Great review! Been wearing the Filson caped mackinaw for 25 years now -- and bought another one (more recently made, though used). The fabric has lightened up a bit in the newer model. As you say, it is definitely "scratchy" wool -- but that's not all bad. The scratchier wool has a thicker diameter, and wears better than softer, finer wool. I've raised sheep for a number of years; Rambouillet are actually a cross between merino (soft, very short staple length, fine, but poor wearing) wool and Romney (very long staple, still quite soft, medium durability). I assume the company calls it Rambouillet/Merino because nobody is familiar with the former. The funny thing is that when you raise sheep, you get virtually nothing for the wool (courtesy of the ubiquitous plastic clothing that everyone wears nowadays -- and the source of microplastics in our food supply, destroying the oceans). The cost all comes in at the level of the processing. Been a little disappointed with Filson lately, who now appears to be selling their name branded on imported cheaper clothing more than making a name with quality goods. Neat to see a new company making quality wool, though the price is decidedly eye-watering!
I wear a Filson double mac in red and black; most of the time it is perfect and that wool double layer keeps the body just right. Long ago I had to sew wide-wale heavy, thick, soft corduroy liners into the ends of the sleeves to keep backs of my hands from almost bleeding. It did work. But I later on I lost 40 lbs so my XL was loose around the middle and let in cold air. I took my sewing machine, and went down the sides folding in about 3 inches of material on each side. Now I have a tapered, warm fitting garment with lots of room in chest and shoulders for motion. It weighs a ton, and it is rough. For some years, I didn't even touch the thing and was thinking of selling it. However, after wearing it about 6 days in a row this Winter, I'm starting to love it. I usually wear a thick cashmere sweater under it, and a cashmere scarf to keep the neck comfy, but almost anything will do that. It is proving itself just right warmth for the Seattle area, down to maybe 30 degrees if moving around. Colder than that, and I get out the down jacket. When warmer temps come, the Filson double mac backs off, so the range of comfort is very wide indeed. It could go anywhere. It appears they aren't selling them now? Didn't see any double mac's in the recent catalogue. The weatherwool looks interesting but sort of thin and maybe not as capable? Anyway, out of my price range, so I will stick with Filson for now.
I have had my Double Mack for 18 years. It is the best coat I have ever owned. I find it comfortable from about 45° F down to about 0° F (below that I layer my Patagonia nanopuff under it and I am comfortable at any extreme). The jacket is incredibly comfortable, has become very soft over the years, and it still feels nearly indestructible. The Weather Wool jacket seems very functional, but I think that it is extremely ugly. Aesthetics are a very important part of clothing design, and the Double Mack is very handsome (to me).
@faultroy The perfect garment or fabric does not exist, and I suppose it never will. Everything has negatives. Compared to synthetics the negatives of wool that I see are: 1) Bulk and "packability"; 2) Weight; 3) Cost. There is no arguing the first negative ... WeatherWool takes up space and you can't compress it. BUT, if you are relying on wool for an extended trip, you don't have to bring much of it. One of the guys who wrote me recently did a long trek in WeatherWool plus wool base layers. He carried very little clothing ... he was good wearing the same stuff for a couple of weeks. Item two, weight, is a similar story to item 1. Wool is definitely heavier, but it handles more situations, and you don't need as much of it. Item 3 is cost ... WeatherWool costs more than other woolens and more than most synthetics. But there are some synthetics, and some hybrid natural/synthetic such as Canada Goose, which can cost more than WeatherWool. Addressing Faultroy's points ... 1) Warmth to weight ratio ... maybe. As mentioned, wool covers more situations and you don't need to take as much of it. Also, the warmth to weight ratio changes completely if you get wet. And if you spend much time outdoors, you ARE going to get wet. Synthetics will not keep you warm when they get wet. Fall in a river and you may die of hypothermia if all you've got are the synthetics you are wearing. With wool, falling in a river doesn't even matter, once you get yourself out of the water. 2) People think that wool takes a long time to dry ... but this is only half-true. People mostly are not aware that wool can be saturated with water but dry to the touch (and warm to wear) because the outer layer of woolen fiber hates water, and sheds water very quickly. Wool saturates only internally; the interior of a woolen fiber loves water. It takes relatively long for the water to leave the interior of the fiber, but that is a matter of weight, not a matter of warmth. And warmth is what counts. As mentioned previously ... wool is an extremely sophisticated product of Nature, and it "knows" how to protect a sheep (and we are lucky to be similar to sheep). 3) Wool is not hard to clean. It's actually easy to clean, and more to the point, can stay clean for a remarkably long time without any maintenance at all. Most people won't need to clean (hand wash gently or dry clean or even deep-freeze) their WeatherWool more than once a year .... if even then. 4) Don't abuse wool and it won't shrink. 5) WeatherWool is expensive. So is a Rolls Royce. But some new woolens are quite reasonably priced, and thrift shops are full of decent woolens offered at low prices. 6) Wool can be very tough. But there are many different types of wool, and some of it is not durable. WeatherWool is highly unusual -- unique, as far as I know -- in that it is very tough and durable but also very soft and comfortable. This is why Hardcore Luxury is our registered trademark. 7) Insects (moths) can surely damage wool. This is one reason why many people dry-clean their woolens at the end of the season. Dry-cleaning kills any insects, eggs, larvae that may be present. Deep-freezing will do the same. 8) I think I must have missed where Don said anything about "very heavy and not all that warm". Fleece?? If it's working for you, that's what counts! Basically, fleece can be very inexpensive and efficient within its proper range of use. As protection against dry cold and kept away from fire, it wins points. Drawbacks ... Falls apart. Burns/melts. Disaster when wet. Stinks in short order. Can't handle sweat. WeatherWool is All-Purpose Outerwear ... Designed for extended use in many different settings, whether in Nature or social/business outings. On that basis we love to compete against any other outerwear. Thanks for your comments and hope I didn't get too long-winded! --- Ralph
@faultroy Hello, Faultroy … good to know you sleep with wool. Below are my responses to your thoughts. All the following info and more can be found on WeatherWool.com … People mostly don’t understand wool. For example, the great majority of people don’t actually know how wool gets wet or how it dries or even what “wet” and “dry” mean in reference to wool, which behaves very differently from cotton and other materials. I’ll come back to this later. Before answering the specifics of your note, here are some important general points that are routinely overlooked. 1) There are many types of wool, and many ways to make woolens. As far as we have been able to determine, we’re the only ones who set out to never cut corners. Others use lower quality wool, recycled wool, cotton and other fillers, etc. Wool can also be spun and woven many different ways, all of which will affect garment performance. 2) Wool developed over the eons to enable sheep to maintain their 102F (39C) body temperature across a huge range of weather conditions with minimal expenditure of energy. Nature’s tools are far more sophisticated than anything we make in our factories. And Nature’s testing is constant and harsh. Woolen fibers are almost unbelievably complex, and every bit of that complexity serves to protect the sheep. We are very lucky in that sheep have almost the same body temp as we do, and that wool has characteristics that enable us to use it for All-Purpose Outerwear that will surpass anything else in performance. And this is why we offer No-Risk Field Testing to everyone. Test WeatherWool, get a refund if desired. Virtually nobody wants the refund. 3) Something that should give pause to anyone who is all-in on petrochemical clothing … some of the big names in synthetics are selling merino wool base layers! Fans of synthetic garments love to talk about the “warmth to weight ratio”. First of all, it’s the warmth that counts … lighter weight is pointless if the warmth is not there. As mentioned, people mostly don’t understand wool. Wool does not ABSORB water at all. Basically, wool repels water but adsorbs water vapor (and liquid water) very slowly. Perspiration consists of vapor … the liquid we think of as perspiration is actually condensed perspiration. Wool can adsorb (internally!) a great deal of perspiration vapor so that it does not condense on the skin. People will tend to think they are not sweating because the vapor does not condense and is therefore not noticed. This adsorption happens because the core of a woolen fiber is hydrophilic … the vapor can slip in between the “scales” on the wool fiber, where it is adsorbed. The outer layer of woolen fibers is hydrophobic … naturally repelling water so wool feels dry to the touch quite quickly, even after being submerged. Other materials do not behave in this manner, and are much less effective at dealing with sweat. Down is a great insulator … under the right conditions. Down is great for whenever the situation will not involve water, sweat, fire, heat or abrasion. Wet down is much worse than useless. And down garments are very difficult to dry in field conditions. Also, of course, down needs to be held inside some kind of shell. It seems the shells are always synthetic, meaning down garments need to be kept away from flame and heat as well as water. Don’t sit around a campfire in a down jacket. And if your down shell is not made of something very tough, it needs to be pampered in the field because it will be difficult to repair. Falling in a river …. I don’t know if you (Faultroy) are being deliberately obtuse here, or maybe something else. But it doesn’t matter. Fall in a river on a cold day, and, if you are wearing wool and get out of the water fairly quickly, you can just go on about your business as if nothing had happened. (See the WeatherWool TH-cam Channel for a short vid where I demonstrate this.) If you’re wrapped in petrochemical clothing, you have a problem. Particularly if it is cold and WET … humid or raining. If you’re wearing synthetic clothing in such conditions, you’ll need an extra set of dry clothes. Synthetics dry 4 time faster than wool? UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS? Synthetics perform worst when the situation is worst. Good luck trying to dry your synthetics around a fire in the field. Also, you don’t want your own body to be the heat source that dries your cold, wet clothing. Cleaning wool? First off … wool hardly needs to be cleaned. You can go years without cleaning your woolens. If you do want to wash wool, wash it gently with baking soda or with a soap like Woolite. But as we tell our customers … if your wool doesn’t seem dirty, and it hardly ever does, then don’t worry about washing it. There is a video from one of our Advisors about brushing burrs off his jacket. He busted through a crazy field of burrs and cleaned up the jacket quite easily. Some people put their winter woolens in the deep freeze for a few days prior to putting them into summer storage. A common misconception is that wool shrinks. Wool GARMENTS shrink, but wool fibers do not. The garments shrink when the scales of wool fibers ratchet against each other. This can be easily avoided … and it can, to some degree, be reversed. Wool can’t be dried with heat? Of course it can. I’ve done it lots of times. Don’t put natural (not superwashed) woolens in a clothes dryer, if that’s what you mean. But again … it’s a huge deal … if your woolens have adsorbed lots of water, you’ll feel the weight, but not the water. It doesn’t even really matter if wool is “wet”, because the OUTSIDE of the wool fibers, the parts that touch you, hate water and will very quickly dry themselves. I’d much sooner spend weeks in wool than weeks in synthetics, which get nasty in a hurry. There is a nice piece on WeatherWool.com, sent by a customer who this March-April trekked three weeks or so in Southern Canada. Pretty tough weather … Not really cold, temps bouncing around freezing, but a lot of rain and wet conditions on the trail. He wore nothing but WeatherWool and wool base, and brought very little of it. He didn’t carry any clothing, except I think he had extra socks. He wore the same WeatherWool day after day, regardless of conditions, and remained quite comfortable. Wool handles long-term wear much better than anything else. Toughness of woolen garments has to do with lots of things in addition to the tightness of the weave. You can read about this on WeatherWool.com. Wool fiber is not all the same. Yarn is not all the same. Weaving is not all the same. Snow??? … One of our very first customers is a guide in the Colorado Rockies. He phoned to tell me one day he’d gone out snowmobiling with clients, but had forgotten his own snowmobile suit. He was compelled to guide the clients with only his WeatherWool between him and the snow, in temps of around -35F (-37C). He was very happy to discover he didn’t need the snow suit, and has not worn it since. Melted snow - water - just runs off our clothing. So obviously … we are huge fans of wool … we wouldn’t be doing this if we thought there was something better!! And we always invite anyone to test WeatherWool hard, risk-free. Our newest Advisor, Ziggy, is a 26-year member of British Special Forces. He bought and tested WeatherWool for himself, and he wants to work with us because we’re the best he’s found. ------ Thanks All! --- Ralph & Family
Filson was bought a few years ago and ever since then their company has gone down the shitter. Filson used to produce time tested garments and had a money back guarantee. Hipsters have screwed filson. 🤬
Filson is a large, old company with a wide product line. I can only comment on their wool. I've had some and liked it a lot, but we created WeatherWool because we believed All-Purpose Woolen Outerwear could be done better than anyone was doing it. We love to have WeatherWool compared to Filson (and all others!) ... and I will repeat that I'm an admirer of what Filson has done.
@@WeatherWool I'm sorry for the confusion! I was speaking to the OP that said Filson was bought out and was saying they've gone down the chinese shi++er. Many of their garments are just slave labor imports from PRC. I would absolutely buy a USA made WeatherWool garment if I could afford it.
Well done! I, too, have found WW to be the superior product for the exact same reasons. Softer drape, less arm strain when bending the fabric, and of course, no scratching.
The double Mack is a fantastic coat but you nailed it. The arm strain thing is absolutely real. I think the better comparison is probably the AAJ vs the Filson Cape Coat.
I am working at the Portland Filson Store over the Christmas Holiday. I cannot get enough of their shirts, jackets, Hats, everything, there is nothing like Filson!
@@davealincoln First of all, thumbing-up your own comment is super classy. Second, I'd never even heard of WeatherWool before watching this video, and I know a lot about technical outdoor clothing as well as a fair bit about men's fashion. I just read an article online about quality flannel shirts yesterday, and Filson was brought up (as well as several absurdly expensive brands). You know who wasn't? WeatherWool. When it comes to high end men's outdoor clothing, the Filson name usually comes up. Never heard the WeatherWool name before watching this video. Now, if were a CYNICAL person, I'd say that a lot of reviews/videos you've seen touting WeatherWool were either: (A) Put up by WeatherWool or its employees, or (B) Put up by somebody who bought a piece of WeatherWool clothing, likes it, and is angry that WeatherWool doesn't have the status that Filson has. Notice that this sort of video is unlikely to be made by a happy Filson customer, because Filson's reputation is secure and there's little point in making videos declaring that Filson is superior to this or that small unknown brand (or big well known brand).
Great video, I'm avid outdoorsman and l live northern NY I love wool for hunting or ice fishing and I purchase the Filson Dbl. Mack 20' years ago and it's a awesome coat, shot a deer on a wet snow day, and by the time I got back to my truck I was covered in wet snow, when I took the coat off I was completely dry. But unfortunately I see now that Filson has gone down hill, I think If I did the sun light test with my Dbl. Mack it would fair better. Never heard of the other brand, sweet coat but not for 8 bills. Keep the great videos coming.
Thank you for your review! I agree with your final result but I think the Filson is actually not that itchy, and keeps the wind and rain at bay from my experiences. For gosh sakes I had a Filson Jac-Shirt on in 35 degree steady rain for an hour with a layer underneath, and that layer stayed dry. Also the wind never got in, with just my jac shirt I had to take it off on my hike of 6 miles about 3 miles in, and I put it on my shoulders and it still kept me warm enough with my t-shirt. Also, I don't think it was nearly as itchy as other high end wool options I own, it's comfortable enough.. Weatherwool is def. the winner here, I'll be buying one in the near future.
Great review ! I was not aware of the WW brand and would now choose this over the other . It's also interesting that when comparing apples with apples you still end up with a lemon in regards to the fabric however I'm not surprised as I wear moleskin jeans and my choice over all the ones in the marketplace are Rodd & Gunn as there fabric is like velvet and are extremely comfortable straight out of the box .
I’ve been seeing a lot about how Filson has been reducing the quality of their products while increasing the price. There are several really compelling alternatives now that I’m happy to see are investing more in quality
Very true. Only a handful of their products are made in USA. I recently got the navy wool made in USA sweater & a loden & walnut 4GG sweaters made in Scotland. My navy wool feels like cotton & is very thick & warm. The other 2 made in Scotland are good too but thinner. Just about anywhere in USA or Western Europe are good.
I disagree. There mistake was dumping the working man and courting the yuppies. One the working dude got priced out then it doesn't matter how good it is it becomes form over function. Their mistake was not passing the savings to the consumer, not moving offshore.
Yup, a mackinaw is scratchy when new. Mine is 30 years old and I'd be happy to compare it to anything contemporary. I think Filson might be suffering from so many generations not needing to buy a new coat every few years. It's great that there are more companies that make good stuff still, but some of your rhetoric doesn't wash.
Admittedly my Filson garments are older, noticed the turn of direction some years back.At my age won't be buying much else, but the quality of what I do own is without question. Like the Weatherwool cruiser, though I won't be purchasing one.
850$ sound like a lot but these jackets wil last at least 20 years so as long you don't get fat its a great investment. I bought a lot of Mammut and North face jackets over the last years before I switched to wool.
Had my single Filson for three years now and although the materials and manufacturing quality are first rate the design betrays its age. The wool is pretty windproof but there are too many gaps so you get chilled in any wintry wind. The overlap at the front is wholly inadequate and why oh why have a gap between the cuff and the main sleeve? Not up to the job at any price. OK I'm a Brit who in general loves Filson (I have about 16 items) Love my Tincloth jackets and pants but this stays in the wardrobe and I wear a Loden all wool coat fairly similar to the Weatherwool and very well made. Cost in USD? $280.
Just picked up a vintage pioneer macinaw jacket for 100 dollars. It is pushing sixty years old and is in perfect condition. Finest coat I have ever owned. I would not trade it for a brand new Filson. Filson is for rich dorks with too much money.
Filson is very evasive when I ask them about where and how their products are made. Both companies are very costly. New to Weatherwool. Looking to buy from them. Seeing how their Honest and straight forward. Thanks for your video.
If max quality is your goal, then pure-American will not be much of an impediment, except of course that it does increase costs. We are somewhat limited in our choices of zippers and fasteners ... those are mostly made outside the USA. But some great ones are made here. We can get the thread we require only because the US Army insists on American manufacture. But the wool, and the processing of the wool, is the main thing, for sure, and we can get super wool and spinning and weaving here in the USA. We LOVE making completely American garments!! Thank You KE C!! --- Ralph
Good tip. My double Mack was 80 bucks. The outlet sells them, brand new, for under 200 bucks. That’s a lot of bang for the buck. The outlets will ship nationally. Call them and check the inventory. Everyone who knows this that is reading it probably wants to kill me now.
@@JimLBon But the current Filson products have lackluster quality. Filson has underachieved for at least ten years now. There's a reason why you can buy them discounted.
I'm sorry but filson wool is still sourced from pendleton woolen mills (oregon) as they have always been. Alot of the stuff they make is still made in the USA, you just need to know what your buying. You can't beat an og.
It's easy to beat an OG when the OG continuously whores itself out in the name of profit and growth. Filson's quality has fallen off a cliff in the last ten years...it's not a coincidence it happened after a round of corporate financing.
Filson has unfortunately sold out and quality has gone downhill. I have found myself going to small cottage industry companies for quality, niche items that are really more focused on my outdoor lifestyle rather than the big corporate run companies that do not maintain a connection to people like myself. Good overview. 👍🏻 PS- I don’t watch tv so I didn’t know who you were when clicking on this video.
I guess I just can't relate to people who talk about wool being rough. I've had my Filson for years and never experienced that. Short sleeve, neck, no problem. I just can't relate to that I guess. One thing I wish he did mention was how about walking through the bush...how will that softer wool hold up? I honestly don't know and wish he addressed that because if you're just staying on the trail lets be completely honest it all boils down to what looks better to you.
IMO if Weather Wool can bring down the pricing of their All Around Jacket to the pricing of the Al’s Anorak, that would be much easier to swallow. The $850 price point, even if the highest quality wool on the market is a bit outrageous. I still want one though!
I don't see our prices going down. All of our production costs are going up, and our margins are already lower than industry standard. We'd love to lower prices, but if anything we will have to raise them! --- Thanks --- Ralph
Sizing for this WW garment may be different than the others. It is long in the arms but true to size in the chest. I did not upsize. If you expect to layer more than 1 thick layer. Eg mid puffy jacket, Swiss military sweater, two thick wool shirts etc, than size up.
Thank you for the great review. I have been contemplating buying a wool coat for years and your review most definitely helped. I live in NW Montana and the WeatherWool didn't seem as thick/heavy as the Filson. I need a coat that I can wear comfortably in -20 weather. Will the WeatherWool hold up to that degree? I am tired of freezing lol. Thanks again.
The WW is more wind resistant and loftier vs the Filson mack. It will keep you warmer, the exact amount of layers you would need for that temperature is subjective to your own metabolism. I would expect you need to have a layer system at -20. I know I need to wear 4+ layers at that temperature especially in non aerobic situations.
We design more for versatility than serious cold. Of course humidity and wind are also big factors, along with several others. So I can only say we love to have WeatherWool compared to anything else. And you can send it back for a full refund after you test it for weeks or months. You might want to check out some of the material on our website relating to testing performed by Advisor Mike Dean. weatherwool.com/pages/mike-dean-tester-feedback/ THANKS ---- Ralph
Yes it does appear that the weather wool is a better jacket. That said the filsons is $395, vs weather wool at $850, over double the price. Your comparing apples to oranges with the price point difference
I’ve found Filson to be cut boxy for me, I’m a skinny guy. I had a double mackinaw Cruiser and returned it, so I have been considering this instead. Can you tell me what the jacket size you have is? What your height/weight is? I know that’s personal info. But it would help me in figuring out sizing.
That's a great question. I don't mind sharing. 6'1'' 155lbs I wore Size M on the WeatherWool and size M-Long on the Filson. In general the cut is more form fitting on the WW. I like wool jackets a tiny bit long in the arms as wool does take up and shrink a bit especially when worn a lot in wet weather. Thanks for watching.
Wool in pretty much any form is nice when it is wet and cold. Granted some is better than others. I wear Swandri from NZ. Just obtained a very heavy thick bush shirt that I wear under an archers shirt that came from Swanni too. The archers shirt is lined inside to about mid waist, is lite weight, but a very tight weave so it blocks the wind very well and sheds water like off a swan's back. Never have seen a bush shirt like the one I obtained made by Swanni. Truly a nice piece of kit and holding it up to the light there is no light coming through if that means anything. Good reviews though
Honestly wool is ok but synthetics have it completely beat for hunting / hiking imo. These thick jackets pretty much don’t allow layering. So your gonna get wet with sweat. Wool is pretty good when wet but it takes way longer to dry than nylon/polyester. Wool is fairly durable durable and it embers burn smaller holes it so that’s good. I’ll bring a thrift shop Pendleton for durability when I need it. But honestly some of the lightweight courdura shells would probably be tougher at this point. These coats are not practical for most and they cost about 2 times what would be reasonable. It’s more about the style and exclusivity I think. Don’t pretend that buying this stuff makes sense or Is necessary. It looks like great wool but it’s not worth a couple mortgage payments.
Good review have to disagree on the super scratchy feel of the Filson personally has not bothered me. Weather wool looks like a great garment but who can justify $800+ for one piece of clothing? That is beyond reasonable.
The cruiser and double mackinaw are also still made in the USA from American wool. For under 400. So this dude talked straight out his ass on that one. Some things are being made overseas tho like the jackshirt
Would it make sense to use this in lieu of down jackets for the insulation layer? Thinking about this as my insulation layer and using a waxed FJ Skogso for the shell.
Hi Michael --- Sorry for slow reply ... You usually wouldn't need a shell over the All-Around Jacket ... extended heavy rain or high winds can call for a shell but the wool stands alone (over the right base layers) in the great majority of situations. Not familiar with Skogso. THANKS for your interest and feel free to phone me anytime! --- Ralph (973-761-1776)
You clearly like the weatherwool quite a lot, but you almost come across as more bias than knowledgeable. I think I would be careful if I were a consumer watching this video. It also doesn’t help that the weatherwool people posted your video on their website. Almost seems like you might be affiliated or compensated in some way... The porous nature of the wool doesn’t necessarily mean what you say it does. More porous means it is capable of more absorption before it becomes soaked through. This is also an important quality.
The Filson is more breathable therefore no sweat. If the Filson wool is too harsh on your skin maybe try something made of fleece, I hear that it’s nice and soft.
Hi Ben Harper --- Don is affiliated with us. He is an Advisor, and you will find him featured on our website ... He wears WeatherWool because he favors it. Don's role with us is to help us improve our products by testing WeatherWool in every way we can think of. When he posts a video or makes any other public statement, we have no control of it. Our agreement with Don requires that his communications with us and everyone else be always completely open and frank and never misleading. His only compensation is the wool that he chooses to wear. Thanks for your interest. How wool gets wet is a very strange thing. There is a lot of info on our website about it ... but really, reading will only take you so far. The only way you will really know is to get out in the weather! .... Remember, if WeatherWool fails your field test, just ask for a full refund. (Virtually nobody wants a refund.) ------- Thanks for your interest! --- Ralph
At first this was s little confusing, especially given the whole "subjective versus" tone not so subtly woven throughout the video. But the incessant replies here seem to clear things up. I get the point now, thanks.
I see more tailoring and comfort with WW, but you say nothing about a warmth test or durability test. Which garment will best weather the winter. Based on your video, at this point I would by two Filson for the cost of one WW. I wonder if maybe the softer wool of WW might less of a wind barrier.
If you watch the sunlight test of the WW vs the Filson you can clearly see the Filson fabric is incredibly porous. WW is much more wind resistant. The WW fabric is tighter woven, and it is loftier, it is not easy to show that on camera, it is also not easy to show a warmth test on camera. In my testing the WW is slightly lighter weight yet warmer than the Filson. Both garments are incredibly durable.
Wind resistance is a design choice. Wool garments can resist however much wind as the makers desire. I chose to stop a wind of about 15 mph (25 kph) with our FullWeight Fabric, which is what the All-Around Jacket is made from. This is simply a design decision based on balancing wind resistance with breathability. A 15 mph is a pretty good wind ... and normally there will be additional wind resistance provided by whatever is worn under the AAJ. In our case, finer wool fiber and specialized weaving techniques enhance performance and toughness. Thanks --- Ralph
The point I see is that the WW is a tough wool of soft hand and woven to higher standards - tighter, improved weave, than anything that comes from the historic Pendleton Mills that have, like Filson, become slightly less in standards than their former goods. I live close to the mills and know their products. If I wanted a lifetime wool jacket, without itch, broke in right out of the box, tight against wind and rain - like my comfort and life depended on it...I'd save my nickels, dimes, pop bottle coins, garage sale and Christmas money for a WeatherWool (a lifetime investment) and I'd buy maybe one size up as protection against personal genetic expansion as seen in my parents! PS..I own a Filson mac, but I'd love a WW.
I saw Nicole use a Mackinaw Cruiser in Alone Season 2 and she seemed to have nothing but positives to say about it and she used it for the entirety of her being out there, 2+ months in a cold rain infested area. Idk, this kid doesn't seem like he knows what he's talking about. He also said Filson doesn't make American products but they do, their Mackinaw line is U.S. made. And they are very transparent of what is made in the U.S. on their website and what isn't. I recently picked up a flannel shirt from them for a steal of a deal on eBay and while I can't say it is worth what they charge and it's not made in America, there is no doubt it's a quality made item.
I believe Don was referencing that Filsons wool is imported. They import a lot of their fabric from England now as the American textile industry is a shadow of its former self. Weatherwool goes to great lengths to make their fabric here. I have A LOT of Filson gear. It’s good stuff, but it isn’t Weatherwool. Pretty easy to knock what you haven’t tried.
I believe it is, but of imported wool. The Filson ‘Seattle’ wool is US made at Pendleton to the best of my knowledge. I’m pretty sure the Mackinaw is coming from Europe. Not that it matters, it’s great wool. If you’re fortunate enough to live near a Filson outlet like I do you can get great gear for extremely reasonable prices. But, I still prefer my Weatherwool. It’s got a more modern cut, it’s more technically minded and the fiber is just better. I have an All Around Jacket on order to potentially replace my double Mac. I also have their hoodie and anorak. The best Filson wool I have is great wool, but Weatherwool is in another league and is priced accordingly.
@@JimLBon Mackinaw wool comes from the USA, Pendleton mill. It says right on the tag Made in USA. If the wool was imported it would say Made in USA with imported materials.
Granted, you're comparing coats at two entirely different price points. So you'd expect the WeatherWool to be much better. For me, I have a bit of experience with WW and a lot with Filson. The wool WW uses is substantially better in every way, nobody will ever be able to debate that. That said, I think Filson has a better overall design and looks better. I'd buy a Mackinaw Cruiser made with WeatherWool fabric in a heartbeat...
Being able to see sunlight through the Filson wool lets it breathe, keeps in body heat without getting clammy. Yea, Filson has gone to the city style. The beauty about their mackinaw cruiser coat is the simplicity. I’m sure the weather wool is ok , just made for different use.
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Ok, you got me. Came here for the Filson review. Pretty sure I'm going to end up ordering a Weatherwool product. Might as well have the best.
Give me some of your money... I will buy one to.
Like the pipe pocket. I need that.
Great review! Been wearing the Filson caped mackinaw for 25 years now -- and bought another one (more recently made, though used). The fabric has lightened up a bit in the newer model. As you say, it is definitely "scratchy" wool -- but that's not all bad. The scratchier wool has a thicker diameter, and wears better than softer, finer wool. I've raised sheep for a number of years; Rambouillet are actually a cross between merino (soft, very short staple length, fine, but poor wearing) wool and Romney (very long staple, still quite soft, medium durability). I assume the company calls it Rambouillet/Merino because nobody is familiar with the former. The funny thing is that when you raise sheep, you get virtually nothing for the wool (courtesy of the ubiquitous plastic clothing that everyone wears nowadays -- and the source of microplastics in our food supply, destroying the oceans). The cost all comes in at the level of the processing. Been a little disappointed with Filson lately, who now appears to be selling their name branded on imported cheaper clothing more than making a name with quality goods. Neat to see a new company making quality wool, though the price is decidedly eye-watering!
That’s awesome info!
I have been spending like 200-400$ every 3 to 5 years on coats. if this thing lasts 10 years, it would be worth it and then some.
Been waiting a couple years for this direct comparison. Very well done! Thanks for sharing man
I wear a Filson double mac in red and black; most of the time it is perfect and that wool double layer keeps the body just right. Long ago I had to sew wide-wale heavy, thick, soft corduroy liners into the ends of the sleeves to keep backs of my hands from almost bleeding. It did work. But I later on I lost 40 lbs so my XL was loose around the middle and let in cold air. I took my sewing machine, and went down the sides folding in about 3 inches of material on each side. Now I have a tapered, warm fitting garment with lots of room in chest and shoulders for motion. It weighs a ton, and it is rough. For some years, I didn't even touch the thing and was thinking of selling it.
However, after wearing it about 6 days in a row this Winter, I'm starting to love it. I usually wear a thick cashmere sweater under it, and a cashmere scarf to keep the neck comfy, but almost anything will do that. It is proving itself just right warmth for the Seattle area, down to maybe 30 degrees if moving around. Colder than that, and I get out the down jacket. When warmer temps come, the Filson double mac backs off, so the range of comfort is very wide indeed. It could go anywhere. It appears they aren't selling them now? Didn't see any double mac's in the recent catalogue. The weatherwool looks interesting but sort of thin and maybe not as capable? Anyway, out of my price range, so I will stick with Filson for now.
I have had my Double Mack for 18 years. It is the best coat I have ever owned. I find it comfortable from about 45° F down to about 0° F (below that I layer my Patagonia nanopuff under it and I am comfortable at any extreme). The jacket is incredibly comfortable, has become very soft over the years, and it still feels nearly indestructible. The Weather Wool jacket seems very functional, but I think that it is extremely ugly. Aesthetics are a very important part of clothing design, and the Double Mack is very handsome (to me).
I don't mind somebody calling ME ugly ... but my All-Around Jacket? Now, that hurts! But beauty and ugly are in the eye of the beholder.
@faultroy The perfect garment or fabric does not exist, and I suppose it never will. Everything has negatives. Compared to synthetics the negatives of wool that I see are: 1) Bulk and "packability"; 2) Weight; 3) Cost.
There is no arguing the first negative ... WeatherWool takes up space and you can't compress it. BUT, if you are relying on wool for an extended trip, you don't have to bring much of it. One of the guys who wrote me recently did a long trek in WeatherWool plus wool base layers. He carried very little clothing ... he was good wearing the same stuff for a couple of weeks.
Item two, weight, is a similar story to item 1. Wool is definitely heavier, but it handles more situations, and you don't need as much of it.
Item 3 is cost ... WeatherWool costs more than other woolens and more than most synthetics. But there are some synthetics, and some hybrid natural/synthetic such as Canada Goose, which can cost more than WeatherWool.
Addressing Faultroy's points ...
1) Warmth to weight ratio ... maybe. As mentioned, wool covers more situations and you don't need to take as much of it. Also, the warmth to weight ratio changes completely if you get wet. And if you spend much time outdoors, you ARE going to get wet. Synthetics will not keep you warm when they get wet. Fall in a river and you may die of hypothermia if all you've got are the synthetics you are wearing. With wool, falling in a river doesn't even matter, once you get yourself out of the water.
2) People think that wool takes a long time to dry ... but this is only half-true. People mostly are not aware that wool can be saturated with water but dry to the touch (and warm to wear) because the outer layer of woolen fiber hates water, and sheds water very quickly. Wool saturates only internally; the interior of a woolen fiber loves water. It takes relatively long for the water to leave the interior of the fiber, but that is a matter of weight, not a matter of warmth. And warmth is what counts. As mentioned previously ... wool is an extremely sophisticated product of Nature, and it "knows" how to protect a sheep (and we are lucky to be similar to sheep).
3) Wool is not hard to clean. It's actually easy to clean, and more to the point, can stay clean for a remarkably long time without any maintenance at all. Most people won't need to clean (hand wash gently or dry clean or even deep-freeze) their WeatherWool more than once a year .... if even then.
4) Don't abuse wool and it won't shrink.
5) WeatherWool is expensive. So is a Rolls Royce. But some new woolens are quite reasonably priced, and thrift shops are full of decent woolens offered at low prices.
6) Wool can be very tough. But there are many different types of wool, and some of it is not durable. WeatherWool is highly unusual -- unique, as far as I know -- in that it is very tough and durable but also very soft and comfortable. This is why Hardcore Luxury is our registered trademark.
7) Insects (moths) can surely damage wool. This is one reason why many people dry-clean their woolens at the end of the season. Dry-cleaning kills any insects, eggs, larvae that may be present. Deep-freezing will do the same.
8) I think I must have missed where Don said anything about "very heavy and not all that warm".
Fleece?? If it's working for you, that's what counts! Basically, fleece can be very inexpensive and efficient within its proper range of use. As protection against dry cold and kept away from fire, it wins points. Drawbacks ... Falls apart. Burns/melts. Disaster when wet. Stinks in short order. Can't handle sweat.
WeatherWool is All-Purpose Outerwear ... Designed for extended use in many different settings, whether in Nature or social/business outings. On that basis we love to compete against any other outerwear.
Thanks for your comments and hope I didn't get too long-winded! --- Ralph
@faultroy Hello, Faultroy … good to know you sleep with wool. Below are my responses to your thoughts.
All the following info and more can be found on WeatherWool.com … People mostly don’t understand wool. For example, the great majority of people don’t actually know how wool gets wet or how it dries or even what “wet” and “dry” mean in reference to wool, which behaves very differently from cotton and other materials. I’ll come back to this later. Before answering the specifics of your note, here are some important general points that are routinely overlooked. 1) There are many types of wool, and many ways to make woolens. As far as we have been able to determine, we’re the only ones who set out to never cut corners. Others use lower quality wool, recycled wool, cotton and other fillers, etc. Wool can also be spun and woven many different ways, all of which will affect garment performance. 2) Wool developed over the eons to enable sheep to maintain their 102F (39C) body temperature across a huge range of weather conditions with minimal expenditure of energy. Nature’s tools are far more sophisticated than anything we make in our factories. And Nature’s testing is constant and harsh. Woolen fibers are almost unbelievably complex, and every bit of that complexity serves to protect the sheep. We are very lucky in that sheep have almost the same body temp as we do, and that wool has characteristics that enable us to use it for All-Purpose Outerwear that will surpass anything else in performance. And this is why we offer No-Risk Field Testing to everyone. Test WeatherWool, get a refund if desired. Virtually nobody wants the refund. 3) Something that should give pause to anyone who is all-in on petrochemical clothing … some of the big names in synthetics are selling merino wool base layers!
Fans of synthetic garments love to talk about the “warmth to weight ratio”. First of all, it’s the warmth that counts … lighter weight is pointless if the warmth is not there. As mentioned, people mostly don’t understand wool. Wool does not ABSORB water at all. Basically, wool repels water but adsorbs water vapor (and liquid water) very slowly. Perspiration consists of vapor … the liquid we think of as perspiration is actually condensed perspiration. Wool can adsorb (internally!) a great deal of perspiration vapor so that it does not condense on the skin. People will tend to think they are not sweating because the vapor does not condense and is therefore not noticed. This adsorption happens because the core of a woolen fiber is hydrophilic … the vapor can slip in between the “scales” on the wool fiber, where it is adsorbed. The outer layer of woolen fibers is hydrophobic … naturally repelling water so wool feels dry to the touch quite quickly, even after being submerged. Other materials do not behave in this manner, and are much less effective at dealing with sweat.
Down is a great insulator … under the right conditions. Down is great for whenever the situation will not involve water, sweat, fire, heat or abrasion. Wet down is much worse than useless. And down garments are very difficult to dry in field conditions. Also, of course, down needs to be held inside some kind of shell. It seems the shells are always synthetic, meaning down garments need to be kept away from flame and heat as well as water. Don’t sit around a campfire in a down jacket. And if your down shell is not made of something very tough, it needs to be pampered in the field because it will be difficult to repair.
Falling in a river …. I don’t know if you (Faultroy) are being deliberately obtuse here, or maybe something else. But it doesn’t matter. Fall in a river on a cold day, and, if you are wearing wool and get out of the water fairly quickly, you can just go on about your business as if nothing had happened. (See the WeatherWool TH-cam Channel for a short vid where I demonstrate this.) If you’re wrapped in petrochemical clothing, you have a problem. Particularly if it is cold and WET … humid or raining. If you’re wearing synthetic clothing in such conditions, you’ll need an extra set of dry clothes. Synthetics dry 4 time faster than wool? UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS? Synthetics perform worst when the situation is worst. Good luck trying to dry your synthetics around a fire in the field. Also, you don’t want your own body to be the heat source that dries your cold, wet clothing.
Cleaning wool? First off … wool hardly needs to be cleaned. You can go years without cleaning your woolens. If you do want to wash wool, wash it gently with baking soda or with a soap like Woolite. But as we tell our customers … if your wool doesn’t seem dirty, and it hardly ever does, then don’t worry about washing it. There is a video from one of our Advisors about brushing burrs off his jacket. He busted through a crazy field of burrs and cleaned up the jacket quite easily. Some people put their winter woolens in the deep freeze for a few days prior to putting them into summer storage.
A common misconception is that wool shrinks. Wool GARMENTS shrink, but wool fibers do not. The garments shrink when the scales of wool fibers ratchet against each other. This can be easily avoided … and it can, to some degree, be reversed.
Wool can’t be dried with heat? Of course it can. I’ve done it lots of times. Don’t put natural (not superwashed) woolens in a clothes dryer, if that’s what you mean. But again … it’s a huge deal … if your woolens have adsorbed lots of water, you’ll feel the weight, but not the water. It doesn’t even really matter if wool is “wet”, because the OUTSIDE of the wool fibers, the parts that touch you, hate water and will very quickly dry themselves.
I’d much sooner spend weeks in wool than weeks in synthetics, which get nasty in a hurry. There is a nice piece on WeatherWool.com, sent by a customer who this March-April trekked three weeks or so in Southern Canada. Pretty tough weather … Not really cold, temps bouncing around freezing, but a lot of rain and wet conditions on the trail. He wore nothing but WeatherWool and wool base, and brought very little of it. He didn’t carry any clothing, except I think he had extra socks. He wore the same WeatherWool day after day, regardless of conditions, and remained quite comfortable. Wool handles long-term wear much better than anything else.
Toughness of woolen garments has to do with lots of things in addition to the tightness of the weave. You can read about this on WeatherWool.com. Wool fiber is not all the same. Yarn is not all the same. Weaving is not all the same.
Snow??? … One of our very first customers is a guide in the Colorado Rockies. He phoned to tell me one day he’d gone out snowmobiling with clients, but had forgotten his own snowmobile suit. He was compelled to guide the clients with only his WeatherWool between him and the snow, in temps of around -35F (-37C). He was very happy to discover he didn’t need the snow suit, and has not worn it since. Melted snow - water - just runs off our clothing.
So obviously … we are huge fans of wool … we wouldn’t be doing this if we thought there was something better!! And we always invite anyone to test WeatherWool hard, risk-free. Our newest Advisor, Ziggy, is a 26-year member of British Special Forces. He bought and tested WeatherWool for himself, and he wants to work with us because we’re the best he’s found. ------ Thanks All! --- Ralph & Family
@@WeatherWool Sold!!!
@@kulutz9565 THANK YOU! -- Ralph
Excellent job on this review! Compares and contrasts these two products very nicely - thanks!
Filson was bought a few years ago and ever since then their company has gone down the shitter. Filson used to produce time tested garments and had a money back guarantee. Hipsters have screwed filson. 🤬
Funny how you put the blame on the customers instead of the company who makes all the decisions.
Filson is a large, old company with a wide product line. I can only comment on their wool. I've had some and liked it a lot, but we created WeatherWool because we believed All-Purpose Woolen Outerwear could be done better than anyone was doing it. We love to have WeatherWool compared to Filson (and all others!) ... and I will repeat that I'm an admirer of what Filson has done.
Made in China
@@bck2808 WeatherWool is always 100% American ... (just in case someone was confused!)
@@WeatherWool I'm sorry for the confusion! I was speaking to the OP that said Filson was bought out and was saying they've gone down the chinese shi++er. Many of their garments are just slave labor imports from PRC. I would absolutely buy a USA made WeatherWool garment if I could afford it.
Well done! I, too, have found WW to be the superior product for the exact same reasons. Softer drape, less arm strain when bending the fabric, and of course, no scratching.
The double Mack is a fantastic coat but you nailed it. The arm strain thing is absolutely real. I think the better comparison is probably the AAJ vs the Filson Cape Coat.
I am working at the Portland Filson Store over the Christmas Holiday. I cannot get enough of their shirts, jackets, Hats, everything, there is nothing like Filson!
We are definitely not trying to be like Filson! It's always a pleasure to hear from a wool lover!
Weatherwool is way better than Filson
@@nathankeel4308
How would you know?
@@profd65 I've yet to see one review that reached the outcome that Filson is better than WW. Not one, and there are many reviews!
@@davealincoln First of all, thumbing-up your own comment is super classy.
Second, I'd never even heard of WeatherWool before watching this video, and I know a lot about technical outdoor clothing as well as a fair bit about men's fashion. I just read an article online about quality flannel shirts yesterday, and Filson was brought up (as well as several absurdly expensive brands). You know who wasn't? WeatherWool. When it comes to high end men's outdoor clothing, the Filson name usually comes up. Never heard the WeatherWool name before watching this video.
Now, if were a CYNICAL person, I'd say that a lot of reviews/videos you've seen touting WeatherWool were either:
(A) Put up by WeatherWool or its employees, or
(B) Put up by somebody who bought a piece of WeatherWool clothing, likes it, and is angry that WeatherWool doesn't have the status that Filson has. Notice that this sort of video is unlikely to be made by a happy Filson customer, because Filson's reputation is secure and there's little point in making videos declaring that Filson is superior to this or that small unknown brand (or big well known brand).
Great video, I'm avid outdoorsman and l live northern NY I love wool for hunting or ice fishing and I purchase the Filson Dbl. Mack 20' years ago and it's a awesome coat, shot a deer on a wet snow day, and by the time I got back to my truck I was covered in wet snow, when I took the coat off I was completely dry. But unfortunately I see now that Filson has gone down hill, I think If I did the sun light test with my Dbl. Mack it would fair better. Never heard of the other brand, sweet coat but not for 8 bills. Keep the great videos coming.
Living in Michigan I appreciate the Stormy Kromer hat. Good review.
I really like the game slots in the back, zippered if possible to carry survival gear like a GI poncho and heat sheet.
Thank you for your review! I agree with your final result but I think the Filson is actually not that itchy, and keeps the wind and rain at bay from my experiences. For gosh sakes I had a Filson Jac-Shirt on in 35 degree steady rain for an hour with a layer underneath, and that layer stayed dry. Also the wind never got in, with just my jac shirt I had to take it off on my hike of 6 miles about 3 miles in, and I put it on my shoulders and it still kept me warm enough with my t-shirt. Also, I don't think it was nearly as itchy as other high end wool options I own, it's comfortable enough.. Weatherwool is def. the winner here, I'll be buying one in the near future.
I hate to admit it ...Your correct on the WeatherWool Jacket!
Just recently took a weatherwool anorak on a hunting trip. Wore it ALL the time. comfortable, warm... superior.
Good to hear the cons of a Filson Cruiser. Thanks guys
Great review ! I was not aware of the WW brand and would now choose this over the other .
It's also interesting that when comparing apples with apples you still end up with a lemon in regards to the fabric however I'm not surprised as I wear moleskin jeans and my choice over all the ones in the marketplace are Rodd & Gunn as there fabric is like velvet and are extremely comfortable straight out of the box .
Will have to check out Rodd and Gunn!! --- Thanks --- Ralph
Yes thank you for this 🤝 I will be getting both
I’ve been seeing a lot about how Filson has been reducing the quality of their products while increasing the price. There are several really compelling alternatives now that I’m happy to see are investing more in quality
Great review. Thanks for your input. I’ll be looking to get an weather wool . 😁
Great review, Filson made the big mistake in moving production offshore.
Their labels no longer read: "Might as well have the best".
Very true. Only a handful of their products are made in USA. I recently got the navy wool made in USA sweater & a loden & walnut 4GG sweaters made in Scotland. My navy wool feels like cotton & is very thick & warm. The other 2 made in Scotland are good too but thinner. Just about anywhere in USA or Western Europe are good.
Filson still makes their cruiser in the USA with Pendleton wool
I disagree. There mistake was dumping the working man and courting the yuppies. One the working dude got priced out then it doesn't matter how good it is it becomes form over function. Their mistake was not passing the savings to the consumer, not moving offshore.
Yup, a mackinaw is scratchy when new. Mine is 30 years old and I'd be happy to compare it to anything contemporary. I think Filson might be suffering from so many generations not needing to buy a new coat every few years. It's great that there are more companies that make good stuff still, but some of your rhetoric doesn't wash.
WeatherWool looks awesome!!
Admittedly my Filson garments are older, noticed the turn of direction some years back.At my age won't be buying much else, but the quality of what I do own is without question. Like the Weatherwool cruiser, though I won't be purchasing one.
Great review I own a Weatherwool anorak and I agree Weatherwools products have that attention to detail and well thought out!
850$ sound like a lot but these jackets wil last at least 20 years so as long you don't get fat its a great investment.
I bought a lot of Mammut and North face jackets over the last years before I switched to wool.
Had my single Filson for three years now and although the materials and manufacturing quality are first rate the design betrays its age. The wool is pretty windproof but there are too many gaps so you get chilled in any wintry wind. The overlap at the front is wholly inadequate and why oh why have a gap between the cuff and the main sleeve? Not up to the job at any price. OK I'm a Brit who in general loves Filson (I have about 16 items) Love my Tincloth jackets and pants but this stays in the wardrobe and I wear a Loden all wool coat fairly similar to the Weatherwool and very well made. Cost in USD? $280.
Just picked up a vintage pioneer macinaw jacket for 100 dollars. It is pushing sixty years old and is in perfect condition. Finest coat I have ever owned. I would not trade it for a brand new Filson.
Filson is for rich dorks with too much money.
Great review. One of the best I've seen.
Q?
Is that Weatherwool jacket actually available to purchase?
Can you get one if so inclined?
The Filson site still lists Pendleton in Oregon as their wool source, where did you find the info that the Filson uses non American wool?
We visited Pendleton a couple of years ago and the guide said that much of their wool fabric was imported. The rest sourced in the US.
Thank you for doing a very good comparison.
Filson is very evasive when I ask them about where and how their products are made. Both companies are very costly. New to Weatherwool. Looking to buy from them. Seeing how their Honest and straight forward. Thanks for your video.
I would wear either one if someone gave me one.
You had me at pure American.
If max quality is your goal, then pure-American will not be much of an impediment, except of course that it does increase costs. We are somewhat limited in our choices of zippers and fasteners ... those are mostly made outside the USA. But some great ones are made here. We can get the thread we require only because the US Army insists on American manufacture. But the wool, and the processing of the wool, is the main thing, for sure, and we can get super wool and spinning and weaving here in the USA. We LOVE making completely American garments!! Thank You KE C!! --- Ralph
@@WeatherWool I wonder if weatherwool has a connection with Duckworth. Does weatherwool get Helle rambouillet wool from Duckworth?
@@derrickpomranky297 We don't get any of our fiber from Duckworth or Helle. We have purchased raw wool from several ranchers, but none in Montana.
Ive been thinking hard about weatherwool but i also saw sleeping indian amd was wondering about them
Sold me on trying weather wool 😏
Great review, Filson is not what they use to be!
Go vintage. Filson, Woolrich, Soo Woolen Mills, Pendleton and others. US made and 1/3 the price of a new one.
Pro tip, buy a vintage filson in good condition. For substantially less than either.
Yeah, less than $300 and under is much more worth it than $850.
Good tip. My double Mack was 80 bucks. The outlet sells them, brand new, for under 200 bucks. That’s a lot of bang for the buck. The outlets will ship nationally. Call them and check the inventory. Everyone who knows this that is reading it probably wants to kill me now.
@@JimLBon But the current Filson products have lackluster quality. Filson has underachieved for at least ten years now. There's a reason why you can buy them discounted.
I'm sorry but filson wool is still sourced from pendleton woolen mills (oregon) as they have always been. Alot of the stuff they make is still made in the USA, you just need to know what your buying. You can't beat an og.
It's easy to beat an OG when the OG continuously whores itself out in the name of profit and growth. Filson's quality has fallen off a cliff in the last ten years...it's not a coincidence it happened after a round of corporate financing.
Filson has unfortunately sold out and quality has gone downhill. I have found myself going to small cottage industry companies for quality, niche items that are really more focused on my outdoor lifestyle rather than the big corporate run companies that do not maintain a connection to people like myself. Good overview. 👍🏻
PS- I don’t watch tv so I didn’t know who you were when clicking on this video.
The fit of that weather jacket looks great.
That's a medium your saying and you'd go large..
Cant you get a wool sweater under that coat.?
I can get 2 layers under and not impede movement with an M. I am a 38 or 40 jacket size. I'd go L if I needed to get 2 or more layers under.
I guess I just can't relate to people who talk about wool being rough. I've had my Filson for years and never experienced that. Short sleeve, neck, no problem. I just can't relate to that I guess. One thing I wish he did mention was how about walking through the bush...how will that softer wool hold up? I honestly don't know and wish he addressed that because if you're just staying on the trail lets be completely honest it all boils down to what looks better to you.
IMO if Weather Wool can bring down the pricing of their All Around Jacket to the pricing of the Al’s Anorak, that would be much easier to swallow. The $850 price point, even if the highest quality wool on the market is a bit outrageous. I still want one though!
I don't see our prices going down. All of our production costs are going up, and our margins are already lower than industry standard. We'd love to lower prices, but if anything we will have to raise them! --- Thanks --- Ralph
Love weather WOOL!
THANKS for working with us since our early days, Patrick!! --- Ralph
Hey hows the sizing on weather wool? Did you upsize to your normal jacket size?
Sizing for this WW garment may be different than the others. It is long in the arms but true to size in the chest. I did not upsize. If you expect to layer more than 1 thick layer. Eg mid puffy jacket, Swiss military sweater, two thick wool shirts etc, than size up.
Where did u get ur hat..
Bro,
Awesome review.
Awesome content!
Thank You!
Thank you for the great review. I have been contemplating buying a wool coat for years and your review most definitely helped. I live in NW Montana and the WeatherWool didn't seem as thick/heavy as the Filson. I need a coat that I can wear comfortably in -20 weather. Will the WeatherWool hold up to that degree? I am tired of freezing lol. Thanks again.
The WW is more wind resistant and loftier vs the Filson mack. It will keep you warmer, the exact amount of layers you would need for that temperature is subjective to your own metabolism. I would expect you need to have a layer system at -20. I know I need to wear 4+ layers at that temperature especially in non aerobic situations.
most definitely. thank you for the information. i am going to save my allowance to buy the WW.
We design more for versatility than serious cold. Of course humidity and wind are also big factors, along with several others. So I can only say we love to have WeatherWool compared to anything else. And you can send it back for a full refund after you test it for weeks or months. You might want to check out some of the material on our website relating to testing performed by Advisor Mike Dean. weatherwool.com/pages/mike-dean-tester-feedback/
THANKS ---- Ralph
Nice work brother.
They don’t make double Mack anymore
Yes it does appear that the weather wool is a better jacket. That said the filsons is $395, vs weather wool at $850, over double the price. Your comparing apples to oranges with the price point difference
Brought to you by WeatherwoolTM
The double Mac is $495. You are quoting the single Mac.
The double mackinaw is 650 now
I’ve found Filson to be cut boxy for me, I’m a skinny guy.
I had a double mackinaw Cruiser and returned it, so I have been considering this instead.
Can you tell me what the jacket size you have is? What your height/weight is?
I know that’s personal info.
But it would help me in figuring out sizing.
That's a great question. I don't mind sharing. 6'1'' 155lbs I wore Size M on the WeatherWool and size M-Long on the Filson. In general the cut is more form fitting on the WW. I like wool jackets a tiny bit long in the arms as wool does take up and shrink a bit especially when worn a lot in wet weather. Thanks for watching.
I'm fat. 250. I smell like french fries, cheese, and wool. Strange combination but whaevs yo.. --Gangsta Boo
Love the weather wool. What hat are you wearing?
Great review. What make of hat and glasses are you wearing?
Weather Wool needs to make a great coat.
Wool in pretty much any form is nice when it is wet and cold. Granted some is better than others. I wear Swandri from NZ. Just obtained a very heavy thick bush shirt that I wear under an archers shirt that came from Swanni too. The archers shirt is lined inside to about mid waist, is lite weight, but a very tight weave so it blocks the wind very well and sheds water like off a swan's back. Never have seen a bush shirt like the one I obtained made by Swanni. Truly a nice piece of kit and holding it up to the light there is no light coming through if that means anything. Good reviews though
May I ask your height and weight? For picking the right size.
Don is about 6'1", 160 pounds. He was wearing a Medium All-Around Jacket. Thanks -- Ralph
Great video man! Subbed!
I like your hat, what is it?
It's a Stormy Kromer waxed cotton cap! It's a good cap for spring and fall before the cold of winter.
Then you put on your Stormy Kromer wool cap!
Honestly wool is ok but synthetics have it completely beat for hunting / hiking imo. These thick jackets pretty much don’t allow layering. So your gonna get wet with sweat. Wool is pretty good when wet but it takes way longer to dry than nylon/polyester. Wool is fairly durable durable and it embers burn smaller holes it so that’s good. I’ll bring a thrift shop Pendleton for durability when I need it. But honestly some of the lightweight courdura shells would probably be tougher at this point. These coats are not practical for most and they cost about 2 times what would be reasonable. It’s more about the style and exclusivity I think. Don’t pretend that buying this stuff makes sense or Is necessary. It looks like great wool but it’s not worth a couple mortgage payments.
LoL!!!
Where did u get your hat ?
Good review have to disagree on the super scratchy feel of the Filson personally has not bothered me. Weather wool looks like a great garment but who can justify $800+ for one piece of clothing? That is beyond reasonable.
The cruiser and double mackinaw are also still made in the USA from American wool. For under 400. So this dude talked straight out his ass on that one. Some things are being made overseas tho like the jackshirt
@@herewegoagain8408 the double Mac is $495. If you can find it. Filsons inventory is scary low
@@herewegoagain8408 Filson assembles in America, but most of their wool is imported.
Do you know wool power products?
Enjoyed the review. Both Filson and Weatherwool are cut and sewn in the same factory in NJ.
I think only a fraction of Filson is sewn in Jersey. Most of our garments have been sewn in Jersey recently.
Would it make sense to use this in lieu of down jackets for the insulation layer? Thinking about this as my insulation layer and using a waxed FJ Skogso for the shell.
Hi Michael --- Sorry for slow reply ... You usually wouldn't need a shell over the All-Around Jacket ... extended heavy rain or high winds can call for a shell but the wool stands alone (over the right base layers) in the great majority of situations. Not familiar with Skogso. THANKS for your interest and feel free to phone me anytime! --- Ralph (973-761-1776)
You clearly like the weatherwool quite a lot, but you almost come across as more bias than knowledgeable. I think I would be careful if I were a consumer watching this video. It also doesn’t help that the weatherwool people posted your video on their website. Almost seems like you might be affiliated or compensated in some way...
The porous nature of the wool doesn’t necessarily mean what you say it does. More porous means it is capable of more absorption before it becomes soaked through. This is also an important quality.
The proof is in the fabrics. Gauze like light transmission through supposedly "heavy" Filson Mack fabric tells me me a lot.
The Filson is more breathable therefore no sweat. If the Filson wool is too harsh on your skin maybe try something made of fleece, I hear that it’s nice and soft.
@faultroy Seriously, Faultroy? You really want to call names? Brainless, stupid, moron, etc. ...
Hi Ben Harper --- Don is affiliated with us. He is an Advisor, and you will find him featured on our website ... He wears WeatherWool because he favors it. Don's role with us is to help us improve our products by testing WeatherWool in every way we can think of. When he posts a video or makes any other public statement, we have no control of it. Our agreement with Don requires that his communications with us and everyone else be always completely open and frank and never misleading. His only compensation is the wool that he chooses to wear. Thanks for your interest.
How wool gets wet is a very strange thing. There is a lot of info on our website about it ... but really, reading will only take you so far. The only way you will really know is to get out in the weather! .... Remember, if WeatherWool fails your field test, just ask for a full refund. (Virtually nobody wants a refund.) ------- Thanks for your interest! --- Ralph
At first this was s little confusing, especially given the whole "subjective versus" tone not so subtly woven throughout the video. But the incessant replies here seem to clear things up. I get the point now, thanks.
You didn't touch on sizes run small or large what's your height and weight what size weatherwool did you get.
The body fit of the WW is correct and slightly long in the arms which fits me very well. The Filson was ordered Medium - Long.
Cool video. Tell me about that hat.
I see more tailoring and comfort with WW, but you say nothing about a warmth test or durability test. Which garment will best weather the winter. Based on your video, at this point I would by two Filson for the cost of one WW. I wonder if maybe the softer wool of WW might less of a wind barrier.
If you watch the sunlight test of the WW vs the Filson you can clearly see the Filson fabric is incredibly porous. WW is much more wind resistant.
The WW fabric is tighter woven, and it is loftier, it is not easy to show that on camera, it is also not easy to show a warmth test on camera. In my testing the WW is slightly lighter weight yet warmer than the Filson.
Both garments are incredibly durable.
Then your argument is one type of weave vs another.
@@tramontane3239 No, weave of the WW is better, so is the overall design and cut.
Wind resistance is a design choice. Wool garments can resist however much wind as the makers desire. I chose to stop a wind of about 15 mph (25 kph) with our FullWeight Fabric, which is what the All-Around Jacket is made from. This is simply a design decision based on balancing wind resistance with breathability. A 15 mph is a pretty good wind ... and normally there will be additional wind resistance provided by whatever is worn under the AAJ. In our case, finer wool fiber and specialized weaving techniques enhance performance and toughness. Thanks --- Ralph
FYI: You're somewhat wrong about Filson's manufacturing. The solid color wool is imported, the plaid wool is still entirely USA manufactured.
The point I see is that the WW is a tough wool of soft hand and woven to higher standards - tighter, improved weave, than anything that comes from the historic Pendleton Mills that have, like Filson, become slightly less in standards than their former goods. I live close to the mills and know their products.
If I wanted a lifetime wool jacket, without itch, broke in right out of the box, tight against wind and rain - like my comfort and life depended on it...I'd save my nickels, dimes, pop bottle coins, garage sale and Christmas money for a WeatherWool (a lifetime investment) and I'd buy maybe one size up as protection against personal genetic expansion as seen in my parents! PS..I own a Filson mac, but I'd love a WW.
@@barbedstar6480 lol, love the "genetic expansion" part.
@@davealincoln True that! Micro genetically inching out of beautiful old Filson coat as we speak!
Is the Filson price still accurate?
I think its changed in the years since this comparison
What hat are you wearing , and your thoughts on it ?
S A B O T A G E stormy Cromer!
This review brought to you by Weather Wool.
I saw Nicole use a Mackinaw Cruiser in Alone Season 2 and she seemed to have nothing but positives to say about it and she used it for the entirety of her being out there, 2+ months in a cold rain infested area.
Idk, this kid doesn't seem like he knows what he's talking about. He also said Filson doesn't make American products but they do, their Mackinaw line is U.S. made. And they are very transparent of what is made in the U.S. on their website and what isn't. I recently picked up a flannel shirt from them for a steal of a deal on eBay and while I can't say it is worth what they charge and it's not made in America, there is no doubt it's a quality made item.
I believe Don was referencing that Filsons wool is imported. They import a lot of their fabric from England now as the American textile industry is a shadow of its former self. Weatherwool goes to great lengths to make their fabric here. I have A LOT of Filson gear. It’s good stuff, but it isn’t Weatherwool. Pretty easy to knock what you haven’t tried.
@@JimLBon I could've sworn Filson wool is made at Pendleton mills?
I believe it is, but of imported wool. The Filson ‘Seattle’ wool is US made at Pendleton to the best of my knowledge. I’m pretty sure the Mackinaw is coming from Europe. Not that it matters, it’s great wool. If you’re fortunate enough to live near a Filson outlet like I do you can get great gear for extremely reasonable prices. But, I still prefer my Weatherwool. It’s got a more modern cut, it’s more technically minded and the fiber is just better. I have an All Around Jacket on order to potentially replace my double Mac. I also have their hoodie and anorak. The best Filson wool I have is great wool, but Weatherwool is in another league and is priced accordingly.
@@JimLBon Mackinaw wool comes from the USA, Pendleton mill. It says right on the tag Made in USA. If the wool was imported it would say Made in USA with imported materials.
Thanks Donwin.
Interesting subject
Filson Double Mack $396 (spendy), Weatherwool All-Around $850 (that's just fuckin' crazy).
Great review. Couldn't agree more about Filson. They quit trying. Shame really.
I preferred the Filson.
You sporting a Stormy Kromer Cap!
I have to be honest.
A good old British Donkey Jacket sounds about as good as either of those.
All the best.👍🏾🇬🇧
which hat are you rocking?
See video info!
@@OnTheScout thanks, I was actually asking about the rimmed one
@@OnTheScout 1:19
@@Ryezn5057 Stetson 10x in Silverbelly reshaped to be flat brimmed.
Not sure you wish you could afford jackets like that still looking for a War 1 or 2 field jacket that's pure wool
Stormy Krommer has the best wool mackinaw.
Excellent and helpful review. Thanks !!
It’s great ( also sad) to see that that my mid 1930s woolrich mackinaw jacket is better made and thought out than this filson jacket.
A wool garment that is closing in on 90 years old and still rockin' ... How great is that!!
Well aren't u a special son if a gun, ian.
Not really a fair comparison is it when 1 product is almost twice as expensive as the other. Why no one seems to be mentioning this is surprising.
Because a lot of us are pursuing the finest product out there. $900 vs $600 is incremental if that means obtaining the best.
01:26 "Sheep to shepherd...all components...pure American"
...01:39 "imported from overseas"
Yes, the first line is referring to WW, the second is referring to Filson.
I'd still go filson
All Filson Mackinac Wool Cruiser are 100 percent made in the US.
Very nice jacket Filson has very small pockets won’t even hold a pair of gloves
Granted, you're comparing coats at two entirely different price points. So you'd expect the WeatherWool to be much better.
For me, I have a bit of experience with WW and a lot with Filson. The wool WW uses is substantially better in every way, nobody will ever be able to debate that.
That said, I think Filson has a better overall design and looks better. I'd buy a Mackinaw Cruiser made with WeatherWool fabric in a heartbeat...
Can’t believe Folsom is made overseas. End of an era
The Filson I reviewed was USA made of imported wool.
Being able to see sunlight through the Filson wool lets it breathe, keeps in body heat without getting clammy. Yea, Filson has gone to the city style. The beauty about their mackinaw cruiser coat is the simplicity. I’m sure the weather wool is ok , just made for different use.
Wow
You got a thumbs up bud.
i like it
CRAP! Now I know I need a weatherwool coat.
Good lad.