It's Not Only About the Tech Specs

How I was looking for a water-resistant jacket and bought the Engineered Garments Field Parka instead.

I can’t believe I’ve already worn this Engineered Garments Field Parka for 5 years. The brand has been releasing iterations of this model each fall/winter season since 2005. This version is actually from the fall/winter 2011 and I came across it completely by accident.

I was looking for a proper water-resistant jacket at that time. I wanted an ultimate solution. I read a whole bunch of information on all these technical fabrics and 3L membranes and concluded that as soon as they come in contact with water they stop breathing. You can’t get both. I wonder if that has changed since.

That’s why I focused on mountain parkas in traditional fabrics like Ventile and 60/40 cotton/nylon blends. Simply because I prefer the 60s–80s silhouettes over modern tech ninja stuff or experiments that put fabric innovation over longevity and performance (I’m looking at you Stone Island).

So I heard that a photographer @leonid_sorokin_ was going to sell the things he accumulated over the years working in fashion. He used a photo of this Engineered Garments Field Parka for the announcement. Leonid produced a lot of fashion editorials for the Moscow-based menswear store called Fott and its print issue Fott Paper which I find very relevant up to this day. I suppose he got more involved in outdoors and activewear, thus selling his more ‘heritage’ stuff.

Anyway, I came to the garage sale at his place not expecting much. Well, because the parka was used for the announcement post and looked just stunning. To my surprise, it was still available when I arrived. It might be because it was 2k18 and everyone was talking about gorpcore.

Leonid told me he hadn’t been wearing the parka that much. It might be quality materials as well because the thing was in almost pristine condition. To my surprise it stays that way after 5 years of regular wear.

I love the color, the materials, the overall fit (I wouldn’t reject trying one a size up tho), the small details, and the abundance of pockets. But I'll need another post or two to cover them all.

Drawbacks? It doesn’t repel water.