Please recommend a bloody good coat

[AliCanTea]

I have one of those babies that only naps in her buggy 🤦🏻‍♀️ Need a coat. Rain resistant, cosy, quality hood, long enough in body and arms... any suggestions? Tia.

I've got a padded one from Uniqlo: light weight, wind and rain resistant, big hood, lovely warm fleece-lined pockets, useful inside pockets, washable. Brilliantly warm and cosy. I love it to bits.
Downside: not very stylish and I did manage to make a tiny tear in the outside fabric, which I repaired with glue.

I've got a long Seasalt waterproof coat. Knee length, fleece lined. Not the most styling but v practical.

We need your budget...

Second Uniqlo.

I've been in the same boat and abandoned all pretence at style for something really waterproof and warm. I'd look at proper outdoor/hiking brands.
I've got this - and I love it, feels like a down jacket but is waterproof and machine washable - but I appreciate that it's not many people's idea of fashionable! www.alpinetrek.co.uk/paramo-womens-torres-activo-jacket-synthetic-jacket/

Thanks - I couldn’t give a monkeys about style currently Budget: not a lot but am prepared to trawl eBay

For the best hood ever I vote Didriksons. Their parkas are so so practical.

Seasalt. Or Landsend have some in the clearance section very cheap.
I like both as plain and not covered in logos.

Second Didriksons parkas.

North Face Arctic Parka. I'm a teacher and do playground duty in it - keeps me warm, dry and cosy!

Didriksons - always a good investment. I have three Didriksons coats and am considering a fourth!

Regatta - Romana water proof coat lightly padded & waterproof . Was great last year when out with the baby. Lots of different colours & covered my bum. 😊

Go on the Regatta website. I got a knee length waterproof parka off them last winter it’s lovely and warm.

I second the north face arctic parka x

Another vote for North Face parka. Mine is about to do its fifth winter and its still like new. Warm, cosy, waterproof

North Face Arcitic Parka that is

I got a brilliant warm parka style from Tesco last winter for £50.
Quilted furry lining, big patch pockets.
Only drawback is that hood dropped down over my eyes so I had to sew a pleat in it.

I have no advice.

But I've scrolled past this in active 4 times now and read "help me find a bloody good goat"
I have to keep scrolling back to to recheck what I've read.

I think I'm dyslexic

Another vote for Didrikson.

In the past I have spent a fortune on coats and jackets. Last year I bought a cream, long, down to my knees, quilted coat, with a belt and a hood with a fur trim from Primark, £30. It's the best £30 iv ever spent, it's a great fit, it goes in the washing machine and dries easily. I wore it on a European city break at Christmas, never felt so toasty. I like expensive stuff so I cut the Primark label out (snob) but I fell in love with coat and kept telling everyone where I got it from and that it was £30. It's just had a wash and is ready to wear this year

another vote for didrikson... i searched long and hard... still delighted with it 3 yrs on

@PoppingOneOutIn2020 - me too

Following with interest. Both dc now play football so I need something to keep my warm and dry all winter while standing on the side of a windy football pitch!

If you are on a tight budget look on eBay for coats which have a minimum water column of nothing less than 10,000psi. Anything less than this will not be waterproof. The higher the water column the better the waterproofing qualities of the coat. Gortex is still a very popular membrane because most gortex fabrics are 20,000, and breathable.
My advice would be don't buy second hand, because there is a chance the coat is no longer waterproof (most coats with waterproof membranes can only cope with twenty washes, and this is if using nikwax (or similar) a normal washing detergent, and even worse conditioner will destroy the waterproofing qualities of the coat) but there are many non-branded, new waterproof coats, on eBay or Amazon. It's worth looking at 'work wear' on eBay, avoid flexothane, because although it's extremely waterproof, it's not breathable, so great if you are standing still in the rain, but you'll get very sweaty if on the move! If a coat has an umbrella symbol with 3/3 then it's minimum waterproofing qualities is (IIRC) 10,000. The top number is waterproof the bottom is breathability so again IIRC flexothane is 3/2 or 3/1 (happy to be corrected as things may have changed)
A wool jumper under any waterproof coat will guarantee keeping you warm and comfy, so my advice is go for a coat which will keep you dry, and reasonable breathability. And slightly bigger so you can layer. If you can't cope with wool next to your skin (it can make some people itch) then next best is a windproof fleece.

(20+ years ago I worked with a specialist outdoor company, gortex was very much the go to fabric at that time) but fabrics have moved on and many have now superseded gortex. someone else might pop up who really knows their stuff and is much more up to date.

Didricksons for me too. I bought a parka last year and lived in it. It’s very warm and totally waterproof. I’ve just given in to temptation and bought a Seasalt Polperro III coat that was on sale for a silly price (£60 reduced from £160) which is also brilliantly waterproof and a bit more flexible than the Didricksons because you can take the lining out and wear it as an autumn mac. But yesterday it was so cold here I put the lining back in!

I’m feeling a bit guilty about having two similar coats but justify it as the Didricksons is for really wintry weather and the Seasalt, while I think it could cope with real cold, is more flexible for the in between seasons (even with this week’s cold weather for the season I wouldn’t wear my Didricksons yet, it’s be too hot). Also I’ve lost weight in the past year and am now a size 10 whereas the Didricksons is a size 14, sadly. It does pull in around the waist so still looks ok, especially over thick coats, so I’ll get another winter out of it. I can see me buying another one in a smaller size next winter, though, never mind the Seasalt.

Sorry, that turned into something of a stream of consciousness about my winter coats! Short answer is I’d definitely recommend Didricksons, I’ve got the Frida parka which is exclusive to Blacks, but I also like the Seasalt Polperro, though I don’t think it’s quite as warm.