Barbour Game Parka: Everything You Need to Know
In the realm of outerwear, few brands exude the same level of heritage and quality as Barbour. Their iconic waxed jackets have been a staple in wardrobes for generations, offering both style and protection against the elements. Among their impressive lineup, the Barbour Game Parka stands out as a versatile and timeless piece that's perfect for the modern man.
In this blog post, we'll delve into the details of the Barbour Game Parka. From its classic design to its practical features, we'll explore why this jacket has become a coveted choice for those seeking a sophisticated and functional outerwear option.
Hi guys, Sam here from Michael Stewart Menswear, and welcome to another instalment of Barbour icons. This is the series where we take a deep dive into Barbour’s most timeless, classic and iconic jackets. Today we’re going to take a look at the Barbour Game Parka, this is a hefty piece of kit. So let me go through a few of the features, the details, and the composition, and tell you why this jacket needs to be in your winter jacket rotation.
What is the Barbour Game Parka Made From?
So as with any good Barbour Jacket, this is made from 100% waxed cotton, it’s going to be wind-proof, it’s going to be water-resistant. It’s going to keep you protected from the elements. It’s a nice hefty jacket but it’s not too heavy. One thing this jacket does have is it's packed full of details and features, some of which you may never even use. But it’s just nice that it's got it, it plays into the theme of this being a 'Game Parka' and you of see that hunting and that very outdoor, country heritage is inlaid into this piece.
The Feature of the Barbour Game Parka
The best way to approach this is to start at the top and work our way down. First and foremost you have a fleece-lined hood. This also buttons up to the top so you’re going to get maximum coverage and protection from the elements. The inside collar is a beautiful, soft faux suede as well which is nice, and warm around the neck and chin area.
Working our way down we have a contrast panel in sage. So the main jacket is olive but we’ve got a contrast sage panel to this off-shoulder and yoke area. Down the placket for closure, we’ve got the hefty brass Barbour double zip that we all know and love. Then that is covered by a storm placket with corozo buttons, which is a natural buttons made from a nut from Brazil. The Barbour logo is laser engraved into there as well for a nice little touch of detail.
On the sleeves, you’ve got cuffed adjustment with the same buttons and 100% real leather patches to the elbows. Working our way down, pocket-wise plenty of options. We’ve got two hand warmer pockets to keep you toasty and two lower pockets, which are helpful and have some interesting features.
How Practical is the Game Parka?
So on this side, we’ve got a place for your cartridges. If you were to take this jacket shooting, the inside pockets also come with a leather strap to hold that up. So you can quite easily access, and get to everything, you won’t be encumbered at all. On the other side, we have a concealed placket there with one pocket underneath the double press stud, which also has the Barbour logo embroidered. We have another big pocket as well, and the same leather strap to keep these up. So you're easy to access to get everything you need to get in a pinch.
Let's take a look at the inside, now you'll first notice that we have a nice contrast red inner placket there. It just adds a nice little level of detail on the inside. We have got the top half a nice warm pile of fleece, super toasty it's going to keep you warm through the winter.
And then the lower portion here has a various range of sort of velcro sealed pockets that run all along the back of both sides as well. Again super handy, these are the only internal pockets that this style has but you can just see how useful they will be. All in all, it's a heck of a jacket with a lot of features and details.
How Does the Barbour Game Parka Fit?
Fit-wise the Barbour Game Parka does come up slim, so my golden rule recommendation is to go up one size from what you usually wear. Now typically in jackets across the board for the most part I usually wear a medium. I'm a 38-inch chest, about 5, 10 and 75-78 kilos depending on what day of the week it is.
But that being said, the medium that I was wearing before we started to film this video was super tight, especially around under the arms, and across the shoulders, there wasn't much room for movement. I've sized up one to a large and I find that just over a t-shirt this does fit well. There is a little bit more room under if you want to maybe get a thin piece of knitwear under there as well but definitely size up one and you'll find the fit works pretty nicely.
In terms of adjustability, there are a couple of points where you can adjust the fit with these jackets. To the cuff, there are two button choices so you can have a slightly tighter cuff, and with it being a Parka. It has a sort of classic fishtail with an adjustable tab there as well, so there is a little bit of inner adjustment towards the back and towards the waist too.
How to Style the Game Parka
In terms of styling the Barbour Game Parka, although it does have a very obvious country, hunting, shooting sort of heritage, I do think just in general you can't go wrong with a good parka jacket, whatever the brand the Barbour one is as good as the rest - and it's super easy to dress up, I mean wear it with a Barbour shirt, draw in some of those classic greens, again something like a dark olive you can wear it with pretty much anything.
It looks good paired with jeans, maybe a denim shirt as well. It's super effortless to wear, and the practicality of all the pockets, the internal pockets. Whether in the city or the country, you can keep all your belongings close to hand and this will definitely keep you covered no matter the weather.
Things to Take Away
So there we have it, that is this instalment of Barbour icons. I think the Barbour Game Parka is an absolute classic, it's been in our collection for a good few years now, and as far as we're concerned it will remain there. It is a heft piece of kit which will see you through any winter with absolute ease. But what do you think?
Let us know in the comments, and get in touch we'd love to hear what you think about this fantastic jacket. Or if you'd like to shop this or anything else from our Barbour collection, you can head to our website or our Selby store. Until next time, we'll see you then.
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