Winter Lady Parka (Olive)

At last! A dedicated dog training/adventure jacket I don’t have to fret about getting dirty! My new Trek jacket got put to the test this morning: I took a blustery, high elevation hike with my dog following an early drive thru a snowstorm to deliver an injured saw-whet owl to the capable hands of Teton Raptor Center. With a down jacket underneath, it kept me nice and cozy against the wind. I made use of the wonderfully tall, zippered collar against that wind; it functioned well, with or without the hood up.

Fit and function: I am 5’7”, 110#, and bought a size XS. On me, the hip area is snug, but this is while wearing substantial long underwear over Hybrid pants, and with every zipper fully in use to keep me warm. The jacket has two long zippered side vents plus a front two-way zipper to provide “ease” or ventilation options when needed. Naturally, this being an Arrak jacket, those side vents zippers are two-way, and their little zipper tabs lock neatly into place under protective plackets. As someone mentioned, the side vents are also great for facilitating access to your treat pouch, as shown here. I really like all the chunky zippers with generously sized tabs to make them easy to find and operate, even with gloved hands. The hood hides a really nice surprise feature—a moldable front edge that functions as a stiff brim for shade or rain protection. Adjustable velcro cuffs and snap flaps everywhere make this jacket a serious, substantial wind-breaker.

Pockets: The…

I love this jacket. It is obviously well-constructed from a nice, tight, dense sweater-like fleece, with strong seams. It just FEELS good. I initially purchased the XXL based on the sizing charts, but immediately exchanged it for the XL, which is a much better fit. BTW - the exchange was extremely fast and hassle-free, so thank you Arrak!!!

I would say the XL fits like one might expect a "typical" XL jacket to fit. For reference, the pit-to-pit measurement is 23.5"; from collar seam to wrist is 31.75" - nicely long, long enough to cover the back of the hands on cold days; front collar seam (sits at collar bone) to bottom is 22", and back collar seam to bottom is 28". As you can tell, the back is slightly longer than the front, which is nice for "butt coverage," but because of how it's measured it's not really 6" different - more like maybe 1.5 to 2" longer in the back than in the front. It's a nice cut. The back tunnel pocket is great for storing extra poop bags and my pup's Chuck-it wand/ball. I'll also use it to carry his collapsible water bowl.

I truly don't have any complaints about this jacket, but I do have a few comments for future modifications of the design: 1). the material is not really wind-proof; that would be a nice upgrade. 2). the front zipper is configured as a men's zipper (with the zipper components on the left side, as one looks down), and being used to women's zippers (on the right side), I find it is very slightly inconvenient -- but almost not…