Field Jacket

The jackets in this collection take their shape from the M65 pattern: a squared hip-length body, four front pockets, a stand collar, a drawcord at the waist, and often a hood folded away inside that collar. They are new garments built to that look, not old ones recovered from anywhere. Cotton and poly-cotton bodies dominate, alongside a handful of coated shells and one or two with a lining that zips out.

A field jacket is a wind layer that carries things

That is the honest description of it. The cut blocks wind, shrugs off drizzle, takes a knock, and hands you pockets you can work with gloves on. It is not a rain shell. Exactly one jacket in this collection publishes a hydrostatic figure at all, and it reads 1500 mm, which covers showers rather than a wet day on open ground. The others are described as water-repellent or windproof, which means a finish on the face of the fabric, not a sealed, taped system. Water finds the seams and the zip line long before the cloth gives in. If you need to stay dry while standing still for hours, start at waterproof jackets and keep a field jacket for the days that suit it.

Three fabrics, three behaviours

• Cotton and cotton-rich: comfortable, quiet, ages nicely, and heavy once wet. Drying takes hours, which matters on a two-day trip and not on a walk into town.
• Poly-cotton: the sensible middle ground. Dries far quicker, creases less, keeps its colour longer.
• Coated shells and softshell: shed more water, breathe less. Pleasant while moving in the cold, clammy once you push hard or the temperature climbs.

Size it around what goes underneath

This pattern was drawn to be worn over other layers. A jacket that sits neatly over a t-shirt will fight you in January with a fleece under it, so work backwards: settle on the thickest layer you expect to wear inside it, then pick the chest measurement around that. Sleeve length is the figure people skip and the one that spoils a jacket, because a short sleeve leaves your wrist bare every time you reach upward. Read the centimetres on the listing rather than the letter size, since these jackets come from different makers with different ideas about what a large is.

Details worth checking line by line

Is the hood fixed, stowed in the collar, or missing entirely? Is the front closed by zip, by buttons, or by both, since a storm flap over a zip is what stops wind pouring through the centre seam? Is the lining sewn in or removable, because a removable one turns one jacket into two seasons? Does the waist carry a drawcord, which keeps a boxy jacket from ballooning in a gust? For deeper winter cover, army parkas go further, and the full jacket range sits in between.

Free UK delivery and 30-day returns

All orders ship free to UK addresses, fully tracked. Orders are processed within 3 to 5 business days and delivered within 10 to 20 business days, and that timeline is stated here rather than promised short and missed. Returns or exchange within 30 days of delivery, unused and in original condition, approved before being sent back, with the refund issued within 7 days of return acceptance.