I’ve owned Patagonia, north face, Sierra designs and others, but for a shell with lots of storage pockets, my Cabela’s Guidewear coat is awesome. Goretex material with neoprene wrist cuffs and at least eight pockets. Very happy with it.
twoisone, Wow, I never considered Cabela for that sort of technical coat (usually TAD, Patagonia, etc.). I'm going to watch a couple of Cabela's videos on that coat.
I do love my Brad Thor Alpha... https://www.tactical-life.com/gear/scottevest-brad-thor-alpha-jacket/
Looks similar to (but not quite the same as) the Pentagon Monsoon Rain Shell Jacket. Minor details are different.
Is it this one? https://threadcreed.com/products/mege-brand-m65-military-camouflage-male-clothing-us-army-tactical-mens-windbreaker-hoodie-field-jacket-outwear-casaco-masculino?_pos=1&_sid=4cc26d421&_ss=r&variant=13833601056829 I really dig Fjallraven's new Vidda Pro jacket..
For winter in northern Indiana... Also have the same thing in a vest. Have a North Face jacket I really like too, though I have no idea the name of it. It's lightweight, very packable, and water/windproof. It's the one I take for any travel. Comfortable to wear through a wide range of temps.
I responded to this thread back in 2017. At the time I knew what kind of a coat/jacket I really wanted, but I discussed a more versatile all-around mild weather jacket. What I really wanted was a coat I used to have when I was working in the oilfields up in Wyoming (I grew up there). I actually got the coat from my Dad who never wore it, it was a heavy canvas, heavy down coat made for extreme cold. An "Expedition" weight coat. It would get so cold in Wyo. that water would freeze before it hit the ground. People say there are other places colder, but I've been to AK and ND and Wyo is colder, especially when the wind kicks up. Minus -35F standing temp, with wind chills down in the minus -70F to -80F were not uncommon. It was just flat-out COLD there! My coat got so covered in drilling mud and other oily grime I couldn't wear it anywhere but at work. To me it smelled like "money", but to everyone else (wife included), it just "stunk". There was no cleaning some of that stuff off without ruining the insulation (plus all the oil only made it warmer). Greatest coat I ever owned. I searched for years for another coat like it. Someone stole my original out of my truck one night. People stole everything when it was cold. I never found one like it. Last year, I found another coat like the original I had, and it was made even better than the one I had. Rather than canvas, the outer shell was made from heavy cordura, and all the wear points like the elbows were reinforced with double and triple layers. This thing was hard-core! It wasn't cheap, but the moment I saw it I told the wife I was getting one. She freaked out (of course) at the price, but what she didn't know was I had ordered her one just like it a couple weeks before. When her coat showed up she instantly fell in love with it...then mine showed up a couple weeks later and all was good (pretty clever strategy, huh?). They're about $500 bucks a copy, but when it's really cold out, there's noting better than a coat which will ward off all manner of frosty, freezing cold and wind. This thing laughs at -30F temps; you can't even tell it's cold out wearing it. Put on a beanie cap and pull up the hood and you can go far colder than that even! So, that's my "best jacket/coat" story...and I'm stickin' to it!
When it comes to being warm, that's a small price to pay. My kid works for a European based company here in the US. They are in the construction industry and supply their sales people with all kinds of company branded clothes. The clothes you get depend on where you work. He lived with a coworker who'd spend time in the North Dakota oil fields. The company gave him a cordura shell with two zip in liners. One fleece, one down filled. It's like mountain climbing grade stuff and I'd hate to think about what it costs. When the guy relocated south, he gave my kid that coat. It was too big for him, so he gave it to me. I burn wood for heat so I'm outside a lot in the winter. We rarely get below zero so the fleece liner is about all I've needed. But when it does get really cold, that down liner is amazing. I was wearing it last week to grill brats at zero with wind gusting to 40MPH.
