Inexpensive waterproof jacket

[caorach]

As some might recall I tend to wear a British Army windproof smock as my main fishing/walking/stalking jacket. They are great with plenty pockets for a day out plus they are breathable and showerproof. What they aren't, however, is waterproof and this is one of the advantages as you don't get as wet and sticky when walking in them.

On days when there might be extended periods of rain I like to carry a waterproof layer and I would put this on under the smock, that way I keep all my pockets etc. This system works for me, but isn't for everyone.

I have a range of waterproof coats from £400ish Mustos down to military surplus ones. Recently the Austrian Army Gore-Tex was recommended to me and I ordered one to give it a try and for £40 I must say that they seem to be well worth a punt if you are in the market for a waterproof, especially one that might get a bit of abuse and so you don't want to spend big money. I ordered from these people and although marketed as "Grade 1" the jacket I got was clearly new in the sense of unworn though it had probably been on a shelf for a while:

https://forcesuniformandkit.co.uk/products/austrian-army-m65-gore-tex-jacket

Now I haven't put the jacket to any real use yet due to circumstances but all I can say is that I'm very impressed and it appears to be a good quality jacket (several steps up from normal mil surplus and not many steps down from top notch Musto) that would be more than suitable for fishing, I've been using it as "everyday" wear over the last few weeks and it isn't very out of place on the street either. I've seen lots of good reviews of them and so believe it should be waterproof etc. though until I test that for myself I'm never convinced :-) On the negative side it is somewhat more bulky/heavy than the normal mil surplus waterproof shell jackets and this is a factor if carrying it in the bag as I do, however it's not a deal breaker for me as the increase is modest.

So, if you are looking for a non-cammo waterproof for £40 that you could wear in town and that seems robust enough for real outdoor use take a look.

[caorach]

That looks like a contender for my new fishing jacket, read some reviews there, and seems good. Would you say it could put up with hard wear of brambles & thorns or isn't it quite as tough as it looks? It looks fairly tough and heavy wearing..

This is a tricky one to answer as you'd guess, you might define hard wear differently to me. I'd say that the fabric is slightly more flexible and, perhaps, lightweight than some of the normal mil surplus jackets which tend to be relatively stiff/heavy, in many respects this makes it a really nice jacket more on a par with commercial offerings in terms of wearability. However, relative to commercial jackets then it would probably rate as pretty heavy duty, but again this depends what you are used to as I have some harkila Pro Hunter X gear and I would say Harkila is more heavy weight and has proven relatively indestructible (by my standards of a pair of trousers lasting a fortnight) for me. I have two Musto jackets and the fabric on the mil surp jacket feels heavier than one of them, and perhaps a fraction lighter than my Musto Highlands jacket.

So, will it cope with brambles and thorns? The best I could say, based just on feel, is that it might be in the top 30% of commercial jackets in terms of robustness but I don't know how this would match up to your "thorn test" if that makes sense? If I was spending a lot of time in thorns then the only thing that will work is heavy waxed cotton but for just occasionally making my way to some fishing through thorns then I'd say this mil surp jacket would be suitable.

Not very useful I guess but it is hard to define "robust" and also any gore-tex is prone to a rogue thorn getting through the outer fabric and making a pin hole meaning waxed cotton still has its uses :-)

[burnie]

Pity the German Goretex boots aren't available in larger sizes, need a new pair of them.

[Bobfly]

You could try knee length army goretex over socks they just roll up small and give you hill wellies out of hill boots. I use them at about £11 a pair, also Sealskin socks are great too. Maybe you are getting new boots anyway.

[burnie]

New boots will be required and Goretex comes in handy for crossing streams and bogs, I'm not climbing just hefty walking.

[Bobfly]

Richard, I was meaning on the army goretex oversocks that they go over your socks but inside your boots. They are quite thin and then you get boot support but knee depth for splashing about in burns and bogs and loch shores so they an instant wellies conversion.

[SoldierPmr]

Thanks for the heads up Philip. I was just looking at the Ridgeline smocks tonight but I'll have to have a punt on one of these first.

[burnie]

I'll have a look at those socks, sound like the business(nearly walked the soles of the boots though)

[arawa]

Thanks for the heads up Philip. I was just looking at the Ridgeline smocks tonight but I'll have to have a punt on one of these first.

I picked up a Ridgeline smock (the lightweight version) in the sales last year at a massive discount.  It is brilliant in early spring when fishing around a loch, but is hopeless wearing it for walking up the hill in the first place as it is far too warm - for me at least.

[Laxdale]

I have been wearing one of the following for winter beating and when rowing a boat in the autumn of 2017. It is great for the job, and still keeps me dry. The design of the neck and hood area is very good.-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/112578399975?rt=nc&var=412985977975&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20160908110712%26meid%3Dfc5c8bc56d6844b2be00b02acdec6da9%26pid%3D100677%26rk%3D9%26rkt%3D30%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D112578399975%26itm%3D412985977975

A few years ago I managed to get several Prologic smocks really cheap which were very good, but alas, they are now all threadbare. So the search has been on for replacements. My other half has just managed to get me a Deerhunter Avanti smock  which ticks all the boxes for the fishing I do. She got it for 40 quid, reduced from 100! Yahoo.....still plenty available on various websites
I could not resist getting one of the army surplus jackets Philip mentioned. I can fit into it....just! It will do for the Hebrides in the summer with nothing much on under it. But it seems to be well made, and not too light. I reckon it would survive conifers and gorse ok.