Barbour Jacket Review: A Deep Dive into Waxed Cotton Coats (+ Bedale waterproof test)

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Good morning! It is Michael, it’s a beautiful day. Today, we are looking at none other than Barbour, one of the most famous jacket companies of all time.

This is also my first ever Barbour jacket review. So, to say I’m excited… that’s an understatement.

Key Summary

Initial Thoughts and Overview

Okay, so we actually have a lot of things to go over in this article, especially sylkoil versus thornproof wax. What does that mean? There are two very different types of wax jackets that you can buy from Barbour. There’s a lot of hubbub about them. I think I figured it out – there’s one thing I can’t find any information on, but I’ll let you know about that later.

I did a waterproof or resistance test in the shower, which I’ll let you know about. We’ll get into fit, why I got the Bedale, why I went classic, then all the interesting details on a Barbour, why you need to get the hood – so much stuff to talk about, and I’m very excited. I think today is going to be a great day!

Sizing

I got the classic Bedale, and I just want to preface this by saying there’s, of course, a British connotation with Barbour jackets. I don’t really know anything about that but there’s also this ivy/prep connotation with Barbour jackets that I also don’t really know about that well.

I know that Barbour gives you this pin with their name on it. Some people put it on, and some people don’t. It’s like scandalous or something, I don’t really know. But I’m going to put it on the collar.

I got the Bedale. The slimmed-down, more modern version of this is the Ashby. But I figured, listen, I want to have this jacket for my entire life, so I better get the Bedale in the regular cut because I’ll probably eventually get a little pouch and gain a little weight. It’s a little oversized.

It’s definitely not slim, but when I was trying this jacket on in the store, I brought a flannel and a sweater with me, and I tried them both on while I was wearing this jacket. When I put the Ashby on, I could feel my flannel. I had plenty of room to move around, but then when I put the Bedale on, I literally thought I forgot to put the flannel on, and I was like, “I think that’s the move.”

You know, it’s funny; the whole point of this section is to talk about sizing. I didn’t talk about sizing, so let’s do that. I’m 5’9”, 150-something lbs, and I went with a size 36. Usually, I go with 38, but I got the 36, and I have plenty of room, so I suggest sizing down one if you can’t try it on in person. That’s what I did.

Sylkoil vs. Thornproof

We’re going to go in the woods now, and I’m going to see what happens if I walk through thorns. If you’ve done anything besides surface-level research into Barbour, you’ll know that there are two types of finishes that you can get on the jacket: Thornproof and sylkoil, and there’s a lot of debate on what the actual difference is.

There’s also a lot of debate on the difference between these jackets and why one is thornproof, and the other isn’t. What does that mean? And I did some research, I think I know. Like I said before, there is some info I couldn’t find, but for the most part, I really think it’s just a difference in how the cotton is actually processed.

So there are two different types of ways they process cotton – there’s thornproof, and there’s sylkoil. Sylkoil is the original finish that Barbour made, and that is basically made of uncombed cotton. And you can tell when a Barbour jacket is uncombed cotton ’cause you can see it in the texture between thornproof and sylkoil.

Sylkoil is uncombed, and when someone starts to wear the wax off, where that wear actually is, the cotton or the texture of the jacket without the wax looks a little fluffy, a little fuzzier.

Thornproof is very sharp and not as fluffy, and that is because of how the cotton is treated, which we will get into right now. Actually, let me start off with what I don’t know – I can’t find if Barbour uses two different blends in sylkoil and thornproof when it comes to the proofing, like the wax and the oils. But sylkoil jackets have this gloss. They look a little oily.

Some of the oil actually rubs off in the beginning until you wear the jacket in a little bit. Thornproof does not – that is much more waxy, and it looks glassy. So I don’t know if they use two different blends coming out of the factory, but I do know when you need to get this jacket rewaxed, you use the same product from Barbour across the board.

On to the big thing – thornproof versus sylkoil. Picture two items: a loosely knit fisherman sweater, and then picture a pane of glass. This is an extreme example, but you get it. So, picture you have to walk through thorns – one person has glass, and the other person has a fisherman’s sweater.

The person with the fisherman‘s sweater is pushing through the woods, and the thorns are snagging on all the loops of the fisherman’s sweater. The person with a glass pane is able to push right through the thorns because it’s not getting snagged on anything. It’s just glass, so it goes right through.

That’s an extreme version, but that is the difference between thornproof and sylkoil jackets. The cotton is processed in two different ways, and thornproof gives you the benefit of having that glass pane with you. Sylkoil uses unshorn cotton, which is basically a more natural, less processed form of cotton that has a lot more character and a lot more texture to it. Like I said, you could see when some of the finish starts to wear off the jacket, it looks a lot fluffier, not very smooth.

When you get to thornproof cotton, that is combed and calendered cotton, so the cotton is basically straightened, flattened, and perfected, then it’s run through a calendar process (picture two really hot rollers.) The cotton goes through that, and what happens is that since cotton is woven, when it goes through these rollers with heat, it compresses the weave a lot and basically seals it.

So all those threads are getting way, way closer together. It’s so close, in fact, that the cotton actually looks shiny on one side, like very glassy because it’s so smooth. Now that, combined with wax, really seals it and makes the jacket very smooth, so it becomes even closer to that glass pane where when you walk through a thorn, it doesn’t snag on the jacket or go through it – it kind of just goes off a little bit.

Now, I was playing in the thorns before, and my jacket seemed fine. It’s a little scratched up. So what you get with thornproof is added wind resistance and water resistance just because that weave is so much tighter. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Michael, this jacket has a ton of different details! Can you give us a rundown of everything?” Sure, why not?

Details Details Details

This jacket quickly became one of my favorite jackets because it is just so detailed, there are all these different features, and it’s very modular. So let me tell you about those, and then you know, we’ll do other things. I’ll talk about the jacket more. The most obvious fun fact about a Barbour jacket is that the zipper is also a bottle opener! What’s up? Welcome to the Barbour bar!

But other than that, when you’re looking at this jacket, you’ll notice that there is metal along the corduroy collar. That is because there is a snap-on hood, which I highly suggest you get because, to me, getting a Barbour jacket without a hood is fine on clear days. But any other day – since people usually don’t wear hats as much anymore – you’ll probably want it. I feel like the hood should come with the jacket, not attached, but just with it. But also, this jacket would look cool with a casual baseball cap, so I guess it can go either way.

Moving outside of that, though, this jacket is tartan lined, which is actually a very thick and coarse fabric. It’s not smooth or anything like that; it’s a very, very heavy woven material that’s tough and will stand up to time. But even if it rips, Barbour has a great repair program where they will basically do anything to fix your jacket and add all these different color patches, so as you wear the jacket, it gets more characterised and stuff like that, which is very cool.

The jacket is half-lined but not fully lined. On the side, you’ll notice that there are also zippers. That is so you can zip in a quilted lining. They used to have a synthetic fur lining so that you could wear this deeper into the seasons. I don’t think I’ll get one of those because I’d rather wear a sweater. Overall, every detail of this jacket seems really, really well executed down to the fact that the Bedale, not the Ashby, also has storm cuffs – knit storm cuffs – so if it’s raining and you have to put your hands up, water doesn’t go down your sleeves as easy.

And what’s missing from my Taylor Stitch Winslow Parka, which annoys me every single day, is a storm flap. But, on this jacket, there is a storm flap, so you can zip it up and then storm flap it so water won’t run through the zipper – this incredibly beefy, intense zipper, which is also gold and is a very nice accent to the jacket.

There are also two other snaps, and for a second, I couldn’t figure out what those were for, but I got there. They’re for the throat latch, so when it’s raining, you could pop up the corduroy collar and cinch it closed so water doesn’t get in as easily, especially paired with the hood – really convenient.

There are also two moleskin-lined hand warmer pockets at the top of the jacket, which are really great. They keep your hands nice and cozy, but also, it’s kind of a look to stick your hands in the big dumpy pockets below, so you can go either way.

But all in all, every single piece of this jacket feels like it is worth the money. It is perfectly executed, and a ton of thought goes into it. The stitching is beautiful, the fabric is beautiful, and all these other details are great. I love it, I love it, I love it! I’d marry it!

Waterproofing and Durability

The Patina Effect

While we’re here, I feel like I should just tell you there is a catch-22 with the whole Barbour patina thing, and that is: as you wear in a Barbour, it’s famous because it gets this great patina – you can see all these different colors, all these different shades of green coming through the jacket.

The only issue there is with waxed jackets in general, usually, that means that there is also a lack of oil or wax in that part, so the jacket is not as water resistant as normal. So you get the beauty, but you lose a little bit of the practicality, which some people might be like, “Uh-oh, can’t have that happen!” I might be in that camp.

Water Resistance Testing

Okay, I already put this jacket in the shower and stood in the jacket to see what would happen. First things first, a lot of people say, you know, they’re not really waterproof, they’re not really even that water resistant – that is not necessarily true. It depends on what stage your jacket is in with the wax on it.

So if you have a brand new jacket that just got weatherproofed, it’s going to be really water resistant. If not, if you’ve worn it for a while, like a few seasons, it’s starting to turn a lighter green or something like that, it won’t be that waterproof or water-resistant and water will come right in. Yeah, this jacket is great – obviously, a shower kind of simulates a downpour, and the jacket didn’t leak at all. It has a brand new coat of wax and oil on it ’cause I just bought it, so it’s basically impenetrable.

Although there was this story I read, I think it was a diary from a fisherman, and he basically said that the worst storms while he was out on the water were when the water finally pierced through your oil skins – these are oil skins in this scenario – and then you were just cold and soaked and wet. So these aren’t waterproof, but they are very, very, very water-resistant when they are properly treated.

So I’m assuming you’ll be fine even in a downpour. I know a lot of people say you won’t be – that sounds like people who don’t regularly upkeep their jackets, but for the most part, you should be good. To me, this jacket really feels like a jacket that I want to take with me everywhere I go. It feels like a companion. It feels like a buddy.

Watch this Review

Final Thoughts

This jacket makes you want to wander with it and just, you know, enjoy it and take it with you and watch it get older and better as you get older and worse, and then you start to love it more and more as you use it. So anyway, that’s why I like Barbour. I highly suggest if you were debating on getting one, you get one – they’re great, and so are you!

I’ll see you next time!

This article was adapted from Michael Kristy’s video on The Iron Snail, with edits from FashionBeans, and was reviewed by Michael to ensure the integrity of his original content. Watch the full video here.

The Iron Snail is a men’s fashion vlog (and now article series!) starring a young man named Michael and featuring a snail no bigger than a quarter. The two are set on taking over the world of fashion by creating a clothing line to end all clothing lines. Until then, we’re here to tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about the best clothing out there, from the highest quality raw denim jeans to the warmest jackets to the sturdiest boots…the Iron Snail has got you covered.