Best jacket for keeping warm while sitting outside

What’s the best jacket to keep you warm when sitting outside in damp conditions, under cover but still a bit wet?

I spend my Saturday afternoon’s watching Stirling Albion (Thump volunteers as a ball attendant and is kept busy retrieving mishit shots).

Last winter I wore a Buffalo Mountain Shirt but often ended up frozen, even with a merino top underneath.

Thinking of investing in a Rab Altus jacket. Is there anything else that I should look at, or is the Buffalo still the best jacket for the job?

If your not moving it’s really hard to stay warm, outdoor gear is designed for active use mostly so maybe something traditional like a good heavy jacket would be better (and cheaper) I had a few site coats (fluro yellow ones) that were great for farming stuff where you were not running around much.

As with most things your budget is important.

If your felling flush I can’t recommend PHdesigns.co.uk highly enough. They have a massive range of jackets that would do the job and you can customise them to be warmer, use different waterproof materials and it lasts for ever.

Take a flask of tea/coffee. Warm inside. Or even hot orange juice if you dont aant caffine. Maybe look at a quilted skiing or snowboarding jacket too?

Thick base layer, some kind of fleece mid layer, down jacket, some kind of waterproof to stop the down getting wet.
Would that work?

Would fishing kit be a good idea? Never tried it but those guys sit out all day doing nowt.

If you want to get a bit spendy then…

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/fjaellraeven-yupik-parka-662224?currency=3&delivery_country=190

Wrap a scarf around your lower face, it will create a warm layer that preheats the air that you breathe.

If you are sitting then something to insulate you from the seat.

And don’t forget your bottom half either, thick winter running tights under a pair of cheap skiing trousers would do a right job.

Not a jacket per se, but if I need to not move much but remain super cosy I reach for my insulated boilersuit. It’s like wearing a duvet.

toastiness

Just don’t do anything resembling exercise while wearing it. Even if it’s subzero, you’ll still be uncomfortably warm!

Wear an old pair of cycling tights underneath and you will be amazed how warm the body feels, i work outside and when the temperature drops the old Cannondale thin tights with loads of holes now come out

Base layers are the answer Crispin – long johns and top.
Buffalo’s are odd things – uber toasty when moving, but lack the insulation when not moving. Yours is also quite old iirc, a newer Montane or Buffalo has much moreinsulation.
What are you sitting on? A square of Karrimat on cold seat helps. I’ve hundreds at work if you want one…

Get a dryrobe – so cosy and like a long coat with hood and fleece lining. I’ve used mine sat around after surfing and been toasty.

dryrobe Advance Long Sleeve

More layers. Hat, gloves, scarf all v helpful too. Make sure it’s properly windproof. I sometimes wear thin leggings (ron hill type) under trousers, that makes a huge difference.

If you want to be toasty warm and dont care what you look like, look for a fladen flotation suit. Used by fishermen and offshore workers to keep alive should they go into the sea, these things are very well insulated. I know a few folk who wear them in winter for working outside.

Chicken balti pie and a cup of Bovril at half time will go some way to keeping you going!

For lower league Scottish games I always found a beer jacket of 6-8 pints beforehand would do the job, if you began to lose the effect through the second half a bovril will keep you ticking along.

I spend my Saturday afternoon’s watching Stirling Albion

Sky TV + central heating. 🙂

North face mc murdo parka. Film crews use them on location for long days standing around.
Or a Canada goose parka but they are not as waterproof, I wear mine to games when its below 3° and it’s plenty warm enough

When I’m on cold location shoots I wear a pair of Lycra running tights under jeans/trousers, makes a huge difference for such a thin extra layer.

Lands End are an American owned company who used to sell down “stadium” coats that were rated to -20 allegedly, designed for watching American Football in the depths of winter.

No idea what they were like but if they still exist, might be an option

You just need a thick insulated jacket that’ll trap as much warm air as possible with a windproof outer to prevent it from being blown away. It’s not rocket science, insulation is just trapped air, warmed by your body. The reason the Buffalo isn’t enough is that it doesn’t trap that much air. It’s simply not thick enough. Montane used to do an insanely thick version called, erm, the Super Eight, I think, but it was so bulky you could barely move your arms in it, anyway…

You also need a proper warm hat to minimise heat loss from your head and ideally warm legwear too. If you don’t insulate your legs and head, you’ll get warm no matter how toasty your jacket.

I would’t waste money on down, its main advantage is warmth to weight ratio and packability, but for just sitting about that doesn’t matter. I’d just get something synthetic, with a water-resistant outer. I wouldn’t buy an Altus, it’s quite lightweight as these things go. Have a look at the Keela synthetic stuff for shapeless, but affordable and effective insulation maybe. Or one of the bigger Snugpak jackets if you can find one cheap.

If you’re minted, just buy the warmest down-filled jacket out there, but expect bankruptcy as a side effect…

Something from army surplus? I have a massive greatcoat – Swiss civvie defence force I think. New old stock, super-dense pure wool, warm as toast when waiting around with a camera and was about £30 posted.

Rab Altus I’d rate for fashion not function – you really want something with about 2x the insulation. If you go for down, you need something fairly weather-proof as wet down is useless. Also, legs are important – some insulated ski or mountaineering pants – Montant Flux pants have full-length zips down the leg so you can put them over normal legwear, or even just a pair of ex-Army GoreTex pants.

Check out the Montane Hi-q luxe jacket. It appears to be similar to the rab but uses shredded primaloft which I have in a few Mountain equipment jackets and can attest to its performance wet or dry.

I’m just about to order the vest/gilet version of it. I can never get a good fit with Rab stuff. Even a small in Rab stuff is too long on the body (I’m 5’9) but small in Montane fits me perfectly.

A pal told me the brickies on site used to wear womens tights under their jeans. Make of that what you will.

Salomon used to do a very warm down jacket that I think they had designed for ski racers/coaches who were hanging about in very cold environments. I remember it being very much not cheap though.

Full down jacket if not too wet, down gilet under a big waterproof if it’s actually raining.

Lined trousers or wool thermal leggings under your trousers.

I have some primaloft-style trews I got from Aldi for a tenner that do me great for winter dog walks.

Some of these

Land end – the other end of the cool spectrum

Just the job for hanging around cold hockey/rugby pitches.

And if it’s raining, then some waterproofs over the top.

Splendid.

Arsene knows…

Baselayers top and legs, fleece and one of those plastic ponchos from the pound shop

Don’t forget feet, two pairs of socks and walking boots, stand on a pallet to stop the heat transfer

For just sitting down and keeping warm where bulk isn’t an issue, I’d go for this

When I used to do night shoots I went for multiple layers of fleeces etc and a waterproof over the top, worked really well and I didn’t need to buy anything new

Ridgeline grizzly – about £60 if you look around. Warmer than a warm thing

When I’m regretting having kids watching my 2 kids play football in the depths of winter I wear a
Fjällräven winter parka and a pair of fleece lined CragHopper strides. Well toasty.

https://www.fjallraven.co.uk/greenland-winter-parka
https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/p/craghoppers-mens-kiwi-winter-lined-trousers-A1B12296.html

I used to have a north face parka which was too warm for anything other than standing still. https://www.thenorthface.co.uk/shop/mens-gotham-jacket-ii-cyk7

Possibly the warmest thing ever

I get a lot of my work gear from Farmers Suppliers rather than outdoor gear. It is cheaper, warmer and more robust. Not as breathable… but if you are not doing active stuff that doesn’t matter!

I have a jacket like the above, but it was a lot cheaper… can’t find the exact one… but I only break it out when it gets really cold and I am not doing too much lifting! It will probably migrate back into the car end of next month “just incase”.

Just buy a hi-viz with a fleece lining from a market stall, cost about £30, waterproof and warm, and you can carry it in the car in case of emergencies.
So far I’ve got a standard one with no lining, a reversible one with a fleece lining, both sleeveless, and soon to get a full fleece-lined coat for the winter. Cheap and cheerful, for standing around on a cold, shitty winter afternoon why spend more.
I have to wear hi-viz for work anyway, so I might as well get cheap ones for different weather conditions.
something like this one, for example:

Mono boot ftw.

Don’t forget your feet. Decent socks/boots to keep them warm as it’s amazing how much heat you can lose by trying to heat up Mother Earth!