The Happy Camper: WeatherWool is Amazing
I’ve tested my fair share of wool garments. Wool is a material I fully believe in when it comes to weathering foul conditions. And the latest, WeatherWool, receives two thumbs up from me.
I chose to field test the company’s ShirtJac. I’d seen rave reviews of WeatherWool’s Anorak from a number of “bushcraft” YouTubers. I wanted something different. The ShirtJac may not be their most serious cold-weather item, but it’s versatile. It’s also a nice design, similar to the traditional CPO Jacket from the US Navy. That’s what I was looking for: a wool jacket that I can wear in the woods as a main layer in moderate cool temperatures and as a mid-layer in colder climates.
Like all good quality wool products, WeatherWool is durable, breathable and repels wind, rain and snow. It also comes with a hefty price tag. My ShirtJac was $425 US and their Anorak is close to $600 US.
But I think it’s worth it.
This company goes way out of their way to use only the very best, most expensive fibers for both softness and strength.
There are countless steps in transforming raw wool into a finished fabric. Each procedure (cleaning, processing, spinning, weaving, finishing) impacts the performance of the fabric. WeatherWool does this to perfection, making a stronger, denser and tighter fabric which can, in turn, shed more rain and retain more heat. They use very fine Rambouillet Merino fiber; wool that contains more individual fibers than the same weight of a fabric made with a thicker (and cheaper) “run of the mill” fiber.
Beyond the fabric, WeatherWool excels in its precise stitching and the general way the coat is put together. Even the slot buttons are guaranteed not to loosen or fall off. They’re made from Melamine and are attached by nylon runners rather than thread. And where thread is used in the jacket, it’s abrasion-resistant military hydrophobic thread—not cotton.
The only thing I think the ShirtJac is missing are side pockets.The FullWeight ShirtJac will soon be available with hand-warmer/side pockets.
So, yes, I think it’s worth the money. I’ll be wearing mine to the grave… and that’s a rare thing in today’s norm of poor fabric and cheap off-shore production. Quality definitely matters when you’re dealing with wet and cold climates in remote wilderness.
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