Favorites Series: Parkas - Topic of the day 2/9/24
What are your favorite parkas? Favorite brands at low medium and high price points? What do you look for in a parka? What brands have been great for them and what brands have really let you down? (Note: the Favorites Series will be running ~weekly as a new way of doing the "Best X for $X" threads from a few years ago on MFA.)
12 Replies
Low: Alpha Industries N-3B, Frizmworks Karakoram
Medium: RRL, Vintage Eddie Bauer, Patagonia
High: Nigel Cabourn
One day I will be able to afford an cabourn Everest parka
For me, this is a case where function is more important than form. A parka needs to be warm, because being cold is seriously not fun. Because of this, I see color and pattern as a good way to express yourself, because they don't affect function. I bought a LL Bean Baxter State for about $250. It's...fine. Nothing special. But I went with bright red, and I love the color.
Daily affirmation
seconding the Alpha Industries N3B. got me through multiple Michigan winters
poly fill but is more than warm enough with a midlayer for most cold weather
Overpaid for this milsurp n3b in Fukuoka since it’s a rare size small. Doesn’t get a ton of love now but got me through Japan and CO winters
north face city breeze parka - bought it several years ago at cost it's in great shape still. blocks rain/snow and especially wind
Great recommendations so far. Some other favorites…
Low: milsurp N3-Bwith acrylic fur hood, North Face Retro 96 Nuptse
Medium: milsurp N3-B with coyote fur hood (Spiewak especially), Crescent Down Works Classico, Rocky Mountain Featherbed Christy jacket, Frizmworks Vincent, Nanga Aurora Light, Kapital Kamakura High: Real McCoys N-3B, Freewheelers 1940s Type B-11, Lemaire Stand Collar Puffer, Cottle Egg Coat, Visvim Valdez, CDG x Junya Fishtail Yeah it’s really good for the price. Same with the Frizmworks parkas
Medium: milsurp N3-B with coyote fur hood (Spiewak especially), Crescent Down Works Classico, Rocky Mountain Featherbed Christy jacket, Frizmworks Vincent, Nanga Aurora Light, Kapital Kamakura High: Real McCoys N-3B, Freewheelers 1940s Type B-11, Lemaire Stand Collar Puffer, Cottle Egg Coat, Visvim Valdez, CDG x Junya Fishtail Yeah it’s really good for the price. Same with the Frizmworks parkas
Everest parka is truly the dream. I just thrifted a neat vintage western mountaineering one, juries still out if I can make it work.
Bought the Buck Mason Eddie Bauer collab parka this year and it got me through the wisconsin winter fairly well. Zipper completely sucks though. Having a good zipper will make me love your product
nthing, its a classic, well priced and bombproof. Seen me through many cold winters
I really like my Norwegian Rain coat, great for cold snowy days. https://norwegianrain.com/product/arctic-homme-mixed-black-w-natural-shearling/
Norwegian Rain
Arctic Homme
All thanks to a new, game changing padding innovation from Switzerland that replaces polyester wadding with wool fibers, the Arctic Collection takes on the challenge of battling the down jackets on the market. The Arctic Homme is a winter coat for the most biting cold. Light weight, tailored, warm, functional and refined. A new classic with stea...
