Semi-elegant waterproof winter coat or parka over a suit?

[emptym]

Black would be my last choice for an urban rain coat. Rainy days tend to be dark, and I'd want to be as visible as possible to cars. Stone/off-white has always been my preferred color for trench coats and what I prefer in parkas too. Or red for bicycling.

Here's a nice dark or British khaki parka, cotton outer bonded to a membrane and with a removable primaloft lining:
https://milworks.co/collections/outerwear/products/saturdays-nathan-parka-british-khaki

 

[TheLondoner]

Thanks!

 

[TheLondoner]

Jackets made with two layers of ventile and the heavier types (used for tents) are waterproof. My trench is of a heavy Ventile, made by Luxire, and it hasn't leaked on me, although I haven't tested it in hours of heavy downpour, like I have Gore-tex. But, I can't imagine needing to.
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I wasn't that familiar with Ventile, so thanks again for posting about it. One advantage over GoreTex stuff is that the lack of a membrane will probably make it more breathable - all membranes are windproof and therefore any garment with a membrane will be less breathable than one without, despite marketing's attempts to make us believe otherwise. And garments can be made-to-measure. I'll pay a visit to Private White to have a look.
Do I understand correctly that the first layer of ventile soaks up water, and the second one keeps you dry? Does the coat then become considerably heavier than a GoreTex one? These seem to be the two main criticisms of Ventile vs GoeTex; the main advantage would probably be increased breathability, I suppose.

 

[emptym]

Strangely, Ventile comes w/ a DWR, which hasn't worn off for on my jacket, so it hasn't gotten soaked. Gore-tex jackets get soaked too if the DWR has worn off. One adv. ventile has over Gore-tex is that the seams aren't (usually) sealed, but rather have overlapping layers (as recommended on their site). Gore-tex seams delaminate after about 10-15 years ime.
My ideal for ventile is an internal cape over the shoulders, upper back, and chest, as Luxire made for me. That gives a good balance of protection, breathablility, and low weight imo.

 

[TheLondoner]

In the end I decided to pull the trigger on the Moorer Bond-wi coat https://www.moorer.clothing/product/bond-wi/ . There are other versions, with a different suffix and more expensive materials; this one is made of some kind of technical poly-something fabric and has a waterproof membrane. The Moorer website is not very accurate when it comes to describing the technicalities, probably because it’s a fashion brand and not an outdoor technical gear brand like Arcteryx Patagonia etc., but apparently the Moorer garments with a membrane have a big “ennobled fabric” label inside, mentioning the waterproof membrane.

The thermal padding is allegedly some kind of super-duper goose down; the fill power was not specified, but the store clerk made a big point of stressing it was more than 95% down, which is apparently as pure as it can get – not that it would have mattered too much to me, to be honest. According to the brand’s thermal rating, this should be adequate from -12C to +7C (10F to 44F). I always take thermal ratings with a truckload of salt as they are so subjective, but they are useful as a relative benchmark for products by the same brand. Where I am the temperature very rarely, if ever, drops below freezing, so this coat is just about fine for the London winter.

I got it in black; it also comes in navy and in other colours (dark brown and some kind of grey) which the store wasn’t stocking.

The external fabric is thick; I weighted the coat, size 50, on a luggage scale at 1.5 kg (ca. 3.5 lbs), i.e. ca. 50% more than some of the lightest down or Primaloft waterproof coats, but 500 grams is certainly not an unbearable burden for an urban coat. Still way lighter than a Norwegian Rain coat. The thickness of the fabric contributes to making it drape much better than some lighter-weight coats, e.g. their Vermont-by, which I also tried.
There is a hidden hood in the collar; it is hidden so well that I find I have to take the coat off to open the zip and take it out; the hood is thin, elasticated but with no adjustment strings. It does the job of covering me from the rain, but limits lateral visibility, like all non-adjustable hoods (I pull it back when I cross a road). Leaving the hood out without wearing it looks quite ugly, to be honest. I have started carrying a small bicycle waterproof hood in the third internal pocket as it is easier to adjust.
I have worn coat + hood under heavy rain for over an hour (30-minute walk, public transport then 30 more minutes): it was totally waterproof, didn’t soak up water, and back home it dried in a few hours.

It has the double closure system that is quite common in Italian brands: a one-way zip just above the waist, and then, over it, flaps with buttons.
3 internal pockets which are quite spacious, 2 side pockets which are quite deep (no risk of stuff falling out), plus an additional zippered side pocket on the right, just underneath the other pocket: basically you can keep your hand in one, and some valuables in the other.

If I had to be really picky, the two annoying things are:

• The internal pockets are way too deep. If you put your phone in the left internal pocket, it basically reaches your waist and you can feel it when you sit down. Reaching into the pocket to get your phone is OK if the coat is open, but when it’s closed you need to unzip the zipper almost all the way down or you’d never reach your phone. You can, however, keep it in one of the side pockets. This (too deep pockets) seems a constant in all the coats and jackets by this brand; it’s a shame.
• The hood is not adjustable, looks ugly if it’s out and not worn (eg when it’s stopped raining but the hood hasn’t dried yet) and it’s hard to unzip and take out without taking off your coat.

On the plus side:

• It is one of the most versatile, truly waterproof (i.e. with a proper waterproof membrane, not just a water-repellent treatment) coats – versatile in the sense that it can be worn over denim but also over a suit. I appreciate some people have very strong opinion about wearing anything that is not a cashmere loden over a suit, but to each his own. I find this is very wearable over a suit despite having an upright collar, but, again, to each his own. I also appreciate that many people don’t need a waterproof membrane as they regularly carry an umbrella, but I do need one (e.g. I cannot use an umbrella if I am pushing a pram), so I don’t really need to hear (again) how a coat without a waterproof membrane works just fine for you.
• It is warm but much lighter than the Norwegian rain coats; I had to take it off indoors a couple of times (in some stores) and I was glad I didn’t have a bulkier and heavier Norwegian Rain to carry around.
• The internal pockets are too deep, but at the same time both the internal and external pockets let you carry stuff without ending up with too evident bulges (within reason). With some mid-season raincoats I’d wear a messenger bag to store a glass case, keys, etc, but with this one I can carry these small items without a messenger bag.
• Branding is discreet and not in-you-face – I hate being a walking billboard.

PS Apologies again if the images are messed up; there must be some Chrome plug in that is interfering. Next time I'll post from Chrome with no plugins or from another browser.

 

[TheLondoner]

Other coats I considered:

This Fay coat; made of a similar technical fabric, with a hidden hood in the collar. Double front closure, similar to that in the Moorer Bond. I'd say the cut is slightly more formal (if it weren't for the hand warmers) but it didn't fit me very well, and it wasn't clear if it had a waterproof membrane.




The Moorer Vermont-by. Similar pockets to the Bond (more, in fact, but the internal ones are still too deep). Lighter than the Bond, drapes slightly less well, full detachable hood, probably wearable over a suit (people wear way worse...) but less formal than the Bond.



Moorer Berecci. Very nice. It comes in a dark brown I liked a lot. However, it's more of a mid-season coat, and it's got the sae hidden hood than the bond, with the same pros and cons.


This Prada raincoat I mentioned earlier. It comes in navy and black, and in two lengths: 3/4 and slightly below the waist. The thermal padding is synthetic (it's the Italian Thermore) and I'd guess equivalent to Primaloft 80g/sqm or 100 g/sqm. The padding is removable and reaches the waist only, even in the longer coat. The hood is hidden but more easily accessible than Moorer's hidden hoods, and adjustable with hoods. Unlike Moorer, the internal pockets are at the right height, but the outer shell does not have internal pockets. What sucks is the zipper: it's not YKK. I tried 4 coats in the store and the zipper was very fiddly on all. The zipper is Riri, a supposedly luxury brand in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. However, a bog-standard YKK zip that comes with coats that cost a tenth is way better. It's really ridiculous!

 

[Andy57]

Given your criteria, I think you ended up with a pretty decent coat.

 

[JCinMSP]

I don't own this coat, but stumbled across the ZeroGrand trench coat in a store. It is sold by Cole Haan in collaboration with Mountain Hardware. Seems to check all you boxes: waterproof membrane, insulation, length, hood, etc. I tried it on for fun (very light and warm) but it isn't something I need, so I passed.

 

[circumspice]

For the historical record - I have a Fay coat from about 4 years ago with a hidden hood in the collar - it is offensively useless. No mass = doesn't sit still, which is a problem when the wind blows, as it is wont to do in situations where wearing a hood would be useful.

I am somewhat in the market for a summer weight rain coat, and find it surprising on how many of the linked websites in this thread do a lousy job of segments wear by season.

 

[TheLondoner]

@JCinMSP, thanks! Yes, it seems to tick all my boxes. Did you try it somewhere in the US? Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be on sale in Europe, and the Cole Hann website only stocks the XL.


@circumspice, do you have the Fay stadium jacket, by any chance? I, too, have noticed that non-technical brands seem utterly incapable of making functional hoods, regardless of whether they are hidden or not. I don’t understand why – I wouldn’t think it’s particularly complicated or expensive to:

• Make a hood that is not huge
• Add 3 adjustment strings (two on the sides plus one at the back)
• Add a small peak/visor that gives the tip of the hood a bit of structure
• Test it a bit, e.g. to make sure you can cross the road without being killed because the hood blinds you completely!

The hoods of Arcteryx Patagonia Rohan etc. are all adjustable, even when they are hidden in a collar.


With the Moorer Bond, like I said I carry a waterproof hood I bought in a bike shop; it looks ugly (but no hood ever looks stylish) but does the job. At least most Moorer coats have lots of internal pockets where you can easily store something like this. The hood of the summer-weight Moorer Petrarca is even worse: it’s not hidden, but it’s big, with no structure, no peak/visor, and the two adjustment cords are useless: the only way it doesn’t blind me completely is if I pull the two strings so much that they end up leaving marks on my face. The only way I can use these otherwise useless hoods is if I wear some kind of hat with a visor, because this way the visor prevents the hood from blinding me.


What kind of summery rain-coat are you looking for? With hood, no hood, casual, to be worn over a suit, etc? I have the Rohan NewTown mac, ecru, hooded. Now they only make it in black and with no hood. Some options:

• The Peak Performance Parkes coat.
• The Norwegian Rain single-breasted or Geneve.
• Arcteryx Keppel trench coat (no hood, very long sleeves).
• The Moorer Petrarca-GF: very nice, but the hood is useless.
• UberFunction makes quite a few, too, although the lighter-weight ones tend not to have hoods.
• 49 winters (water resistant, but no waterproof membrane and no taped seams).

 

[noobanker]

Good discussion
I just bought a black Woolrich arctic parka with Loro Piana fabric outer shell, 90/10 down with 750 fill power in "medium" weight according to them.

I think it looks pretty nice over a suit according to this picture I found online.
But it is a bit fitted.