I'm looking for a wind shell that would be parka length and don't have coating or membrane, to be used as a thin foldable wind shell roomy enough to be put over separate insulating layers such as a down liner vest and thick wool sweaters to be used in dry-cold situations. A cotton-nylon blend (sateen) fabric that sheds the snow, break the wind and breathe. I can't really seem to find this in store, it's either a parka with its insulation built in, or a rain parka that doesn't breathe enough, or it's not long enough. So I was looking in the military and found out about the fishtail parka (shell):





A modern version in Gore-Tex:



From wikipedia:

"The coat is longer at the back than it is at the front, so that the coat can be tied around the upper legs for added waterproofing"

From http://www.fishtailparkas.com

"The fishtail was designed to be tied around the legs for extra insulation. The fishtail parka rear drawstrings also benefited airborne divisions as when jumping out of planes it could be tied so not to flap up and about."

It sounds like an interesting idea. So how exactly would they properly tie those peculiar protruding triangular tails?

Hi Frankie,

The fishtail parker, wow thats a blast from the past. Most Mods used to wear fishtail parkers with roundels stitched on the backs riding Lambretta Scooters festooned with rear view mirrors in the 1960s through to 1980s as they smashed up sleepy seaside English resorts fighting the rockers. Ah great days. Images of Paul Weller and the Style Council from the early 80s and The WHOs 'QUADROPHENIA Love reighn O'er me' come to mind. If your going to get a fish tail parker don't forget to get the Lambretta and the stitch the roundel to the back as you ride your scooter over the White Cliffs of Dover.

Frankie: you secure the left rear elastic cord to the left front elastic cord and then the right side as the left...pull them snug around the inner thigh the tie off in a bow or quick release knot also secure the waist cord to help trap the warm air...or you can snap up the rear tie's out of the way with the male and female snaps provided...over all with the nylon liner,it's not really that warm(at least for me)...remember you have to wear cold weather clothing under the parka for it to be real effective...vince g. 11b inf

Hi Frankie,

If your looking for a wind shell made from natural fibres then Ventile of Cotton Garbadine is possibly what your looking for,

http://www.hilltrek.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_Braemar_Single_Ventile_Windshirt.html

http://www.west-winds.net/ventile_jackets.htm

or the SAS smock from

http://www.sasskit.co.uk/

Hi Am Fear Liath Mor,

I'll see what I can get in L 19 Ventile®. The jackets from the links are pretty close to what I'm looking for.

So the fishtail feature doesn't work that well?

Frankie

It doesn't seem to be readily available yet, all the Ventile outer layers I found when googling are from the UK and they seem to be not inexpensive, but that's exactly what I had in mind, and I'll keep an eye on this alternative.

Actually Ventile® looks like a recent version of Grenfell Cloth, from Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell, a British medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador. He said "That you could not keep a statue warm by putting a fur coat on it. - Clothing must be windproof but must breathe."

Here's the story:
http://www.haythornthwaite.com/GrenfellWeaving.htm

It’s also impervious to sparks from a fire, another important benefit for a survivor.

I feel that the ideal would be a Ventile or Grenfell Cloth type of outer layer over a down vest and layered wool commando sweaters for the upper body, and 28oz Codet Woodsman wool pants with suspenders for the lower body.

If you want breathable and windproof and waterproof try the Paramo brand.

I use it. Its beats Gore-Tex hands down.

www.paramo.co.uk/