One Good Non-Ugly Rain Jacket
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Yep, you read that right. It’s officially jacket season. Not quite puffer or floor-traipsing wool overcoats territory yet, but we’re getting there. For now, a reliable rain jacket is most certainly a good one to have in the bag.
I believe every guy should own two variations of outerwear. Both equally imperative to giving off the impression you’ve got your sh*t sorted out. The first being a smart, heavy-weight, and most importantly, strongly structured oversized overcoat. Preferably in chocolate brown or a more classic black. The second is a lightweight GORE-TEX jacket. Not quite as refined, perhaps, but considerably more useful when the heavens open, and open they will. Which is why, rather annoyingly, I’ve found one I actually want to wear. For me, that jacket is HAVEN’s Spectre.
Originating from the mythical land of endless rain myself, I can safely say I’m no stranger to a hard-wearing rain jacket. As a kid it didn’t matter if it was the dead of winter or the sun was splitting the stones, Irish mothers knew better than to send you out without a hood over your head. Now, as a self-proclaimed grown-up, keeping myself covered is, unfortunately, my responsibility. Which brings me, somewhat inevitably, to HAVEN. I’d heard about the Canadian menswear brand before but, admittedly, hadn’t given it any real thought until I found it buried in my emails. A quick glance at its website later and I can wholeheartedly say I think my mother would approve. There’s some seriously great outerwear going on here.
It was the color that sold me on this. I’m usually a black-jacket kind of guy, so even I was surprised when I went for the two-tone gray one, or Vapor/Stone, as HAVEN calls it. It’s subtle enough that I don’t feel like I’ve suddenly become someone who makes bold outerwear choices (God forbid), but there’s enough going on to stop it from looking like every other rain jacket hanging on the back of a door.
But as we’ve learned by now, looking good is only half the battle. It’s the kind of jacket that feels like it could handle a decent hike, but doesn’t necessarily look like it, which is nice in this day and age when more and more of us are mixing smarter pieces with gorpy gear. It’s got all the practicalities you’d want, without looking like you’ve dressed specifically for the great outdoors. The GORE-TEX 3L PRO fabric, generous pockets and adjustable hood mean it can more than handle a downpour, but you could just as easily throw it over something a little refined without looking like you’re halfway to the Alps.
It does exactly what I need it to do, looks good while doing it, and doesn’t feel like I’ve compromised on either. Hard to ask for much more than that.
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