# A Jacket For Life - Barbour documentary



## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

I haven't seen it posted before, but it's a good look into the manufacturing of Barbour jackets and also the decades-long, multi-generational relationships people develop with them.


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## xcubbies (Jul 31, 2005)

Thanks, reminded me I needed to rewax my coat while it is still warm outside.


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## Anthony Charton (May 7, 2012)

I had always been reluctant to wear one (Barbour is a big yah symbol at my university and iconically worn with red trousers) until a friend lent me one before I set out on a perilous trip across Europe last winter. I was very, very grateful indeed. These things keep you dry, act as apt windstoppers and are bloody resistant- the girl in the video isn't exaggerating. I've even grown to enjoy the pungent waxy smell, but that's just nostalgia.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Anthony Charton said:


> I had always been reluctant to wear one (Barbour is a big yah symbol at my university and iconically worn with red trousers) until a friend lent me one before I set out on a perilous trip across Europe last winter. I was very, very grateful indeed. These things keep you dry, act as apt windstoppers and are bloody resistant- the girl in the video isn't exaggerating. I've even grown to enjoy the pungent waxy smell, but that's just nostalgia.


I had to look up the red trousers thing. Apparently, there are entire blogs devoted to the hatred of the Barbour/ wellies/ any-shade-of-red pants combination. There is definitely nothing quite like a Barbour, though. I have examples from 1988 and 1993 (Beaufort and Bedale, respectively) and they are still my most versatile and most often worn outerwear garments.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

It is very interesting to get a look at the people behind the jackets we all seem to so love. Thanks for sharing the video with us!


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## David J. Cooper (Apr 26, 2010)

The clip had the feel of a documentary opposed to a commercial. Well done to who ever made it.

We picked up the lady version of the Bedale for my wife and it should be more usefull in Vancouver then the Filson Mac. we bought her last year.


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## Kingstonian (Dec 23, 2007)

Anthony Charton said:


> I had always been reluctant to wear one (Barbour is a big yah symbol at my university and iconically worn with red trousers) until a friend lent me one before I set out on a perilous trip across Europe last winter. I was very, very grateful indeed. These things keep you dry, act as apt windstoppers and are bloody resistant- the girl in the video isn't exaggerating. I've even grown to enjoy the pungent waxy smell, but that's just nostalgia.


I thought it had all died out in the UK in the 1980s bad associations with the green welly brigade.

You could argue that a donkey jacket is for life and much cheaper and warmer than a Barbour but with no social climbing associations.


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## Kingstonian (Dec 23, 2007)

hardline_42 said:


> I had to look up the red trousers thing. Apparently, there are entire blogs devoted to the hatred of the Barbour/ wellies/ any-shade-of-red pants combination. There is definitely nothing quite like a Barbour, though. I have examples from 1988 and 1993 (Beaufort and Bedale, respectively) and they are still my most versatile and most often worn outerwear garments.


You mean the 'Look at my f***ing red trousers' blogspot ?


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Kingstonian said:


> You mean the 'Look at my f***ing red trousers' blogspot ?


That's the one that popped up when I did the search.


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## Pink and Green (Jul 22, 2009)

The only associations I've run into are the horse and dog set here in the US. No one I run into has any idea what my coat is. Our most famous Barbour jacket wearer is probably Sam Waterston in Law and Order.


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## EastVillageTrad (May 12, 2006)

Pink and Green said:


> The only associations I've run into are the horse and dog set here in the US. No one I run into has any idea what my coat is. Our most famous Barbour jacket wearer is probably Sam Waterston in Law and Order.


That must be since you live in Oklahoma...

In Mid-Atlantic/New England it is a different story alltogether...

I loved the parts of the video with the older repaired panels, etc. Those were great!


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## Kingstonian (Dec 23, 2007)

So the gorblimey with the beard ended up in Hull? Serves him right.

All Barbour wearers should be sent to Hull - the irony of it.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Kingstonian said:


> You could argue that a donkey jacket is for life and much cheaper and warmer than a Barbour but with no social climbing associations.


I had to look that up. I had never heard of a donkey jacket but it seems practical: wool body, car-coat length, leather shoulders and yoke. It might not have the social climbing connotation, but it seems like there are some pretty strong political ones, according to the internet.



Kingstonian said:


> So the gorblimey with the beard ended up in Hull? Serves him right.
> 
> All Barbour wearers should be sent to Hull - the irony of it.


I recognize these as (mostly) English words, but I can't make heads or tails of them. It sounds decidedly bad, though.


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## williamson (Jan 15, 2005)

Kingstonian said:


> I thought it had all died out in the UK in the 1980s bad associations with the green welly brigade.


See the thread started by Centaur: "Why I don't like Barbours". Says it all, I think.


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## MattJP (Aug 18, 2012)

Here's the Centaur thread for those interested; very illuminating. Had only heard positive things on Barbours and did not know, for example, that the waxed jacket emits a foul odor! Bizarre. Still, I love the idea of forming such a strong attachment to a garment, like those people in the film--I think I still want one.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

MattJP said:


> Here's the Centaur thread for those interested; very illuminating. Had only heard positive things on Barbours and did not know, for example, that the waxed jacket emits a foul odor! Bizarre. Still, I love the idea of forming such a strong attachment to a garment, like those people in the film--I think I still want one.


Foul odor? I suppose it's a "foul odor" in the same way that the smell of leather is "foul" or an old wool sweater is "foul." It's the smell of the wax treatment, and whether or not the odor is unpleasant is purely subjective. It's never bothered me, and even my wife, who's nose is as sensitive as it gets, has never complained about the smell being "foul."


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## MattJP (Aug 18, 2012)

hardline_42 said:


> Foul odor? I suppose it's a "foul odor" in the same way that the smell of leather is "foul" or an old wool sweater is "foul." It's the smell of the wax treatment, and whether or not the odor is unpleasant is purely subjective. It's never bothered me, and even my wife, who's nose is as sensitive as it gets, has never complained about the smell being "foul."


Good to know, to me leather and wool smell great, so maybe it won't bother me. A lot of people were complaining about it in Centaur's thread, but hey, I like the smell of gasoline and parking garages and horse stables, so this wax smell is probably right up my alley.


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## David J. Cooper (Apr 26, 2010)

Some people think that a 20 year old Cote Rotie smells like horse ****.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

OK, I just took a nice deep sniff of my most recently reproofed Barbour. It smells like Play-Doh and skateboard wax. What's not to love?


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

Pink and Green said:


> The only associations I've run into are the horse and dog set here in the US. No one I run into has any idea what my coat is. Our most famous Barbour jacket wearer is probably Sam Waterston in Law and Order.


The first time I ever saw a Barbour [or saw one and realized what it was] I was in my early 20s and was in a recording studio working on a project with David Strathairn. He was wearing one when he arrived and I saw it when I went to grab it off the coat rack for him.

I can't tell what people think of them in everyday life, it depends where you are I suppose. I saw a lot of them when I was recently in Scotland. I don't think they are as 'judged' as they may have been in years past.

The fact is they are quite functional. The only downside I have found to them is the weight. They are fairly heavy.


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## bd79cc (Dec 20, 2006)

Autumn will arrive soon for many of us, so I'm bumping this excellent video. 

I love Barbour waxed jackets and have purchased several in recent years. For me, it's hard to believe that such versatile, well-made, and attractive jackets are available at such reasonable prices. My current favorite is an olive Gamefair I bought at the Houston Orvis last September. I can't say enough good things about the product, its vendors, and the folks in New Hampshire that perform repairs, alterations, and rewaxing.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

I'm looking forward to wearing mine again. I see it as one of the perks of bad weather.


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## Bandit44 (Oct 1, 2010)

This is one area of trad that I go a different way. Owned one briefly, but didn't like the smell, the sleeves were too damned short, and the waxed exterior was a dust/lint magnet. But they look great on you gents; I'll admire them from afar.


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## Ματθαῖος (Jun 17, 2011)

Bandit44 said:


> This is one area of trad that I go a different way. Owned one briefly, but didn't like the smell, the sleeves were too damned short, and the waxed exterior was a dust/lint magnet. But they look great on you gents; I'll admire them from afar.


Thank you for saying that. I don't get them, either.

Matthew


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

I like the Barbour waxed jackets, but I'll tell you what - when I need real protection from the elements as well as breathability, Gore-Tex gets the nods, and usually the ProShell variety. If I'm throwing something on to beat down a good cold wind on a jaunt through town, I'll wear the Barbour. If I'm wading steelhead waters with an air temp of 18F or getting down in a dug-out layout blind for geese in mid-January, I'm wearing polyester fleece and Gore-Tex. I remember fishing the Salmon River in NY. Snow, rain, sleet, well below freezing. I was wearing a Patagonia R1 for baselayer, R4 for midlayer, and Columbia Omniheat shell, neoprene gloves, windproof hat and balaclava and was still chilled to the bone. Some bonehead showed up in an oiled cotton Filson wading jacket, LLB Norwegian sweater, tweed flatcap, and fingerless wool gloves. Sure, he looked like he could be fishing the Spey River 60 years ago, but he was woefully unprepared. I think it was a semi-hipster fashion-hobby-stunt deal, because his casting was as awful as his preparedness. He was gone less than an hour after he parked. 

tl/dr: Barbours look great, but just being realistic, they are not half as practical in bad weather as many folks on here romanticize them to be.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Tilton said:


> I like the Barbour waxed jackets, but I'll tell you what - when I need real protection from the elements as well as breathability, Gore-Tex gets the nods, and usually the ProShell variety. If I'm throwing something on to beat down a good cold wind on a jaunt through town, I'll wear the Barbour. If I'm wading steelhead waters with an air temp of 18F or getting down in a dug-out layout blind for geese in mid-January, I'm wearing polyester fleece and Gore-Tex. I remember fishing the Salmon River in NY. Snow, rain, sleet, well below freezing. I was wearing a Patagonia R1 for baselayer, R4 for midlayer, and Columbia Omniheat shell, neoprene gloves, windproof hat and balaclava and was still chilled to the bone. Some bonehead showed up in an oiled cotton Filson wading jacket, LLB Norwegian sweater, tweed flatcap, and fingerless wool gloves. Sure, he looked like he could be fishing the Spey River 60 years ago, but he was woefully unprepared. I think it was a semi-hipster fashion-hobby-stunt deal, because his casting was as awful as his preparedness. He was gone less than an hour after he parked.
> 
> tl/dr: Barbours look great, but just being realistic, they are not half as practical in bad weather as many folks on here romanticize them to be.


I agree that Barbours are generally not useful for those kinds of pursuits, but I haven't had good enough experiences with modern fabrics, like Gore-Tex, to endorse them either. I wear a mixture of old and new and my shell is always either heavy waxed cotton or heavily lanolized, boiled wool with a mixture of wool, fleece, silk and capilene layers below depending on what's clean. The only time I wear the Barbour for an outdoor pursuit is for very rare, leisurely upland hunts on a game farm or a light hike on a groomed trail for bird/animal watching with my toddler. I wouldn't mind a vintage Barbour Spey wading jacket for cool weather fly fishing, but if the temp is 18*, I'm after those feathered flying fish instead.


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## Ματθαῖος (Jun 17, 2011)

MattJP said:


> Here's the Centaur thread for those interested; very illuminating...


Thank you or posting that link. It's a good thread!

Matthew


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## bd79cc (Dec 20, 2006)

Barbour jackets work well for me in the cool, variable weather you find on the East Coast in fall and spring, also for that same kind of weather here in south Texas during the winter. I like the extra length of the Gamefair and the way you can stuff layers under it. This makes it perfect for getting around by foot, taxi, and subway in Manhattan and Boston. My finacee likes to use my Beaufort this way when we're there. If I'm doing a lot of driving, the shorter length of the Bedale makes it a perfect car coat. Although it's no substitute for leather, I take the occasional scooter ride with my Bedale, too.


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## Semper Jeep (Oct 11, 2011)

I prefer my waxed Filson to my waxed Barbour (and just sent the Filson back to Seattle for reproofing last week). I don't fly fish and don't hunt so I cannot comment on their practicality for those endeavors but I do spend about 20 hours a week helping my parents at their farm and when it's 15º F and I'm out in the barn to load up a wagon of hay, working on the tractor, crawling around in the loft, checking the barbed-wire fences, etc. I'd much rather be in one of these types of jackets than in a piece of polyester or Gore-tex outerwear. I like these types of jackets for their durability, not their water-proofiness.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

It hardly ever rains enough in SoCal to make breaking out my Barbour worth the effort but it is my go-to hunting coat in Alaska and Canada. I've worn it clear up the other side of the Northwest Passage hunting muskox, in the Northern Territories hunting caribou, in Alaska hunting caribou and black bear (unsuccessfully for both of those) and have never had a single complaint. I do need to send it back to have the zipper or the pull fixed. Not quite sure what's wrong but since the snaps still work fine I haven't had a lot of motivation to get it fixed. Maybe I should since I am hoping for a trip to Prince William Island next spring.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

Hardline: science pretty firmly proves that a goretex or similar shell is far more breathable than waxed cotton. Exertion in freezing temps mandates high breathability for me. Plus, I've found synthetics far better at shedding water than even the most recently waxed Barbour, not to mention you can throw them in the wash after taking a spill in some black swamp muck and not think twice and, I pretty frequently get water up my sleeves when reaching in for fish, decoys, or birds (especially the ones that like to dive down and clamp on to weeds at the bottom just to spite you. The cotton lining is no good for any of that and I've come to appreciate sealable cuffs.

That said, my all-time favorite wingshooting outerwear is an old Orvis sweater with a Windstopper membrane. 

I wore a Barbour for (woefully infrequent) upland hunting until I bought a technical upland softshell from LLB on clearance two years ago. All the same pockets, but trimmer fit, a bit of stretch, and way, way lighter weight. 

That picture is perfect. If he were about 10 years younger and smoking a pipe, I'd say I met a Barbour model.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Tilton said:


> Hardline: science pretty firmly proves that a goretex or similar shell is far more breathable than waxed cotton. Exertion in freezing temps mandates high breathability for me. Plus, I've found synthetics far better at shedding water than even the most recently waxed Barbour, not to mention you can throw them in the wash after taking a spill in some black swamp muck and not think twice and, I pretty frequently get water up my sleeves when reaching in for fish, decoys, or birds (especially the ones that like to dive down and clamp on to weeds at the bottom just to spite you. The cotton lining is no good for any of that and I've come to appreciate sealable cuffs.


Oh, I don't disagree about the poor breathability of waxed cotton. But waterfowl hunting is a fairly sedentary sport consisting of short periods of exertion with long periods of sitting still in bone-chilling, damp cold and windy conditions. The waxed cotton is great for cutting wind, keeping you dry and standing up to the rough environment of a duck boat or blind. It's especially tough in a layout blind out in a cornfield. That's where all of my Gore-Tex has let me down. It's too delicate and, even if I'm very careful with it, it eventually loses it's water-resistance. I pack a Gore-Tex shell in my blind bag for heavy downpours but I've never had to use it.

As for the sleeve/water problem, get a pair of these. They're indispensable for me:











Tilton said:


> That said, my all-time favorite wingshooting outerwear is an old Orvis sweater with a Windstopper membrane.


It's funny you say that. My favorite piece of gear is an old Dachstein sweater. It's made from boiled wool and I've lanolized it to the point that it sheds water like the proverbial duck's back. The weave is so dense that no wind stopper is needed and I wear it as an outer layer as often as I can.



Tilton said:


> I wore a Barbour for (woefully infrequent) upland hunting until I bought a technical upland softshell from LLB on clearance two years ago. All the same pockets, but trimmer fit, a bit of stretch, and way, way lighter weight.


I've worn my Beaufort on a few upland hunts. They were all leisurely hunts with friends on game farms with flat, groomed topography. Normally, I wear a much thicker waxed cotton upland jacket for the real nasty stuff or a lighter sweater with a blaze cape anytime I have to hustle to a point. It's a lot more physical than duckhunting but still less demanding, I think.



Tilton said:


> That picture is perfect. If he were about 10 years younger and smoking a pipe, I'd say I met a Barbour model.


I'm pretty sure that IS a Barbour model from an old catalog.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

What the heck is upland hunting?

I find the Beaufort terrific for urban life in Wash. DC, even though I know it's intended for country pursuits.

If it's really, really nasty outside I'll layer wool or fleece beneath my REI eVent shell, which I find functions much better than Goretex. That's what I'd wear on a camping trip, if I ever did that again. But having to get suited up like that for me is a once or twice-a-year occurrence. The rest of the time, the Barbor handles bad weather with aplomb.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

hardline_42 said:


>


I own a pair of those Barbour half-finger gloves, by the way, and I LOVE them. Very warm. Dense with lanolin.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

The tundra . . . Barbour Country!


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## ColdIron (Jun 19, 2009)

tocqueville said:


> *What the heck is upland hunting?*
> <>


It is what I work all year for the chance to do, which now is ruff grouse in Mn. and pheasant in SD. And like most upland hunters also fly fish and archery hunt when it comes to big game.

In the late 80's did a NATO deployment and one of my shipmates from Alaska and I had a common goal, to fly fish in England, the birthplace of fly fishing. I had a secondary goal of purchasing a Barbour coat. Met a young lady in a pub that offered to take us out fishing and I asked her where the best place to purchase a Barbour was. She said ahhh a clit coat. Clit coat? Yes she replied every c*nt has one. I was a bit more than shocked and she continued on asking why I would want such a thing. She said everyone that wears one wears a sweater under it because the coat doesn't keep you dry or warm but wool does when wet. I never did end up getting a clit coat. But did catch a number of decent sized trout which I gave her. I was a bit shocked to find the people there were more interested in catching carp than trout. Still look at Barbour jackets from time to time which is what brought me to this thread...

Hunting the backbone of the Appalachian Mountains from Western NC up to NC Pa. into the Southern Tier of NY I can tell you that the thickets will shred most clothes in short order. And even boots. I own a lot of Filson and before they offered dry cloth would send it to the dry cleaners to remove the wax finish so it could breathe. It is dense enough that it will hold up for a few years and sheds water up to a point. Purchased my first Gore Tex jacket in Washington State while in the Olympics in 1980, it was a Columbia. Yeah back before Ma Columbia thought she knew better than Gore and came out with all the worthless crap they now carry they did have Gore Tex. It held up in the Olympic Rain Forrest just fine for 2 years of hard use salmon and trout fishing, grouse, blacktail and elk hunting. Now Cabelas and Bean are about the only places left that make decent GoreTex with an outer shell that can handle abrasion of busting through brush. Keep it clean and it will not leak.

Still there is nothing like a duct taped patched Filson piece that says "No need to apply" to the Orvis crowd. Even if you sweat so much in it that you are as wet on the inside as the outside when it is raining and your doing hard physical exertion. Normally cover 8-12 miles a day plowing through brush while bird hunting so that is most times while wearing it.


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## MikeF (Feb 26, 2010)

ColdIron, I have hunted grouse and pheasant up in your neck of the woods and my two setters are from central MN. and I have never used Gore Tex anywhere. I have an old, almost 20 years, Columbia jacket that is still in really good shape for its age. I don't like to hunt wearing a jacket until it gets in the 30s or it's raining. Anyway, how does the season look up there this year and what kind of dogs do you use? It is always good to find another member of the upland hunters fraternity.


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## Pentheos (Jun 30, 2008)

All you hunters!

I find that my Barbour is perfect for going around the city. If I spill any of the non-fat foam from my latte on it, it washes right off thanks to the wax. It's also great for antiquing; all the dust on heritage items in dirty stores helps to give it a nice patina. I have a Beaufort, and that game pouch is perfect for the New York Times.


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## A10ACN (Dec 22, 2011)

I love my Beaufort for casual wear, walking the fields, and other outdoors pursuits. Never hunted in it but would. My custom waxed Filson is just too damn stiff to wear except when I know I'm going to be in rough terrain/briar thickets, then, its just the ticket. I've been overly warm in my Filson but not so much in my Barbour. I think layering is the key, regardless of outer material. The problem with both the Filson and the Barbour is they are so bulky to pack. I have an old North Face Gore-Tex that I've drug all over the world, just because it packs down smaller than the cotton jackets. It wouldn't last 10 minutes in the stuff I've had the Filson in and I don't think its appreciably more rain resistant/breathable than the Barbour but it does tend to go where the others do not just due to packing. I will say that I have used the hood on it several times whereas neither the Filson or Barbour have one. I despise wearing a cap or hat unless its really cold or really raining (or both!), so the hood does come in handy when I really need something to cover my head. 

As for layers, I've been winding down my synthetic layers in favor of wool, especially the base layers. The new Smartwools and others are pretty remarkable. Good transfer of moisture and they don't stink like synthetics. I've worn wool base layers for days and felt little need to wash or change them out other than I knew I'd been wearing them for several days. With synthetics, I KNEW I needed to change them, my team mates usually knew as well. The other and primary reason I went to wool is it doesn't burn or melt on your skin the way synthetics can. Something rather important to me at various times.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

hardline_42 said:


> I'm pretty sure that IS a Barbour model from an old catalog.


No, I know. I'm saying the guy I saw was dressed similarly, but probably about 23 and arrived smoking a pipe.

Goretex is really dependent on what "level" it is. Proshell is the tough stuff. Much less and I don't really consider it tough. Stuff is less-often made of Proshell anymore due to the price. I don't foot with PacLite and similar lines. Go big or go back to bed is my hunting philosophy.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

Also, all this lanolizing stuff is intriguing. Growing up, we had a good flock of Jacob sheep, who are high lanolin producers and simply petting them was great for the hands. Usually, wool products I've bought (including a Barbour watch cap and Filson fingerless gloves) seem to have no traces of lanolin - I always assumed it was washed out during processing. Other than that, I know nothing about lanolin... Please, someone elaborate.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

It gets washed out because many people object to both the oiliness and the smell. Besides, lanolin is, itself, an important industrial resource. The cosmetic industry would curl up and die without it.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

Oldsarge said:


> It gets washed out because many people object to both the oiliness and the smell. Besides, lanolin is, itself, an important industrial resource. The cosmetic industry would curl up and die without it.


Sure, but my question was about putting lanolin back into, for instance, a wool sweater.


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## ColdIron (Jun 19, 2009)

MikeF said:


> ColdIron, I have hunted grouse and pheasant up in your neck of the woods and my two setters are from central MN. and I have never used Gore Tex anywhere. I have an old, almost 20 years, Columbia jacket that is still in really good shape for its age. I don't like to hunt wearing a jacket until it gets in the 30s or it's raining. Anyway, how does the season look up there this year and what kind of dogs do you use? It is always good to find another member of the upland hunters fraternity.


Hi Mike, and likewise!

Yeah I wear a WingWorks and layer under it, seldom wear a jacket any more. And like someone else posted have gone to all wool underlayers. SE is looking poor as usual, not sure it will ever recover to the levels of 15-20 years ago. I did have a hen pheasant almost hit my windshield last weekend while headed to one of the trout streams. I usually hunt grouse up between the North Shore and BWCA. Have a friend in Silver Bay and he has seen a lot of broods this year. A lot of people in the NC part of the state which has the highest grouse population are reporting the same thing. I've always found it hard to predict until the broods break up but I'm optimistic.

I now hunt with a flusher, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. He is getting old and I should have started looking last year for another dog but have a hard time admitting he is getting up there. Years ago I had a Ryman English Setter and I have to admit that I really miss the style of a point, something about it that still gets my heart racing. Most of my friends run Setters and they have no problem reminding me that toilets flush and bird dogs point :biggrin: Still not sure which way I'm going to go yet. Good chance I will end up being owned by a Lew English Setter by this time next year.


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## MikeF (Feb 26, 2010)

ColdIron, pm sent about Ryman puppies if you have an interest.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Pentheos said:


> All you hunters!
> 
> I find that my Barbour is perfect for going around the city. If I spill any of the non-fat foam from my latte on it, it washes right off thanks to the wax. It's also great for antiquing; all the dust on heritage items in dirty stores helps to give it a nice patina. I have a Beaufort, and that game pouch is perfect for the New York Times.


If I we ever cross paths on Nassau Street while wearing our Barbours, I'll make sure to hand you a few spent shells for authenticity, in case anyone asks!



Tilton said:


> Also, all this lanolizing stuff is intriguing. Growing up, we had a good flock of Jacob sheep, who are high lanolin producers and simply petting them was great for the hands. Usually, wool products I've bought (including a Barbour watch cap and Filson fingerless gloves) seem to have no traces of lanolin - I always assumed it was washed out during processing. Other than that, I know nothing about lanolin... Please, someone elaborate.





Tilton said:


> Sure, but my question was about putting lanolin back into, for instance, a wool sweater.


Lanolin is already in the fleece, as you know. Even though it's been described as "oily," it's actually a wax. It gets pressed out of the fleece (between rollers) before it's spun and it's used in the various ways Oldsarge mentioned. Putting lanolin back into the wool is what I've referred to in my posts as "lanolizing." For the record, this is probably not common knowledge. It's something I learned from my wife as it's an important process for using wool covers when our son wore cloth diapers. The knit wool covers WOULD NOT LEAK even after an entire night of heavy wetting, but they still breathed. I tried it on a pair of wool gloves and I could dunk them in water, shake off the excess and my hands would stay dry. I've used it on many outdoor use sweaters and the rain just beads right off. It's pretty amazing.

For a light lanolizing, which returns some of the suppleness and slight oily hand to dried-out wool, you can use a product like Eucalan, which is a wool-wash containing lanolin. You simply soak the garment in the Eucalan solution per the directions and air dry flat.

For a heavier application which you would use to "waterproof" a knit wool garment, you would use solid lanolin (it comes in blocks). You melt it in a small amount of very hot water, transfer it to a sink full of warm water, soak the garment and air dry. The resulting garment should feel almost wet and a bit sticky.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

What a great tip! I need to get some of that stuff and treat . . . something. I've got this BB knit 'pubcoat' cardigan that would be perfect for running to the store when it's not raining heavy enough for the Barbour but too hard for a flannel shirt. I wonder what else that would be good on. Heck, I may have to buy a new sweater!


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

Very cool. I may try that on something. As a college student too cheap to buy a new jacket, I used Filson's oil finish wax to oil an old thrift store Orvis Malpai shirt from the pits up. It worked well until it got washed on hot/hot and went back to being a normal shirt. I'll probably reoil the whole thing one day just for fun.


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## bd79cc (Dec 20, 2006)

Here's a video on lanolizing wool.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

bd79cc said:


> Here's a video on lanolizing wool.


Yup, that's pretty much it.


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## Malabar (Nov 9, 2012)

This year I own Barbour Bedale at least - and I felt in love with it! Previously I had a Wallenstein coat, German semi-military analogue in sinthetycs, also popular and fashionnable brand. But Barbour with his aristocratic legend and high-society wearers is a real bomb! Unusual, rare, a little odd - all this shows you like an anglophile. :icon_smile:


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## Semper Jeep (Oct 11, 2011)

Hardline - thanks for posting up the info about the Eucalan. I just placed an order on Amazon for a bottle of it. I have an old wool mechanic's sweater that gets a lot of wear in the fall and winter and it will be interesting to see the results and if it helps make it a bit more rain and chill resistant. And if I end up destroying the sweater, it's old and I will not be too upset... it may give me an excuse to get a new one.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Semper Jeep said:


> Hardline - thanks for posting up the info about the Eucalan. I just placed an order on Amazon for a bottle of it. I have an old wool mechanic's sweater that gets a lot of wear in the fall and winter and it will be interesting to see the results and if it helps make it a bit more rain and chill resistant. And if I end up destroying the sweater, it's old and I will not be too upset... it may give me an excuse to get a new one.


You're welcome! Eucalan is great because it's easy and everything is already pre-mixed for you, but it might take a few applications to get the results you want. For heavier use items, I do the Eucalan soak first and then I follow up with a solid lanolin soak. It's important to add an emulsifying agent to the lanolin so it coats the garment evenly while it soaks. I use because my wife buys them, but a piece of glycerin shave soap would probably do the trick as well. Just keep in mind that a heavily lanolized sweater feels very different. Like tin cloth but heavier and much softer.


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