Are you a family that all wear sensible, waterproof, two layer jackets? If you are come talk to me.

[Lookuptotheskies]

So on a recent rainy day out, I observed a family with adults and kids all wearing those sensible rain proof jackets that have a removable zip up fleece inside.

We were wearing a very not waterproof combo of one in a coatigan, one in a hoodie, one in a peacoat, and one in a cardigan. 🤦 All of our waterproof coats are big heavy winter ones. No good at all for spring and autumn. It's one of those purchases I keep meaning to get round to, but always forget until it's too mild for our big winter coats and we end up soaking again.

Where should I look? Does anyone recommend any particular ones?

I want jacket length not long coat length
Men and women, and kids ones are needed. All need to survive a great British pour down.

I like the idea of them having the removable inner as then I won't have to over think about jumpers/cardigans etc which would be very handy for short uk breaks as well as days out.

Mountain warehouse is good value.

The 3-in-1 jackets are widely available at camping and outdoor stores such as Mountain Warehouse, Trepass etc

You can buy them in person at decathlon or a shop that sells walking equipment.

online Amazon do them.

Berghaus area good brand.

I have about six of them in various states of disrepair

I too recommend Mountain Warehouse for your first waterproofs. They don't have the fabric durability of more expensive brands, but they well made and pretty decent.
If you decide in the future that you get a lot of wear out of them, you can upgrade.

Yep Mountain Warehouse 3 in 1s - excellent quality.

I find them annoying, as it's easy to pull the fleece layer right out of the arm when you pull your arm out, and then it's either a) tricky (adult) or b) impossible (child) to get it back in properly.

Zipping the fleece in and out isn't something that I'd do in the course of a day, it's again a bit of a hassle. I can't imagine a situation where you'd be better off having them than just a winter and summer coat.

I thought they'd be great but wish I hadn't bothered! Have a few different makes (think Regatta, Mountain Warehouse and something else) and they're all the same.

Just buy summer raincoats!

I'd buy a regatta, MW or berghaus one layer waterproof and then wear your other clothes underneath.

I don't have recommendations because I bought my coat years ago (Berghaus), before the patent for Goretex had been expired for long enough for there to be lots of off-brand Goretex equivalents that are less expensive.

But in terms of what to look for:

You essentially want a combination of waterproofness and breathability.

Waterproofness is measured in the height of water that can weigh down on the fabric before it starts coming through . You want a minimum of 10,000-15,000mm.

Breathability measures the ability of single water molecules to evaporate from your skin, through the fabric. Anything 5000g/M2 + is probably fine, but 10,000+ will be better.

Any outdoor shop will sell them but these are the ratings to look at.

E.g

https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/womens/jackets/womens-3-in-1-jackets/storm-3-in-1-waterproof-womens-jacket-p2607.aspx/khaki/

Above is rated 2000 and 2000 - not good enough.

Below is rated 10,000 and 5,000 - so should be fine:

https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/alaskan-womens-3-in-1-long-jacket-p16976.aspx/khaki/

What @JoanIsNotAwful said!

While mountain wear house are OK, I actually prefer Peter storm coats as they seem to be better waterproof. You can get them for reasonable price from places like Black's or GoOutdoors. Regatta are another reasonable priced brand, but I still think Peter Storm are better quality. You can off course get more expensive such as OMX but unless your hard core hiking you probably don't need to spend that much.

Just buy waterproof outer layer.
You all probably have fleeces already?

I’ve got North Face, pricey but great quality and very durable. Prob a little OTT for everyday city use but great for walking / outdoor trips.

I can’t stand the things as there’s too many zips and too many chances for things to go wrong. I would like them banned from schools until the child can pass a three part test proving they can manage every aspect of these coats.

I'm not a fan of the zip-in fleece approach, but then again I have plenty of under-jacket options to layer up. For shorter length waterproof jackets, Alpkit are very good - British business, good ethical credentials. https://alpkit.com/collections/womens-waterproof-jackets

We just wear normal fleeces and wear a North Face light waterproof over the top. North Face are pricey but work

Oh and I know you said you didn't want a long one, but since I switched to a longer one I do definitely get less wet legs and find it much better. I wear a separate fleece with my long one, you don't always need one with it zipped in.

Although can be handy to buy together if you don't already have one.

I also find them to be a faff.
Fleece separate from waterproof is much easier.
I also hate the fleece being zipped into the outer, then leaving a 2 inch fleeceless cold gap down your front.

Regatta are good as are mountain warehouse. I like the ones with a fleece lining. The UK summer is chilly enough for inbuilt fleece!

I'd buy a decent lightweight waterproof then layer accordingly.

My north face summit series waterproof is 15 years old this year and survived 4 seasons as an outdoor instructor getting some serious hammer. It was £300 when I bought it and worth every penny.

Look for decent brands eg north face, rab, berghaus, Patagonia etc.

https://www.polarnopyret.co.uk/collections/all-jackets-coats

you can get a waterproof shell and either a fleece or puffer jacket inside. I prefer the puffers tbh

I'd buy everyone a kagool.. slightly bigger to put over a cardi or hoody.
Them that fold up.

Wow thanks all for the advice.

I swore off camping about a decade ago and haven't been in a camping shop since 🤣 but we do have some locally so I shall go have a look.

The waterproof ratings have reminded me of tent shopping and are a good thing to check so thanks for that, will no doubt help me decide when I'm in the shop!

Perhaps I won't bother with the fleece or puffa inner then and will just use cardigan or jumper under a summer rain jacket. To be fair the rest of my family probably won't even want a warm layer, everyone seems to run warm except me! As I'm always freezing I already have loads of cardis.

I agree with just getting a light raincoat for summer. This discount website has ££££ brands as well as £ ones.

https://www.sportpursuit.com/clothing/jackets-tops-jerseys?clothing_features=Waterproof&upper_body_type=Jackets&gender=Female&p=3

Moier me and youngest both have a thin fold up rain jacket for summer and both of them are as much use in the rain as a paper bag. Maybe some brands are better than others but ours are both terrible!

i’m not a fan of the 3-in-1 so for autumn / spring outdoorsy days out we have waterproof shells (north face mostly) and Rab lightweight puffa type that are more showerproof but provide a little bit of warmth. Usually bought out of season in the sale.