Hello and welcome to Waterproof Coat!
As a frequent traveller around the world, one thing that I always take with me is a waterproof coat. Crazily, sometimes I don’t even use it, but it’s always nice to have it there at the bottom of my bag! That’s because there are few well-visited places in the world that don’t have the potential for rain at some stage – especially in Europe.
With modern technology and synthetic materials, waterproof these days doesn’t just mean some kind of rubber or plastic shell to keep the water out. No, these days with materials like Gore-Tex, you are looking at breathable models that let internal moisture escape whilst allowing little (hopefully none) external moisture to penetrate. Similarly, warm air should escape meaning that you don’t over-heat.
Whilst many of these jackets are unisex, you can also get men’s waterproof coats, women’s waterproof coats and obviously children’s waterproof coats. Most look quite stylish these days and can be worn on the street as well as on top of a mountain.
It’s always a good idea to find a versatile jacket. For example, having lots of external pockets can be really important in the wet as you don’t want to be searching your clothes underneath for your keys or wallet when it’s pouring down. At the same time make sure that pockets are well-protected as well as these are areas that can traditionally be prone to allowing rogue water to enter! You definitely don’t want a saturated wallet and the prospect of drying your pounds, dollars or euros on the radiator when you arrive home!
In terms of prices you should expect to pay anything from around £20 for a simple effort to well over £300 for the most modern versions with all ultra-modern insulation and several breathable layers. Think of the mid-price as being around £100.