I have a confession to make. Up until January of this year, I didn’t know what a parka was. I thought the word just meant a really warm down or insulated jacket. I didn’t know it actually meant a jacket that extends below your waist. That’s particularly embarrassing for me because I’ve tested hundreds of jackets as a gear columnist at ϳԹ for the past decade.
I finally got wise to the differences and advantages of a parka after Stio let me test their ($275) this winter while I was in Jackson Hole where the brand is based. I grabbed the parka from a pile of jackets and threw it on. The extra length seemed like it would help keep me warm in temps that never got above five degrees the entire time I was in town.
I also have to confess that wearing a jacket that came below my butt immediately made me nervous. I felt like a 42-year-old dad trying way too hard to fit in with a younger, more stylish crowd. But my wife, who has great style, assured me it looked good. And as I walked around town and bumped into friends, I started getting compliments. “Very Harry Styles,” someone quipped, which made me feel great, even though I’d never seen a photo of the British singer sporting a parka.
In terms of functionality, I was immediately impressed. The extra length not only kept my crotch and butt warm, but seemed to up my core temperature as well. Waiting outside for a spot at a restaurant, I was able to sit on the parka and never once worry about freezing my butt cheeks before dinner. When I put on the parka after leaving a bar, it felt like wrapping myself in a down comforter and made the walk home in below-zero temps not only warm but also comfortably cozy.
When I got home to New Mexico, winter had arrived there as well, so I called in several more parkas to test. Each time I put one on, I was impressed with the warmth and the style, and kicked myself for spending so long without knowing the power of a long jacket. I started wearing parkas into work, to walk the dogs, and for apres with my kids in the ski area parking lot.
Two favorites that emerged from my testing were the ($270) and the ($700) from Arc’teryx.
I loved the Isthmus because it’s styled after the old-school arctic expedition parkas with lots of pockets on the front and muted colors. At first glance it looks to be made of cotton, but the face fabric is actually a recycled nylon with a DWR coating that easily fought off snow and rain. Inside there’s a thick fleece lining that created instant warmth when I had to throw on the parka and run out of the house.
Like all Arc’teryx jackets, the Ralle is pricey, but in return you get a fully waterproof parka lined with a Gore-Tex waterproof/breathable membrane and stuffed with high-loft, recycled, synthetic insulation. The tailoring is also perfect: the parka has a slim fit but allowed for tons of movement when I was unloading and reloading a car for skiing and dancing in the parking lot for apres.
I’ll continue to use regular-length insulated jackets when I’m out backcountry skiing, hunting, or doing anything active because I don’t want to haul around the extra length, bulk, and weight of a parka. But for everything else, you can bet the parka will be my go-to outer layer when the temps are cold.