Versatility is a very big thing for us ... almost the main thing. We want WeatherWool to be the clothing you want to wear ... after all, if you aren't wearing it, it can't help you.
It's the unexpected that really causes trouble. If you KNOW you're going out horrendous weather, you'll dress for it. But what if a short hike on a pleasant day turns into a cold night out because of a busted foot? We hope that doesn't happen to you, but WeatherWool Hardcore Luxury is comfortable in the warm and comfortable in the cold, in sync in the city and natural in Nature ... so if the unexpected happens, you'll be ready.
People expect to see WeatherWool out in the woods on a snowy day. This page pictures WeatherWool in some surprising settings. If you have some surprising pictures, please send them! --- Thanks!
Maternity is not the usual type of Concealed Carry for the Anorak! We've actually heard from several women that the Anorak is great for expectant Moms!
This is sort of a joke. Please see the blog of 2022-08-14 for details.
This photo was taken about 3 weeks after the "Concealed Carry" photo above!
Even though we pride ourselves on versatility, we surely never expected the All-Around Jacket (in Solid Duff Color) to be paired with a tux at a wedding!! Thanks to Bob from Georgia for a great pic!
BTW, Bob comes from a family of haberdashers.
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And below, sort of the opposite extreme. This is Advisor Mark Eurich, who has been working with us since well before we founded WeatherWool. Mark is a farmer and outdoorsman in Nebraska. He asked us to make an Anorak with no sleeves and no hood. We don't know what to call this thing, but Mark really loves it and I think we should offer it as a product. Here, Mark wears it on a warm day without a base layer. Comfort against bare skin is extremely important to us, and one of the reasons our raw wool is far more expensive than usual for outerwear.
Garrett Riffle is one of the Founders of Up Mountain Switchel, an absolutely fantastic drink made with Ginger, Maple Syrup and Apple Cider Vinegar. Garrett sent us this picture mostly as a joke, I think, but it has become one of our very favorites. Garrett is wearing a CPO and having fun on Venice Beach in California with some of the Switchel crew.
This is me demonstrating that WeatherWool will protect you if you get dunked during winter ... so long as you get out of the water, anyway. The video can be seen on our Wool and Water page, which also includes info about how wool handles water. This swim is also on YouTube video.
Below is a photo sent to us by a great friend of WeatherWool, Steve Rachow, of Alaska. Steve and friends were golfing at Bird Homestead Golf Course, Funny River, Alaska. One of Steve's friends makes his home alongside the first hole. Photo taken Thanksgiving Day, 2020, temp 18F/-6C
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One of our customers used to live on shores of Hudson Bay in Northern Canada, and the FullWeight Anorak served him well in that severe environment. But then he did an amazing about-face of sorts, and moved with his family to a sailboat in the Caribbean!! Not a place where I ever expected our wool to be daily wear, but it is! WeatherWool is on the water quite a bit, in many places, but seeing Lynx Pattern in "The Islands" was a great surprise for me!
He wrote me just before Christmas in 2023: I was off the boat the other day on a balmy evening eating dinner in a restaurant overlooking the ocean. A stranger walked up to me and rubbed the anorak between his fingers. And then he says to me, “you must be a sailor”. Also ... "I opted for the full weight version [purchased when he was in Northern Quebec] and it’s still good in this climate . I think if I had MidWeight I would have worn it every evening, all summer long. My boat has air conditioning, which has been the main source of disagreement between my wife and me since moving aboard. She wants to run it all day long and I can’t stand it. The Anorak is now known in our family as the "marriage saver".
Denali, a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician, points out the EMT text book cites wool as the best choice for base and secondary layers for warmth, moisture management and fire safety. The outer layer needs different properties for medical reasons.
Chris Karam Forging in a WeatherWool Hooded Jacket.
Chris's frequent posts on Instagram highlight his remarkable craftsmanship. His posts often include WeatherWool. For some great handmade knives and a variety of other custom pieces, visit Chris's website, KaramHandmade.com
Above and below, Chris Karam of Connecticut, a Blacksmith, Knifemaker and Outdoorsman: ""When I am forging in my shop (which is not heated) during the colder months, I wear the Weatherwool Hooded Jacket because it allows me to exert myself without getting a chill. The fabric is soft and comfortable, so I can wear it over a t-shirt or with other layers. I don't have to worry about the fabric when grinding, because the wool is naturally fire retardant.
I plan on making a WeatherWool shop apron for the summer months.
When I'm hiking, fishing or just spending time around the camp fire cooking, I love the fact that I can enjoy what I'm doing and not worry about a random spark putting a hole in my clothing. I also enjoy hunting with a longbow and fully appreciate the importance of quiet fabric in the field. WeatherWool's Al's Anorak offers me the protection I need from the elements, combined with super quiet wool."
The same All-Around Jacket walking the dog in Chicago Suburbs
WeatherWool Customer Rob Miller wears his All-Around Jacket for work and play in Chicago.
As All-Around Outerwear, I don't think of WeatherWool in general as suitable for use on an expedition to Antarctica. But our Mouton-lined items are crazy warm and windproof ... and our customer said the Mouton Hat was great during rest periods and in camp during his Antarctic Overland Trek to the Absolute South Pole. Howling winds made the actual temp of about -20F/-29C feel even colder. But the Mouton Hat, with so much natural lamb's fleece plus the leather of the pelt and our FullWeight Fabric on the outside handles extreme weather very well. Rob wrote on Instagram: "latitude90s_longitude0e
7 days at -20F and ❄️🌬💨are no match for the @weatherwool hat! #antartica #weatherwool #coldaf." It was a surprise to me to learn that the South Pole is at 9300 feet (2835 meters) above sea level.
Michael Freeman is a commercial Diver, working year-round on the Mississippi River. Conditions both above and in the water can be very difficult. Michael uses both dry- and wetsuits. He wears the
CPO Shirt both before and after the dive. He has even worn the ShirtJac during diving, under his drysuit!
There is more information on the Mississippi River page. I did not expect that, but I think other guys will be doing it too. We had an inquiry about whether the wool would be suitable under the drysuits worn by Navy SEAL Fast Boat operators.
Quite a few people work in WeatherWool, but we never expected to become a uniform (sort of!) ... Advisor Dave Canterbury, who operates the The Pathfinder School, likes all of his instructors to wear our Lynx Pattern for the ability of the Fabric to handle the variety of weather of Ohio, and to provide a consistent and distinctive look.
Mike Engelmeyer (Great Outdoor Studios) is a professional photographer, and that means he needs to get into some surprising spots. Above, he is setting up to photograph the BassMaster Classic on a cold day!
Below, Mike is in a more-conventional spot ... watching a high school track meet.
The pictures above and below, of Kyle Retzloff (@KRetz22), a Real Estate Broker in Washington State, were taken by his brother Ellis (@Ellis_Retzloff).
We really like seeing WeatherWool paired with a Ferrari.
Below is another beach picture. This was taken on a cool, raw, rainy day in November on the Jersey Beach. I knew the weather would be no issue, but when I saw this picture, I was surprised that I was kneeling in the wash to release this young striper. The water did not penetrate the MidWeight Pants.
Below is me again ... different day, same beach ... and barefoot ... fishing in steady, light rain, strong wind (15 knots / 28 kph) and cool temps ... both air and water at 55F/13C. The surf was surging up to my thighs, and splashing above my waist, so chest waders would have been the normal choice, but they can be extremely dangerous ... and anyway, I always like to see what the wool can do. MidWeight Pants and FullWeight ShirtJac were fine in the surf and fine in the restaurant afterward.
The above is an Instagram post from 25 September 2018, with this text: #WeatherWool handles #Weather, so ... the rain was so heavy some roads were flooded ... perfect ... Big Brim Boonie Hat, MidWeight ShirtJac kept me comfortable. I also wore cotton gym shorts, wool socks and beat-to-death old sneakers ... pretty much the ideal outfit for these conditions. The Big Brim Boonie Hat kept my head completely dry, the rain well off my face and neck and outside the collar of the ShirtJac. I did feel a little moisture around the hatband, but that was due to hiking in such warm weather. Inside the ShirtJac, I felt only slight dampness, not sure whether from rain or sweat. The tails of the ShirtJac kept most of the rain off the cotton gym shorts, but, being cotton, they got soaked. The sneakers are full of holes, and I didn't avoid puddles, so water was steadily in and out of the sneaks. But with good wool socks, soaking wet shoes are pretty much immaterial, so long as the water can drain out -- even in cold weather. All this might sound nuts to someone who has not tried it. The ShirtJac and Big Brim Boonie did pick up water, but the water did not reach me through about 80 minutes of slow hiking.
A Yellow Labrador Retriever in a Lynx Pattern Poncho!
The pics above and below from Advisor Dale Rodefer, of Maryland.
Dale tells me he wears his wool almost every day at work, year-round, because the conditions at his work are so demanding.
THIS IS NOT ME!! This is Clint Atendido, @Uncle.Tito.Outdoors, at Base Camp on Mount Everest in April, 2017, in his ShirtJac in MidWeight Fabric, Solid Drab Color. "Base Camp" is at about 17,000 feet (5300 meters) ... gulp! ... Clint hit the mountain to raise money for the hospital where he works in Ontario. YAY, Clint!!
And this is not me either!! This is Advisor Don Nguyen at the summit of Washington's Mount Rainier, 14,411 feet (4392 meters). Don leads mountaineering expeditions, and he summits Rainier twice a week during the season. Don is wearing his Anorak in Lynx Pattern. Below, Don is one of three guides leading nine clients to the summit of Argentina's Mount Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in both the Southern and Western Hemispheres, at 6,9601 meters / 22,837 feet.
The photos above and below both show our ShirtJac ... above in Lynx Pattern and below in Solid Drab Color.
Above, professional model @FazonGray in Manhattan with a WeatherWool FullWeight ShirtJac in Solid Drab Color. This photo is from a shoot we did with Fazon in March of 2018. Several months later, Fazon sent us the photo below ... in his Mouton Vest on his own time. Fazon is a WeatherWool Advisor.
BIG-TIME THANKS to both Fazon and Essence Magazine for the photo below!
This is one of our very first Hooded Jackets, a prototype.
There is some great fishing for Striped Bass on the Hudson River.
These bass were caught about 50 miles upriver from New York City.
The fisherman, Dan, was our YKK zipper salesman ... but is now retired.
Here is another fishing photo ... Advisor David Alexander @NatureIntoAction was targeting Adirondack Park Pike but surely had no complaints when this beautiful Laker took his shiner! Amazingly, Adirondack Park is only 3 hours from NYC ... it's 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares) ... as big as Vermont and triple Yellowstone!
Back in about 2016, we had our Ladies Bomber Jacket -- someday we may put it into production! -- at an outdoors show in Las Vegas. A lot of people noticed that Jacket, and one of the women who was working a neighboring booth borrowed it and sent us this photo.
Below is our younger son Zack, who is an owner of WeatherWool but not really involved because he lives 2000 miles away in Wyoming. Here he wears the first version of our Al's Anorak ... in Solid Duff Color. I had to harangue him to get him to stand for a picture before a flight back to Wyoming.
Below, Advisor JR Morrissey in a ShirtJac in Solid Duff Color. The particular ShirtJac he is wearing is what is known in the trade as a TOP ... Top Of Production ... the first ShirtJac made in a production run is examined by everyone before the rest of the run is commenced. This was also our first Instagram Post to reach 100 likes.
Here, Twyla Jean, @HitmenHuntress, wears our SkiJac in Lynx Pattern while doing Black Bear Research with the State of Maine. Twyla told me the temperature was -15F/-26C.
Probably nobody would be surprised to see WeatherWool on a construction site. Below is customer Mose O'Griffin on his Unimog Backhoe. Mose tells us he has worn his Lynx Pattern ShirtJac every day since he bought it 9 months ago.
Advisor Chase Burnett is an actor, model, fitness instructor and farmer in New Jersey's Horse Country. Chase is the only person I have ever heard of who moved from Texas to Jersey to become a farmer. This photo of Chase in our All-Around Jacket was taken at Revelation Farms.
In a departure from the formal, suave look above, we have Advisor Mark Eurich from Nebraska, who tells me he wore his Anorak for a workout in the gym:
WeatherWool Advisor Mike Corn and Son Bronson on the Corn Ranch with the sheep that grew the wool from which we made the WeatherWool they are wearing! GOODNIGHT!!
Here is another way the Anorak can be worn at work ... with a Hard Hat!
Below is Paul Kaufman of Arizona, @SonoranTreeAZ, a professional tree cutter who normally wears a Hard Hat.
And here is Advisor Dave Canterbury of Pathfinder Survival School, teaching a class on spending a night in the wilderness. WeatherWool has served as sleeping clothes many many times, for survivalists, campers and Military.
Here's another surprise-sort of report from a customer ... From @sisterpearl:. "Hello, Ralph! I wanted to tell you about an unexpected use for my WeatherWool. Yesterday, I was hiking with the poodles along abandoned ski trails. We took the switchbacks uphill, and followed the ski trails downhill. Well, the snow was much more slippery than I had anticipated, and I found myself unable to keep my footing. Two of my dogs were bounding down the hill, but my third was sliding with me. So, in a pinch, I unzipped my [Hooded Jacket] and sat down in it, with my dog in my lap, and wrapped the sleeves around us like a safety belt. It became a makeshift sled, and we went down the hill that way! The wool was definitely tough enough to stand up to the snow, roots, sticks & stones, but smooth enough to keep us sliding down. Not a single bit of damage, and kept me dry, to boot! WOW! It really was so much fun, I haven’t laughed from sheer glee like that in ages! And yeah, WeatherWool continues to amaze me with it’s durability and versatility."
An Operator who purchased his own Anorak through our WarriorWool Program sent this picture. He said the Anorak "is perfect for bugging out because of its versatility."
The photo below comes to us from Jim McCullough, an Ultrasound Technician who wears his Anorak while working in a hospital!
We are pleased that Jerry Fisk (@fisk_knives on Instagram), one of the world's best-respected knife-makers, has lately begun wearing WeatherWool. In the photo above, he uses our Lynx Pattern as his backdrop for a product photo. More and more, people are using Lynx Pattern in their own promotional efforts. This is not the kind of 'versatility' I had in mind when creating WeatherWool, or Lynx Pattern, or even when creating this page ... BUT I LIKE IT!!!
Speaking of knives, there are at least three knifemakers wearing WeatherWool to work in their forges. They tell me the wool is not bothered by sparks, and does a good job of keeping the radiant heat from hot metal from reaching their skin. Toward the middle of this page, Chris Karam (@KaramHandmade51) is shown in his shop.
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Below is a picture of me at my desk in a MidWeight ShirtJac over a cotton T-Shirt. The inside-outside temperature/humidity gauge tells an interesting story. I was working alternately at my desk and outdoors. The wool was good in the cool (48F/9C) and humid (83% humidity) outdoors, but it was also good in the warm (88F/31C) and dry (19%) indoors!
And just having fun is a big deal!
Thanks to @t_buller07 for this photo!
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19 December 2023 --- Ralph
Even though we pride ourselves on versatility, we surely never expected the All-Around Jacket (in Solid Duff Color) to be paired with a tux at a wedding!! Thanks to Bob from Georgia for a great pic!
A Yellow Labrador Retriever in a Lynx Pattern Poncho!
