Seeland 'North' Field Coat - a test

My first day out on the peg this year was in early October - a small family day on the farm back in Hampshire. It was something of a damp day, to say the least, and my fieldcoat, which has seen many a season and done sterling service, rather gave up on me. Instead of being waterproof, it was now absorbent, and over the course of the day increased in weight by roughly half, and I finished the day damp all over.

 

The next family shoot day was a couple of weeks later and I had equipped myself with the new Seeland ‘North’ jacket. Described by the company as ‘a versatile jacket for all seasons’, I was about to put it to the test, at least where wind and water were concerned.

The North is really two jackets in one, since it has a removable inner fleece for added insulation against the elements. However, when we met for coffee and the safety briefing the temperature was still in the teens and there wasn’t much call for the added protection. The inner fleece easily unzips from the outer shell, while the sleeves are held in place by a popper at each wrist, and the collar by another. The jacket also comes with a hood, but I have never really liked having the hood at my back when shooting. Happily this too unzips easily. It is now carefully stored ready for when I head "north of the wall" to go fishing in Scotland next year.

 

My new jacket was the subject of much admiration from my fellow guns. Compared to the old coat, the ‘North’ is significantly better cut. The old one, a model that shall remain nameless but is ubiquitous in the shooting field, was, frankly, a bit shapeless. I’ve previously compared it to wearing a sleeping bag. By contrast, the ‘North’ is more fitted, which creates a more chic silhouette. I’m nothing if not a dandy, so these things count. The outer fabric is really smart: its darker in colour than many field coats - pine green, according to Seeland - and very soft to the touch. There is also a very subtle stripe to the weave, which is rather nice. I’ve actually been wearing the coat around London and it doesn’t look out of place there either. I’ve also worn the inner fleece by itself a few times, even though I’m not generally a fleece-wearing sort of chap, and that too has drawn complements.

 

But looks are all well and good, but, as my father never tires of telling me, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes. You can look smart, but if you look cold and wet, the impression is exploded somewhat.
 

The morning started off dry, but my weather app told me it was going to hose it down, and blow a bit from 10.30, so I was interested to see how the jacket would perform. From a shooting perspective, the jacket comes equipped with everything you might expect - cartridge pockets with a little strap to hold them open, hand warmer pockets, a Napoleon pocket for your phone. The hand-warmer pockets are lined and very snug. The cartridge pockets are perhaps a little on the small side, but then I’ve never liked having a whole box of cartridges in there anyway: too heavy. On the subject of weight, the North feels like it must be on the lighter end of the scale, especially when compared to some of the tweed coats one encounters.

When the rain did arrive, it arrived sideways and in great quantities. The wind was a consistent 20mph, with far stronger gusts. Interestingly the wind counteracted the damp, and the partridges flew rather well - somewhat too well, really since I couldn’t hit a blasted thing all day, as they drifted and jinked and darted around. The coat, however, performed far better than I. The collar turns up nicely (and stays there) which was particularly useful, as on many of these drives we guns had our backs to the wind (and rain). At the end of the day, I had a curious stripey quality - below the knee, where my boots had been, I was dry. Above this, to about mid-thigh, I was soaked to the bone. And above this tideline, I was dry, snug and warm. The coat had done its job.
 

The other thing to mention about the North is the very reasonable price tag. Some fieldcoats are eye-wateringly expensive, but at £249.99 the North seems like an absolute steal.

 

All in all, the ‘North’ is a great fieldcoat. If I were to have my time again I would probably go one size larger: I’m perhaps slightly broader across the shoulders than most people of my size, and I found that the slightly tighter cut restricted my arm movement a little, but not so much so that it impacted on my shooting - I shall have to blame my inaccuracy on something else. But on the whole, I can heartily recommend this coat - its waterproof, wind-proof, comfortable, stylish and good in the field or in town - what more could one ask for?