Varusteleka Särmä TST Woolshell Jacket - Initial Review

[Optimist]

I picked up a Särmä TST Woolshell Jacket from Varusteleka with some Christmas money this winter. I've been wearing it when snowshoeing and shoveling for the last few months. This isn't a long-term review but I've used it enough times to have some decent first impressions.

I got the one in gray/black:


I like the jacket. It's a good weight for exercising in. If you're working hard you'll probably still need to take it off. It's lightweight enough that if you're barely working you'll be too cold if it's below freezing and it's your only layer. This is really a coat that needs to be part of a layering system (especially with the zippers, to be discussed later) but that's normal for working in the cold weather. Of course perceptions of what coat is right for what temperature vary widely based on the individual.

The reason I was attracted to this jacket was that it was wool but had some nice modern features, including pit zips for ventilation and reinforced areas on the shoulders to keep backpacks from wearing out the wool. I can't stand hardshells except on windy or very rainy days. I hate the clammy feeling they give me. Wool jackets are much more breathable which is why that's pretty much all I wear. This one is definitely breathable, but being wool and relatively thin it definitely need to be layered with a windbreaker if the wind starts picking up.

The pit zips do help with ventilation. It's nice to be able to open up the jacket more without taking it off. It can be a hassle to frequently stop and take my backpack off in order to stow away a jacket or pull it back out. The chest pockets are quite large and their interiors are mesh so they also help with ventilation.

The zippers are one thing that's not the best about this jacket. They are a little on the small side, and so are not as easy to pull. The chest zippers are fine, and the main zipper down the middle of the coat is okay. The pit zips are the problem ones. It might be because they have to zip and unzip through a weird angle, but they bind up a lot. Raising my arm straight up into the air makes it work better. I just recently attached a pull to the zipper and that makes it a little easier as well. I hope that with time they'll break in and get easier, as the whole reason for them is convenience.

One reason this jacket needs to be part of a layering system is that the pit zips don't have any sort of inner liner covering them (I imagine that would make them even more likely to bind) and so if you wear short sleeves the metal touches bare skin and it's not the most pleasant feeling although far from unbearable. In a jacket for snowshoeing and other such activities this is fine as I just always wear long sleeves. Not as great for a main everyday jacket as I wear a short sleeves to work fairly frequently. The wool isn't scratchy at all though, so that is nice.

It has a somewhat unusual arrangement of pockets in that it doesn't have the standard two chest pockets up high and two hand pockets down low. The chest pockets are large and in the middle, while there is a small pocket on the shoulder of each sleeve. This is so that you can still access your pockets while wearing a backpack, and it works for that. The chest pockets are large, but the zipper doesn't quite go all the way down which is nice so if you toss small objects in and leave it unzipped they aren't as likely to fall out. The pockets are mesh lined which helps with ventilation and also helps keep whatever is inside them warm from body heat. I haven't really used the shoulder pockets for anything yet. One small thing that might have been nice is either a grommet near the top of the mesh pocket liner or a small inner pocket or two to keep electronics and be able to route the cord up and through the jacket and out the collar. I frequently keep my mp3 player in the inner pockets of most of my winter coats, and it would also be good for a remote battery pack or maybe a radio.

The hood is big, which is good for me. My head is enormous and with a hat on it is a great fit. It doesn't fall into my eyes even without a hat, which has been a problem with some other hoods. Like I said, my head is unusually big, so YMMV. The hood and hem both have shock cord drawstrings to help keep drafts out. The sleeves on the other hand use velcro adjust the cuffs which takes more time than elastic but I'm guessing will last longer.

Their are reinforced sections on the hood, shoulders and elbows. These are made out of cotton. Cotton is a weird choice, I'm guessing they were going for all natural materials and maybe breathability? It hasn't been an issue so far, but I kinda wish they had just gone with nylon. They suggested people use fabric wax to waterproof it if that was a concern. I got some of the wax, but haven't bothered to apply it yet. The elbows contain little pockets for inserting elbow pads. At first I thought this was weird since snow is soft, but then I remembered if someone was running around on ice a lot having some elbow pads might be a good idea.

Overall I like the jacket, with a few small complaints, but one thing I'm not sure about is longevity. I'm not sure about the mesh pocket linings or the small zippers. The loop for hanging it feels kinda flimsy. The material of the coat itself, while nice and soft, also looks to be made out of a felt like blankets are made of and not a woven material like my other wool coats. I'm not sure how that will hold up. On the other hand Varusteleka has a mostly good reputation, so I'm hopeful.

I thought it was a pricey jacket, but then I looked at how high the price of other wool coats has climbed and $239 really isn't bad at all. Here's a link to it: https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/sarma-tst-woolshell-jacket/59958

[Moab]

These remind me of the Russian military suits. But they are tight linen iirc. But less expensive.

You might try lubing the pit zips. Chapstik works. Plastic YKK pit zippers on my USMC 300wt fleece jacket chill the hell out of me too. When wearing short sleeves. Those are a bargain! Very thick very warm fleece for around $50. Even used they are bullet proof. They run really big.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/364851294109?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=yUzW52gnSq-&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=OOH5b8UqSIO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

My review:

https://ufozs.com/smf/index.php?topic=763.msg15249#msg15249

[Optimist]

You might try lubing the pit zips. Chapstik works.

I'll give that a shot, thanks for the tip!

[majorhavoc]

Thanks for the review.  I do like the idea that it's a technical jacket made primarily of wool.  You don't see that too often these days.  Agree longevity is a question mark.  With a retail price like that, you need to look at it as an investment and would expect it to last.  Feel free to do a longer term follow up!

Nice to see that company gives a shout out in support of Ukraine and identifies some worthy avenues for people to contribute.  Plus, it looks like the company has some fun, at least on their Facebook page.

[Moab]

The knives they sell are world class and inexpensive.

I like wool too. Very much.