Ok we’re a little late to the party chatting about this one, but hey we’ve been putting it to the test for a good few months now all in the name of extensive research, and we can definitely confirm that this one is not going to hide under the radar, its going to shout loud and proud and stand the test of time as it should and rightly deserves, its so plain to see that all the features have been carefully and very thoughtfully designed (by an all female powerhouse team, might I add) to cover all eventualities in a very stylish and functional way.
So what really does a 3 in 1 parka mean, well its a technical hybrid of the outerwear jacket world consisting of 2 separate jackets that combined make up something that should come out of the artificial intelligence lab of James Bond with a side note from 'Q' about the maximum warmth.
It consists of:
- A 10k/8k waterproof and breathable quilted outer jacket
- An inner fleece removable lining, a stand alone jacket on its own, made from 250gsm 100%-recycled fleece with a windproof contrast panel top.
- Worn together combined for protection from the elements in sub-zero conditions.
This is what the folks at Red had to say about it: “We realise that our customers and our community do not exclusively enjoy just one sport or activity. Their adventures take them beyond Stand-Up Paddle boarding, and they enjoy a variety of outdoor activities on and off the water. Like us, they are searching for products that have multiple uses and can be applied and used no matter where their adventure takes them. It has taken us years, with hundreds of considered design elements, but I can safely say the Revolution is our most advanced Red Original product to date.”
So lets break it down and talk details, who doesn't love a pocket, particularly deep and fleece lined making them the hand warmers of bitterly cold dreams and let me tell you there's quite a few, infact the parka needs to come with a warning that you need to be consistent with where you put your keys or phone otherwise you end up doing the parka pocket version of the "heads, shoulders, knees and toes' dance. We especially love the secret and concealed Napoleon chest pocket on the outer jacket between the zip and popper flap for extra security.
The 2-way YKK zips have got these incredibly tactile D-shaped pulls that make life easy when your fingers have given up the ghost and verging on hyperthermia. The hood in both the fleece lining and outer jacket have got some impressive toggles that can be adjusted to keep you extra snug against the elements.
When we did all the unzipping to reveal the fleece lining inner, its hard not to be impressed with the detail of how the 2 jackets attach, not just zipped together at the front but the poppers that also keep the two hoods and the back of the jacket together as well. When hearing about this jacket, there was definitely the doubt that the inner jacket wouldn't really live up to the standard of the outer, would we really wear it solo, but we can honestly say its a winner all on its own, its a great length, again with the deep vertical outside fleece pockets and inner bottomless pockets, really nice point of difference with the shape at the bottom of the jacket going up at the sides so you can move more easily, with a nice touch of being able to bring the waist in with the toggles to make it fit more snug to the body, so yes we really would and are wearing it on its own.
There was maybe the odd time when we felt a bit of a fraud wearing it as the situiation wasn't quite that radical, but I think that's the point of this jacket, you don't have to be doing something completely off the chart in extreme conditions to want or need it. Walking the dog in the wind and rain, changing in the bitterly cold in an exposed beach car park, standing on the sidelines at the kids sports games watching the other parents shiver, almost whipping of the top layer and sharing the cozy love, checking the surf on dark December mornings, wearing the inner jacket on a dash with the wheelie bin, it just becomes the jacket you grab to deal with day to day life. In the shop the sales pitch for the 10'6 RIDE is that we always describe it as the pocket knife of the Red Paddle Co range to customers, because it ticks all the boxes and does everything you'd ever want in a premium Paddleboard, well this is the jacket equal to the RIDE, as it covers all eventualities in a very luxurious and practical way and to those ladies on the design team Congratulations its comes up gold in our book and just incase you ever happen to find yourself in the depths of the Arctic wearing the Red Original 3 in 1 Parka Bear Grylls would be somewhat redundant because you’d without a doubt survive any winter adventure or extreme weather, the warmth and thickness of the double jacket combo is insane that’s for sure! So yes we love it, another quality product from Red Originals, a whole new take on the changing robe/jacket concept.
3 in 1 Parkas are available instore and online in both Carbon Black and Nixie Blue in Mens and Ladies. Sized for your height.
Mrs AW signing out.
