This page provides detailed information and pictures on Al's Anorak. Please click here for basic information or to order Al's Anorak. The main page was just getting too long.

This 2-minute video talks about the hood and waist adjustments:

Here's a 5-minute video where I talk a little about the Anorak in general and the Black Anoraks being sewn now (September, 2021). The best part is the first few seconds when I didn't know Denali was recording:

 

We will get better at video as time goes by.
Our products are a lot better than my video.

 

Confession ... the photos on this page were done by me (Ralph), with a cellphone (except the one of Melissa). Denali, who is an actual photographer, would not want them on a primary product page. Denali said to me recently something like, "Dad, your material is OK for supplemental imagery."

PURPOSE: Some people just LOVE a pullover. Our Anorak is suitable for a huge variety of outdoor activities and social settings, and can protect in fairly serious cold without much layering underneath. Some of the most hardcore folks going favor this Anorak. Military and other outdoor professionals are the "Hardcore" half of our trademark "Hardcore Luxury".

The Anorak has zippers on both sides to enable the taper and to make the garment easier to put on and take off. The side zips are also great vents, and some just like the look of leaving the sides open. This Anorak is generally made to fit men, but there are definitely quite a few women wearing it. We need more female customers!

Please click here to see Reviews and Tester Feedback on the Anorak. 

 Melissa Miller is a Friend and Advisor of WeatherWool. She is pictured above in Al's Anorak in Solid Black Color. Melissa is an outdoors professional with large followings on social media and strong relationships with outdoors-oriented businesses and publications. We really like this photo because it captures Melissa and gives a sense of the Anorak in warm weather. 

In the images below is Advisor Fisher Neal, an outdoors AND indoors professional. Fisher is a hunting guide and a teacher of hunting and outdoor skills. These pictures were taken at our own little place ... The Swamp ... when the temperature was about 80F/27C. Fisher said he was perfectly comfortable in the Anorak. People frequently tell us that when they come in from the outdoors, they continue to wear the Anorak because it is comfortable at room temps.

 

 

 

 

 

Definition from Wikipedia: An Anorak is a type of coat with a hood ... The hood protects the face from freezing temperatures and wind. The Caribou Inuit invented this kind of garment, originally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Strictly speaking, an Anorak is a waterproof [WeatherWool is water-resistant but not waterproof.], hooded, pull-over jacket without a front opening.

 

Al's Anorak in LYNX Pattern, with the Hood wide open.

Before he became an Advisor, Jeff Cook had ordered five of these. Jeff is a truly heavy-duty outdoorsman and a gear freak. (Gear freaks consider that term a compliment!) Jeff explained his Dad permanently borrowed one Anorak and he gave another to a guide, but the other three he ordered for himself, in different Fabric Weights and Colors.

We made our first Anoraks in Spring 2015 and ever since they have been very popular with some very serious outdoor guys. In summer of 2015, Bill McConnell of Discovery Channel’s Dual Survival phoned to say he was looking for the best wool on the market to wear on a TV Show that he was not at liberty to name at that point. He said he'd consider WeatherWool along with everything else, and stressed his selection would be based strictly on quality. A few days later he called back and told us he knew there wouldn't be anything else available on a par with WeatherWool, and Al's Anorak in Lynx Pattern is prominent in the initial episodes of the 2016 season. Bill, who has since become an Advisor, told me he would have worn WeatherWool for all the cold-weather episodes, but the show's producers would allow him to wear us for only one adventure. The Anorak also earned a tremendous review from Tom Brown III, another well-known professional outdoorsman who is also now a WeatherWool Advisor. It's also very highly rated by serious guys in the United States Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy.

Al's Anorak is named for a family friend, a truly heavy-duty worldwide outdoor adventurer who left us much too soon. Al really loved to wear a Pullover with a Hood. There is something about that design that just gets to some people, and Al was foremost among them.

We make three pieces with integral Hoods ... the others are the SkiJac and the Hooded Jacket. But the Anorak is our only Pullover.

The Anorak has a bit of a tapered fit in the larger sizes and the side-zips make it much easier to put on or take off.

Al's Anorak has a large inner pocket on each side of the chest, and the left chest pocket has a cellphone sub-pocket. There is a generous Kangaroo Pocket in front, plus an inside zippered pocket hidden behind the kangaroo pocket. There is an elastic organizer strip inside the kangaroo pocket that holds a few small items such as pocket knife, flashlight, bear spray.

The outer Kangaroo Pocket measures 10 inches by 15 inches (25 cm x 38 cm). The side openings are almost 7 inches (18 cm) in length. The bottom three inches (8 cm) of the sides are sewn shut, to help secure the contents of the pouch. (Even though pouches of actual kangaroos open at the top, the garment industry calls these side-open pouches Kangaroo Pouches.)

 

The front closure features four slot buttons that securely close the opening up to the neck.

Al's Anorak is available in FullWeight Fabric in BLACK, DRAB, DUFF and LYNX Pattern. It is also available in MidWeight Fabric in DRAB and LYNX Pattern. You can see all of the color selections in the pictures on this page. 

We like to think our Friend Al would be very happy with Al's Anorak!

Here are a few other features:

Sleeves are long enough to allow the hands to be pulled inside (less need to bring gloves!)

Adjustable cuffs let you snug the wrist if you want to be sure your hands stay outside. The current Generation 3 Anoraks have three buttons at each cuff, and the adjustment strap is now at the very end of the sleeve.

Side zippers lock in place and move up or down only when you want them to.

A button and buttonhole at the bottom of the sides let you leave sides unzipped for venting but prevent flapping by buttoning them together.

The Hood can be worn/adjusted several different ways. It is a very large Hood ... the idea being, in part, that when you want a Hood, you want to be able to keep the weather OFF your head. Wear a Hat with a bill and this Hood will keep rain and snow off your face and your face will be completely shielded from wind, snow, sleet coming from the sides.

The Hood can be adjusted by means of pull cords at either side, and at the rear.

You can see the various ways of adjusting the Hood in the following images: 

 

In the above image, the Hood is up, but completely relaxed.

The relaxed Hood seen from the rear (above)
and seen from the side (below).

In the images above and below, the Hood is snugged at the rear but the adjustments at the side of the face are relaxed.

Above and below, the Hood is shown with the side adjustments snugged, to pull the Hood in close to the face. In the image above, the rear adjustment is loose, letting the Hood extend forward, which will protect the face from wind and precipitation coming from the sides. Below, the Hood is shown with the rear adjustment tightened, which pulls the front of the Hood back, enabling more peripheral vision.

By working with the different adjustments you can vary how much peripheral vision you have (and how much of your face is exposed to wind). You can tighten the strap in back, which pulls the entire Hood toward the rear of the head. Tighten the pulls at each side of the front of the Hood and you can snug it pretty well to your face.

If you leave all the adjustments relaxed, you can move your head somewhat inside the Hood without your movements showing on the outside.

Some interesting input on the Anorak:

• The Hand Muff can be worn with the Anorak. For larger Anoraks, the Muff can be stuff in the pouch. The Muff can also be worn inside the Anorak if the side zips are open.
• A Lady told me she really liked the extra large Hood because she has a lot of hair and it all fits comfortably inside the Hood.
• A Green Beret told me the Hood is great for concealing his face ... whether he is trying to hide or just get some shut-eye.
• Advisor Mike Dean told us one of the things he likes about our Anorak is that he can wear it inside a sleeping bag.
• One of our Advisors, a self-defense and security professional, told me his team really likes the flaps of the Anorak because they enable instant access to a knife when employing "scout carry"; this also applies to ease of access of holsters: both appendix; 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock; IWB and OWB. As well as spare magazines. The flaps are ideal for this because they allow immediate access while maintaining a non-print profile. The flaps solve the problem of having a garment long enough for concealment and rigid enough for durability while offering a solution to very fast and easy access to the ever-imperative belt line.
• The same security professional said the LYNX Pattern facilitates concealed carry both on the belt line and in the kangaroo pouch because the pattern obscures printing of objects.
• In summary, he notes that the pattern is just as effective at concealing objects on the body as well as the wearers themselves, while not possessing the stereotypical stigma of traditional "camouflage" patterns. It's camouflage that camouflages not only the wearer and objects on the wearer's body, but in many ways, it also camouflages itself. This is why we sometimes refer to the LYNX Pattern as ‘camo-camo’.

THANKS for reading! -- Ralph

    

16 March 2022 --- Ralph