You know those guys. The types who wear a wispy outer layer like a hoodie, a fleece, or a (gulp) gilet when it’s 40º, 30º, or 20º or even lower. They look like idiots. And don’t get me started on the morons who wear shorts as if to say “I’m a spring break party monster, bro. I don’t need outerwear. Aren’t I hilarious?” No, dude, you look like an asshole.
Every year around this time, I feel like burning my winter coats. I’m sick of wearing them. As I write this in the beginning of April, high temperatures peak in the high 30s/low 40s and the low temperatures dip into the low 30s/high 20s. I’m so bored with it.
After ruining the faux fur hood trim on my beloved snorkel jacket, I needed a solution. I found one.
It was a long time coming. For years, I had struggled through each winter with a modern remix of a snorkel jacket by a brand I won’t mention. (I will offer that I bought it at Urban Outfitters for around $100 in winter of 2007.) It was reasonably warm, but it was shorter in length than a classic snorkel jacket, which typically dips below the hip. It had some trimmings of a basic snorkel, like a faux fur hood trim and plenty of pockets inside and out, but it was most definitely a younger pop version that was looking and feeling a little dated. It was trendy, cool and of-the-moment, but the sun had set on that particular moment. It was also starting to show wear and tear around the seams. It was time for something new: something more timeless and something built to last.
Every man in the north needs one in the cold months. Every winter I see guys, particularly younger ones, in extreme cold with just a hoodie under a thin jacket and consider it sufficient winter outer-wear. In what is perhaps…