Waxed Briar Jacket Rich Brown

Finding clothing that can stand up to the extreme Alaska terrain is not easy. But so far I have found nothing that this jacket can’t handle. I’ve worn it all hunting and sporting clay season as well as throughout the winter as my everyday jacket, It has handled everything I’ve thrown at it. Its ability to blockout wind, rain and snow and keep you warm in temperatures down in the low 20’s is remarkable.

I’m a falconer and tromping through heavy brush and snow getting to my hawk that’s caught a snowshoe hare is not easy feat sometimes. The jacket not only provides additional protection from her talons but has held up so that other than the natural “broke in” look of a canvas jacket, it looks perfect. Wish I could upload a picture to prove it.

Aside from its durability, cleaning this jacket is amazingly easy. I gotten it extremely muddy and even got grease on it greasing the tractor and cleaned it up with nothing more than a damp cloth and a very tiny amount of dawn on the grease. I would note that I have the brown color though, can’t say the lighter colors would look the same. I will know so enough though, as I bought my wife the woman tan color for Christmas.

I really like this jacket and look forward to bird hunting this fall in the dew-covered tundra we experience here in Alaska hunting upland birds above 3000ft elevations. I will definitely be putting it to the test hiking through willows and alders seeking out ptarmigan and spruce grouse. I am a little concerned about being able to layer though, the medium fits me great right now but the shoulders are a little snug, and adding a vest or hoodie may not work out.

I really love this coat. It's well made, sturdy has all the attributes you'd want to see. I do have a couple of small call outs - the inside pocket zipper and pull are a little small - tough to access with gloves on. The forearms are a little snug and a bigger zipper pull n the game pouch would be helpful - this is just knit-picking though; it's a beautiful coat and I would highly recommend.

This is the third consecutive year I have reviewed this jacket. I just returned from another frigid upland hunting trip to Kansas, where this jacket was my main line of defense from 20 mph wind in 8 degree temperatures. Windblown ice mist coming off frozen cut corn fields was no match for this waxed canvas body armor. Razor sharp plum thickets did not penetrate this jacket, nor did they harm the fabric or stitching in any way. The roomy pockets continue to allow easy access to heavily gloved hands while retrieving #6 high brass shot shells. The inner chest pocket conveniently stores my hunting license and wallet. The robust zipper has been pulled, tugged, snagged and snatched while continuing to operate as new. This jacket is cut like it was custom made to fit my body. It has been admired by all in airports throughout my travels. The only thing that is yet to be proven about this jacket is the warranty coverage, but there are 97 remaining years to sort that out.

I've now bought a couple items from Over Under, and the quality is apparent right out of the box. This waxed jacket is a man's jacket. The brown matches the color in the photos here, but in person it seems much richer; beautiful. There are plenty of useful pockets and the material is substantial, which makes it great for hunting/outdoors stuff, but frankly I'll spend more of my time wearing it in day-to-day activities which it more than suits. Hunting safety collar is also a big win. I'm early on with it, but it looks like I could wear that thing to hell and back and it would hold up great. Even though this is one of the only things Over Under has that isn't made in the USA, you know it's still coming from a great tradition and from workers who embrace their craft over in the U.K.

I'm looking forward to testing the lifetime warranty on this jacket!