of your body covered.

But so far, so good. I do like the high collar and it comes down to about the top of my thighs. Currently I’m routinely in long sleeves and fleece lined pants if I’m expecting outside duties.

As this is primarily a work jacket, I also like the hiviz…I don’t have to put on a separate vest.

We’ll see how it goes.
B
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I wish they would have given me a HI-VIZ, because I do have to put my vest over my rain jacket.
 
Yeah, same boat…most of the time would like not having to double up with the vest in winter. But if weather is mild, I’ll just throw the vest over whatever ‘regular’ coat I’m wearing…

I believe mine is a older version of this: https://vikingwear.com/product/6450jo-viking-professional-freezer-300d-trilobal-parka/

I kinda like the black lower + orange…won’t get dingy as fast…a bit more utilitarian. It won’t get abused too terribly hard…so should last awhile.

Use a grain of salt when sizing with them tho…according to their sizing I’m an XL (normally ~45ish). The one I got is a Large and I have plenty of room.

B
 
One of the best clothing purchases I have made in years is Vertx Crucible Mid Layer Hoody. When cold, I just wear under a rain jacket. Plenty warm. Will update later w a pic.
 
Santa's little helpers seemed to throw me a bone...this Kitanica Mk IV in excellent condition popped up on the bay...after some back and forth...got it down to a pretty good deal...

I have the Mk I, similarly 'bombproof,' 1000 Condura construction, but the Mk IV is highly technical but a bit more 'refined/contemporary/routine' without having the Mk I buckles that tend to get in the way unless you have the fastened, which isn't normally the case when just knocking around town running errands. The pockets, particularly the two oversized chest pockets are really handy/great for phones, etc. Pretty comfortable, good weight for fall type weather, but some room to layer if needed. The gray is a really nice shade.

And like the Mark Series Jackets, 'Merica Made. Something you're unlikely to see too many of walking around town to be sure.

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Happy '26!

B
 
BOSS1 said:
Santa's little helpers seemed to throw me a bone...this Kitanica Mk IV in excellent condition popped up on the bay...after some back and forth...got it down to a pretty good deal...

I have the Mk I, similarly 'bombproof,' 1000 Condura construction, but the Mk IV is highly technical but a bit more 'refined/contemporary/routine' without having the Mk I buckles that tend to get in the way unless you have the fastened, which isn't normally the case when just knocking around town running errands. The pockets, particularly the two oversized chest pockets are really handy/great for phones, etc. Pretty comfortable, good weight for fall type weather, but some room to layer if needed. The gray is a really nice shade.

And like the Mark Series Jackets, 'Merica Made. Something you're unlikely to see too many of walking around town to be sure.

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Happy '26!

B
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Nice Jacket!! Great Score!!
 
Kitanica makes great stuff........Couple.guys from Brooklyn, NYSHITTY.....Seem like forever ago...
 
I just received this new unissued M-65 from Army surplus world.
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I was kind of pissed to discover that it's a late production Alpha industries with a shitty plastic tooth zipper which I can't stand.
But I can at least say that the zipper is buttery smooth, even if plastic sucks.

They didn't have any liners in stock, so I had to get one from a surplus dealer on eBay which arrived the other day.
 
I had decided that I wanted to buy one of the winter fur ruff hood attachments for this m65, but after looking online I discovered that there don't seem to have ever actually been any manufactured in m81 woodland camo to go with these.
I find it odd that the m65's always had the capability to attach this winter ruff hood even though they either stopped making them or for some reason continued making them in OD green only.
With the zipper teeth being plastic I don't think It's worthy of having any attachments purchased for it anyways, if I had waited to receive it 1st I probably wouldn't have even spent money on a liner for it.
I'd much rather just get an m65 fishtail parka.
 
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