If you’re looking to head out into the elements, a solid waterproof jacket is a must have. Let’s face it, there’s little worse than being soaked through – especially if you’re miles from anywhere to get away from the outdoors.
For most brands in the space, lightness is the is the ultimate goal. Modern jackets from specialist outdoor brands are total featherweights, with the focus on reducing your pack weight for longer sessions outside.
Then, there’s the Vollebak Full Metal Jacket. That’s crafted with over 11km of copper – the equivalent of making the journey from Tower Bridge to the London Eye five times over!
Why? Well, as the brand itself states, “Copper is one of the most advanced materials in our solar system. It became central to the rise of civilisation, creating tools and sterilising water, Now, as we look for materials that offer us resistance to disease on Earth and up in space, copper is set to be at the centre of innovation again. Its ability to conduct heat and power while killing bacteria and viruses make it a potential first building block for the future of clothing.”
(Image credit: Future)
When you first throw the Full Metal Jacket on, you’ll be made well aware of the heft of that material. The only other experience I’ve had that was remotely similar was when I tried on a friend’s vintage suede trench coat back in college – he was six-foot-four, and I was promptly flattened.
Once you get beyond the heft, you’ll notice the rigidity. Lift your arms in this one and the whole thing moves as one. That does settle down once the jacket gets broken in, but it’s a heck of a party piece for the first day or so.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Everything else about the wearing experience is wholly positive. The jacket is simply brimming with pockets, ensuring you’ll always have somewhere to keep your things. Each of them is lined with devilishly soft material, too – it’s just a really nice place to be, like sitting in a Rolls-Royce, but one that doesn’t need fuelling.
The look is definitely different to most of what you’ll see out there, though it’s not so much that you’ll look like the village crazy. I found that I got the odd stare, but nothing that felt out of place.
In fact, I actually felt more fashionable wrapped up in the Full Metal Jacket than I have at pretty much any other time in my life. There’s just something alluring about how this jacket looks and feels in use which makes it so much more than other options of this ilk.
You’re not just buying into the waterproof nature or even the cool tech – this will find an audience of people who simply want to look fantastic and dig the styling.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Of course, the price is something of a stumbling block. At £1,495 / €1,795 / US$1,895 / AU$2,895, it’s certainly not cheap! Justifying that sort of cash on a coat is likely to be a hard task, and that really is fair enough.
Still, if you’re looking for something which sits at the crossroads between fashion and genuine innovative technology, you shouldn’t be looking anywhere else. This was a favourable first interaction with Vollebak, but I’m certain it won’t be my last.
