When I started packing for my trip to Alaska I remembered that I had no winter coat. After moving from Seattle to Vegas, I donated the old winter coat to the Salvation Army since it was a bit long in the tooth and I wasn’t sure I would ever need such a coat again.
Then my most recent trip to Alaska had me re-thinking that strategy. Since I had no coat I decided to wait until I arrived in Alaska to buy one. To get by I had five layers in the mean time – an undershirt, long-sleeve fishing shirt, sweater, hoodie and outside rain layer. This actually worked better than I thought it would on all but the coldest days, but it was a hassle to get all that stuff on. So when we came into town for lunch one day I stopped at NOMAR. It’s a great outdoor/outfitter type store. All the clothing they sell is made right there in the store. And they do their work with pride. I was treated to demonstrations of how their clothing is made and how it works.
I decided on the Kodiak Seiner Jacket - their best – as my new winter coat. This puppy has everything. It features Polartec Windbloc® which actually works – it kept the cold, strong, Alaska wind from getting through to my spoiled by Las Vegas weather skin. This jacket also has a waterproof, abrasion resistant STORM-TECH® nylon that blows my mind.
When I was in the store, the salesman took a big bottle of water and poured it all over the jacket I was about to buy. The water beaded right up. It was amazing. And out in the field, on the boat, surging against the three foot seas there was nothing to worry about. Any water that hit me bounced off. It’s like Kryptonite for water!
The zippers are the best I’ve seen. There’s a hood, vented pits, hidden inside pockets and the jacket even folds up on itself so that it can be zipped into a back pocket and turned into a pillow.
I bought a black jacket but it also comes in blue and red, and in sizes from x-small to XX-L. The XX-L is almost too big for me – that’s something I rarely say – so if you’re a large person, don’t fret…this jacket will probably fit you.
This jacket blocks 100% of the wind and almost 100% of the water it encounters. It’s lightweight and easy to move around in but very effective. I am glad I bought it. At $335 it’s a bit on the expensive side but you get what you pay for.
If you have a winter photography trip in your future I can highly recommend the Kodiak Seiner Jacket. Stay warm and dry and concentrate on your photography, not how uncomfortable you are.
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