Cheap waterproof jacket suggestions please.

[bmartin1uk]

Hi All

As usual my purchases are heavily fund restricted, and therefore i'm looking at army surplus, but i'm open to other ideas.

I'm looking for a waterproof jacket/smock
50 quid or less
Suitable in front of a fire
Hood
Ideally covers my butt when i sit down.
I'd prefer it if it wasnt camo

Any suggestions, or anyone clearing any old clothes out (43" chest - would like to be big enough to wear layers under it)?

Thanks as always

Ben

[Shewie]

For fire proof and nearly waterproof you're looking at Ventile really, but you ain't gonna get one for £50 unless you fall lucky at a charity shop.

The trouble with the modern waterproof fabrics like goretex and eVent etc is they don't like a spark from the fire, so your back to natural fibres like wool or cotton really. What about layering up with a cheap exarmy goretex jacket and then a cotton smock over the top for fireside shenanigans ? You can get plain green army stuff if you look for some of the foreign versions like dutch, german and french etc. You can get some decent quality cotton smocks like the RAF navy ones or even a fishing one like these ....
http://www.yarmo.co.uk/acatalog/Fisherman_s_Smocks.html
You might be able to proof the cotton with Nikwax or Thompsons and if it turns out well you could get rid of the waterproof layer altogether.

Plenty of good alternatives about which I'm sure the guys will chip in

[Ronnie]

Ok, it is camo - but at £15 you can't really go wrong:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62852

You might find some Police surplus heavy duty Gore-Tex jackets knocking about for not a lot of money. They usually have a rectangle on the back where they took the SWAT decals off :cool:

[Limaed]

How about an old Berghaus Lightning? Not that easy to find sadly now but they appear on ebay now and again and usually go for around £30. So what you get is a Gore-Tex jacket with a good simple design in forest green in a non military style. True sparks will melt it but I wear mine by the fire all the time and its not really an issue IMO. Here's one in blue:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Berghaus-Lightning-Gore-Tex-Waterproof-Jacket-50-Coat-/260675108718?pt=LH_DefaultDoma in_3&hash=item3cb1727f6e

Its a shame Berghaus dont make these anymore.

[Teepee]

The Regatta waterproof jackets really aren't that bad and you should be able to pick one up for £20 or less. They are breathable to a degree and quite waterproof.

http://www.sportsdirect.com/regatta-packaway-jacket-mens-442301?src=google

[Petey]

http://fieldtextiles.co.uk

[jonnie drake]

im sure endicotts will be able to sort you something out in olive green, just drop an email and they will sort you out.