Helly Hansen Field Jacket....

[brucemacdonald]

....seems to have fallen out of favour with outdoorsfolk.

I don't understand why, I have two of them (one is a spare, but I've not needed to wear it yet, and I have owned the other for about five years or so).

Is there a big movement towards natural fibres? Or are we as prone to following fashion as anyone else? I get the impression that what Mr. Mears wears this season will be popular on the forest catwalks the next.

So I'll put in a good word for the Helly Hansen Field Jacket. Available only in a deep forest green fibre pile material and more functional than conventional Polartec fleece jackets, it has thumbholes in the sleeves which allow you to pull them down over your hands when the weather is really cold. The collar also reaches up to my ears (almost). It does not get snagged easily on bushes and you can tuck it into your trousers to retain heat. Combined with a Norwegian Army shirt and a shell such as Gore-Tex or Ventile you have a system of clothing that can cope with most weather conditions that a temperate climate can throw at you other than extreme heat and extreme cold.

I'd still like to have a Swanndri Bush Shirt though... :-)

[Gary]

Bruce you are correct in a lot of respects. What TMN man wears does become popular or at least that used to be the case. Recently I think people have cottoned onto the fact that what he wears they sell - good marketing gimmick as it is it doesnt necessarily mean all his choices are good or cheap!

Swanndri is popular because it is good - full stop.

Helly Hansen field jackets are excellent too - as a soldier that was always my warm layer not matter where I was however for 'the craft' there is a down side, unless its covered of course, and that it they aren't fire friendly. I have seen one melt - fortunately the student wasn't wearing it but it did teach a valied lesson.

Wearing wool, ventile or poly/cotton outers is good practice and as long as common sense is used fleeces ect are fine underneath.

[brucemacdonald]

Helly Hansen field jackets are excellent too - as a soldier that was always my warm layer not matter where I was however for 'the craft' there is a down side, unless its covered of course, and that it they aren't fire friendly. I have seen one melt - fortunately the student wasn't wearing it but it did teach a valied lesson.

Wearing wool, ventile or poly/cotton outers is good practice and as long as common sense is used fleeces ect are fine underneath.

Gary, thanks for the tip on Swanndri. I do want one - it's nice to know that something is becoming popular by word of mouth, which is always the best recommendation.

You're absolutely right about fleeces and fires. I do have a very nice woolly pully made by some nice people in St Austell called Sou'West Chunkies and when we go to the Gathering I'll be wearing it next to the fire. I'd hate to see my Helly melt!

Whilst on the subject of natural fibres, we went to Cotswold Outdoors today, to their superstore in South Cerney. I was a bit bothered to see a distinct lack of natural fibres available. A look at their base-layer dept was a bit depressing as they had no woollen base-layer garments at all, it was all synthetics. I would have bought a set if they had sold any wool, but I already own a Lifa vest which I have owned for many years and I know how much it stinks when I have been wearing it for a day.

Best wishes,


Bruce

[Brynglas]

I totally agree, the HH field jacket and trousers were and still are a first rate bit of kit, mine have been superceded by my Buffalo mountain shirt in recent years but the HH stuff is good hard wearing kit.

Gary is rigt however that if you are going to be in the vicinity of naked flame then a nylon based material is never going to be the safest option, but as a warm layer the field jacket are still very good.

[steven andrews]

I bought one when I was in the army during the early 90's (a time when you were not issued Norwegian shirts or those Snugpak Sleeka-type-things.)
It made my life a lot more comfortable.

No gibbering in a wooley pulley for me!

[al]

are they still available? i just retired mine after 14 years of use,a proper old friend

[den]

It’s hard to let old jackets go, :wave: especially when you have so many memories with them. Sad I know. My Helly Hanson and my buffalo are both over ten years old and starting to look it but are both my friends. :uu:

[Brynglas]

I know the feeling, I have a buffalo sleeping bag system which I've had for over fifteen years now and it's still going strong, having seen me through three winters in Norway and all my trips away both in and out of the service.

I'm sure that over the past few years however that the bag shrunk, as I was having increasing difficulty in doing the zip up.When the zip eventually broke however the kind people at Buffalo agreed to replace it and sew in a panel to increase the size of the bag ( I'm sticking to the shrinkage story!!! :hmmm: )

So I've still got my Buffalo bag going strong, It's not the lightest and it won't win any prizes for compactability, but it's hard wearing, is as good in the wet as it is in the dry, I've used it from below -20 and I've used the inner bag and the pertex liner in the jungle without any adverse consequences, as such I've developed a trust for the kit which goes a long way in offsetting the issues surrounding size and weight.

I guess the same goes for the field jacket and peoples Swanndris :cold2:

[Wolfie]

are they still available? i just retired mine after 14 years of use,a proper old friend

I think that you can still get them through Field & Trek.

[Mikey P]

I believe they are fairly hard to find now - I struggled to replace my old one a year ago. I can't remember where I got it from but I had the feeling it was one of the last ones in stock they were able to get.

However, I'll also put a word in for the HH field jacket: regardless of the downsides people have concentrated on above, I used a HH field jacket for nearly 9 years before it started to fall apart.

It may not be the flashest new material and if there's worry about burning alive I'll put a field jacket over it. It is an outdoor classic which is why so many of the armed services use/used them - they are extremely hardwearing and often spend their lives wet and muddy in ditches or in the back of Landrovers and AFVs. Small details like the thumb loops which make it so much easier to put a jacket on without then having to pull your sleeves back down again, the hard-wearing warm-when-wet material, the tough zip that's easy to use in the cold and with gloves on, and the nice warm pockets....ahhh.

I will always be a fan of the HH field jacket. Quality piece of gear, that. Mind you, if I had a hundred quid to spare, would it be a Swanndri or two HH field jackets?

Can I have that tenner now please, Mr H Hansen?

[familne]

Penrith outdoor seem to stock them:

http://www.edirectory.co.uk/penrith_...+Jacket&cid=55

[Mikey P]

Penrith outdoor seem to stock them:

http://www.edirectory.co.uk/penrith_...+Jacket&cid=55

Ah - nice one! Bit expensive though - I'm sure mine cost a bit less but beggars/choosers and all that. Might have to get myself another when I've saved some pennies.

[brucemacdonald]

Ah - nice one! Bit expensive though - I'm sure mine cost a bit less but beggars/choosers and all that. Might have to get myself another when I've saved some pennies.

Actually, fifty-two quid is a bargain for the field jacket when the likes of Cotswold and Field and Trek were selling them for over SEVENTY QUID a pop five years ago or so. :shock:

I am interested to see that they do one in Navy - that's funny, I thought they only had them in bottle green.

Best wishes,

Bruce

[Wolfie]

Actually, fifty-two quid is a bargain for the field jacket when the likes of Cotswold and Field and Trek were selling them for over SEVENTY QUID a pop five years ago or so. :shock:

I am interested to see that they do one in Navy - that's funny, I thought they only had them in bottle green.

Best wishes,

Bruce

Silvermans are selling thm for £69.99. @ www.military.co.uk

I've got a similar fleece by HH, Same material but only a half zip. Unfortunately could only find it in blue or bright red! Just as comfy and just as good as the jacket.

I may be opening a huge can of worms here but who has the oldest Helly Hansen Field Jacket still in use. Mine is now 16 years old and is still going strong despite a few burn holes and the jacket getting gradually tighter around the waist area over the years!