It's past time to replace my favorite general purpose parka, a Mountain Hardwear "Exposure" model and of course, it's discontinued. I have softshells, I have ultra-lightweight rain shells. I don't need anything insulated, I prefer layering. What I need is abrasion resistance, something I can work in without tearing it to shreds. Prefer a decent length too.

Anyone have something they like?

Maybe something from helly Hanson or carhartt? Something along the lines of a commercial grade fishing equipment?

https://www.hhworkwear.com/en_us_ww/shop-ww/categories/fishing-rainwear#allow-cookies

Arc'teryx Rush jacket. Very tough and functional, not too heavy <2 lbs in xl.


mike r

HH Impertech.

Tru-Spec ECWCS parka (long).

This for work or hunting? If the latter and you need somewhat breathable I’m a fan of the kuiu yukon. So far mine has stood up to 3 seasons of alders.

Thanks for the suggestions. The ECWCS parka looks good, about the closest thing to what I'm replacing. I just ordered one in brown, should work for hunting and general purpose.

The Arcteryx Alpha line and Kuiu both look great but the price just didn't work for me. Found a couple scandinavian brands like Fjällräven (had to cut and paste that one) that are popular with bushcrafting websites , if anyone else is looking for something like this they might be worth checking out.

Natural Gear rain jacket. Retail is about $70
Mine has withstood 2 seasons of hound hunting and a trip in the Talkeetnas.
Best bang for the buck

Liked my Tru-Spec ECWCS parka so much, ordered another one, this time in Universal Digital gray from TG.

tag for reference

I grabbed one of these a couple weeks ago on Optics Planet for like $78.

I just looked at the Tru-Spec at a couple discount houses online. The grey digital camo is 2/3 the cost of the big pattern green ($100/$170)? Hunting season bump?

Are these a relatively quiet fabric?

I think so, but depends on an individual's mode of stealth movement. Moderate sound from forearm sleeve rubbing across chest possible. I wear overwhites frequently, so don't notice any sound from the parka. More concerned with sound of the hammer cocking and boot noise.

In the Pacific Northwest we often regard this parka as a mobile, stormproof...tent.

Previously bought one from Optics Planet for around ~$78, but Tactical had my size for the best deal, this time. Shop around.

I ordered one of the Tru-Spec parkas, "Gen1", we'll see...

Any clue to the difference between "Gen1" and "Gen2"? The only difference I could see in their advertising was the camo pattern, and twice the price for "Gen2"

Hood on the Gen1 doesn't roll up under flap behind neck and shell is lined. Larger and separate rain "bill" on Gen I. No adjustment for length of hood when not wearing a helmet.

Gen II is unlined. Gen II allows adjustment of the hood length, too. Gen II has vertical pockets behind front large horizontal pockets. Both have chest map pockets.

The Gen 2 is not what I’d call quiet.

Grundens is excellent gear and what a lot of commercial fisherman wear. But the best deal for me is the Army Surplus Gore-Tex M65 type jackets. Have both US and German version and they are really stout. Only draw back is they are not very quit especially in brush. I figure I will only wear them if it is really raining so that usually covers the noise. For stand hunting they are fine if you only move slowly.