All-Around Jacket More Info

Return to the Basic Page on the All Around Jacket for general information or to order. I haven't spent any time on this page since 2018 ... no excuse ... just letting you know it's old.

Please read THIS REVIEW from a very heavy-duty outdoorsman!

WeatherWool is HardcoreLuxury® ... a great pairing with American Saddle Horses. Above, our friend Chase Burnett in the AAJ in Solid Duff Color, at Revelation Farms ... a great setting for showing WeatherWool.

Here are a couple of pictures from Ron Spomer, one of America's best-known All-Around Outdoorsmen, wearing his All-Around Jacket ... something of a pun, sorry, but an important point ... Ron is a writer, fisherman, hunter, rifleman, photographer, expedition leader and TV host ... for over 40 years. He really gets around, and among many things he likes about the AAJ is that he can wear it whatever he is doing, whether afield or in town or in transit.

PURPOSE: The All Around Jacket serves multiple roles, from very heavy shirt to very serious jacket. The AAJ can be worn in almost any outdoor or social setting. Numerous people go straight from the field to professional meetings or even church in the AAJ. The AAJ will withstand unlimited snow, huge amounts of sleet and rain, significant wind. It is designed for cool and cold weather, and can be worn in temps as high as 70F/22C (over a T-Shirt) or as cold as you like, far below freezing, with the right base layers. Our Double Hood can be attached to the AAJ.

The first customer to receive his new All Around Jacket immediately went out for a hike and then gave me a call. We talked for quite a while and it was great to hear Jim compare his WeatherWool (he has other pieces too) and his new AAJ to other garments. We always love it when people tell us their impressions. Advisor Jim is now waiting on us to make him a North Maine Double Jacket ... the NMDJ will be essentially an AAJ with an additional layer of our FullWeight Fabric.

The All Around Jacket is worn as a second, third, or even fourth layer. WeatherWool Fabric is soft and comfortable on the skin. As a result, the AAJ is sometimes worn over just a short-sleeve T-Shirt ... for example, if a cool morning is expected to turn into a warm afternoon. On the other hand, if a cold afternoon is expected to turn into a frigid night, the opposite approach can be taken. We recommend only base layers made of wool.

Like all of our garments, the All Around Jacket is designed to provide a comfort range of approximately 50 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees C) without needing to change base layer(s). For example, wearing the All Around Jacket over a single merino wool base layer, I am comfortable in 20F/-7C and comfortable at room temperature. And if we get snow or sleet or rain or pretty good wind, it doesn't matter, the AAJ handles the weather. That's why we named it WeatherWool.

Features:

• Constructed of WeatherWool’s own Rambouillet Merino Jacquard FullWeight Fabric
• Double Yoke (some call it a cape ... a second layer of FullWeight Wool across the top of the chest, shoulders and top of the back)
• Two-way, heavy-duty front zipper that allows any portion of the center front to be opened or closed
• Storm flap, secured by Slot Buttons, that covers and protects the front zipper and adds warmth
• Waist cinch inside the rear of the jacket
• Front cargo pockets with zippers and flaps. The flaps are angled to allow easier access and to channel rain off the Jac
• Large, side-entry handwarmer pockets separate from and underneath the cargo pockets
• Chest pockets inside the Jacket with zipper closure
• Cuffs with adjustable button closure
• Elbow and forearm are protected by a double thickness of FullWeight Fabric
• Serious collar that can be flipped up and secured by a throat latch that remains hidden under the collar until you need it
• Three buttons are under the back of the collar. When the collar is flipped up, you can button either a Double Hood or a Mouton Hood to the AAJ.
• In size Medium, the AAJ weighs 5 pounds 3 ounces (2.35 kg).

The double yoke (double cape) adds a great deal of warmth and wind resistance. And it enables the AAJ to keep your torso dry in an almost incredible amount of rain. The double yoke has points in the middle of the back and on each side of the chest because rain will drip more quickly off a point than a flat edge. The idea is not so much that you would use the AAJ as a rain jacket, although some people do, but more that if you unexpectedly have to walk a half a day in an unexpected cold downpour, the AAJ will see you through. As you walk through the rain, the raindrops will impact primarily on your shoulders, on the doubled layers of wool. The outer layer will eventually soak through, but, so long as proper wool base layers are worn, the rain will not reach you. Raindrops landing elsewhere on the jacket as you walk will tend to just slide off, because they will not hit the wool at right angles.

The cargo pockets can be zipped shut, buttoned shut, or both, or just left open. Even when open, the flaps provide significant security against loss of contents. The flaps are secured by Slot Buttons. The pocket flaps also serve the very important function of preventing snow and rain from flowing into the pockets, keeping the pocket contents dry. The opening of the cargo pocket is angled to enable easier access, and the flap over the pocket is angled to channel rain down and off the jacket and not into the pocket.

The handwarmer pockets are underneath (behind) the cargo pockets, and are very inconspicuous. The handwarmer pockets are entered naturally from the side. The handwarmer pockets are totally separate from the cargo pockets ... a layer of our FullWeight Fabric surrounds the hand in the pocket.

Cuffs have two buttons so you can tighten them up to seal out drafts. If your arms are raised, such as when riding a snowmobile, it is really nice to be able to tighten the cuffs.

If you find yourself in exceptionally windy or cold conditions, you may want to take full advantage of the relatively large, double-thickness collar. Flip up the collar and secure it with a throat latch that buttons under the chin. The throat latch is buttoned under the collar, hidden, until you need it. And when the collar is flipped up, it is ready to accept either a Double Hood or a Mouton Hood. Both Hoods are extremely warm and both Hoods are compatible with a Ball Cap underneath.

The All Around Jacket is available in any of our FullWeight Fabrics ... Solid Colors Black, Drab and Duff as well as Lynx Pattern, all of which are pictured on this page.

Above, the AAJ in Solid Duff Color with the Collar flipped up. Alex's hand is in the handwarmer pocket, which is behind and separate from the cargo pocket.
We use front double zippers on all our garments. Here, the front zipper is mostly closed and the storm flap is mostly open ... buttoned down with only one button.

 

Above is the AAJ in our own proprietary Lynx Pattern, which is great camo in all sorts of natural settings and much admired (but not perceived as camo) in all sorts of social settings. The throat latch is seen across the front of the neck, but it is not buttoned down, and neither is the storm flap.

 

A rear view of the AAJ in Solid DUFF Color. The outline of the coulisse (channel) for the waist cinch is visible from the rear.

Above, the AAJ in Solid Drab Color, with the waist of the jacket tightened a little by means of the inner drawcord, the outline of which can be seen in this picture. Also, the doubled-elbows and forearm can be seen clearly on the right. The double yoke tapers to a point in back to conduct rain water down and off the jacket. You can also see the small separation between the 2nd layer of the yoke and the main body of the jacket. Totally separate layers is important in shedding water. Shown along with the AAJ is our Pants, also in Solid DRAB Color.

Above, the AAJ in Solid Duff Color, showing the handwarmer pocket, behind and completely separate from the cargo pockets. The storm flap is completely open in this picture, and the center-front Double Zipper is open at both top and bottom. In some lighting conditions, Drab and Duff Colors are hard to tell apart, and both fade into the background by design. 

The back of the AAJ is about 1.5 inches (almost 4 cm) longer than the front. The AAJ is reinforced with bar tacks in many places, one of which is the bottom of the seam where the front of the jacket is joined to the back. The combination of Drab Pants and Lynx Jacket is what I normally wear. This combination works in a wide variety of natural and social settings. Many times deer, turkeys and foxes have approached within just a few yards, even within arm's reach, and not recognized me as human, even though I was the focus of their attention.  

Here, the collar is up and the throat latch is buttoned down out of the way where it would be hidden by the lowered collar until needed.

 

Here, the throat latch is buttoned in place to seal drafts away from the neck.

 

The cargo pockets are secured by both zippers and slot buttons. The backing on the cargo flaps is Mil-spec combination wool-nylon fabric. The main purpose of the backing is to prevent the flap from curling when unbuttoned. Like other WeatherWool garments, the interior of the AAJ has no liners at all, but for stability we needed another piece of Fabric on the back of the pocket flap and our FullWeight Fabric added more bulk than we wanted.

 

The inside pockets are on either side of the chest, hidden under the double yoke so the stitching is not visible on the outside of the jacket. The pockets are made of a Mil-spec wool-nylon blend, and secured by a zipper. Also shown is a portion of the back side of the Center Front (Main) Zipper ... a #10 YKK Vislon, which is commonly used in marine environments. This zipper has very large teeth, which are more forgiving of grit than metal teeth. Also, the Vislon does not conduct electricity. This jacket is in our Solid Black Color. Our Black is TRUE BLACK.

The cuffs of the AAJ can be loosened or tightened as needed. This picture also shows the strip of fabric running thru the center of the Slot Buttons. Because these buttons are fastened by fabric rather than thread, they are far more secure than standard buttons. The fabric strip runs thru the buttons and is sewn to the cuff on either side of the buttons and in the space between the buttons. All told, these Slot Buttons are probably 75 times more expensive than typical 4-hole buttons.

This picture gives another good look at the way the Slot Buttons are secured by a strip of crazy-tough Mil-spec Nylon Fabric. Those buttons won’t come off unless the nylon is deliberately slashed, or the buttons themselves are smashed, which won’t be easy, even with a hammer. The Storm Flap is completely unbuttoned and pulled back to show both the Slot Buttons and the Nylon Anchor Strip. Also clear in this shot is the Double Zipper that opens from both top and bottom. In our opinion, a serious outdoor garment must have a double-front zip front.

 

The AAJ in Solid Black Color, showing the inside pocket, the center front zipper and the slot buttons that secure the storm flap.

 

Here, the AAJ in Lynx Pattern, showing the Front Zip completely closed and Storm Flap pulled back. Throat Latch is also swung out to the front but not fastened down.

 

Under the Collar at the back and either side of the neck are three Slot Buttons that can be used to secure the optional Double Hood, shown below with both the AAJ and the Hood in Solid DRAB Color.

 

In the pictures above and below, Advisor Fisher Neal wears the Double Hood over our Ball Cap. When I wear any garment with a Hood, I normally have the Ball Cap underneath. The Hood can be secured by any combination of the three buttons under the Collar of the AAJ. Even without using the buttons at all, the Hood really isn't going anywhere. The Double Hood, made from two layers of our own FullWeight Merino Jacquard Fabric, will protect the head from enormous amounts of weather ... and with a Ball Cap underneath, even more so.

 

Everything we make is designed to perform in Weather, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. And so all our garments are completely acceptable in public and professional settings. Above and below, our friend and WeatherWool Advisor Fisher Neal ... waiting for the New York City Train ...

 

28 August 2021 --- Ralph