The Relwen Windzip Jacket – Best in Class

In the blistering winter wind, are you keeping the cold out and staying warm? How about those days when the fall is just coming into the air? Is there a go-to jacket in your closet that is perfect for fall layers that doesn’t weight you down? If you’re looking into buying the Relwen Windzip Jacket, keep reading.

Below we’ll discuss what to look for in a jacket that can do both. Yes, they exist. There is a reason most men have a collection of coats and jackets. Jackets can bridge the gap from summer to fall, and from fall to winter. They can be layered throughout winter in most climates to keep out harsh winds. The perfect jacket can bring you full circle through spring before the summer heat sends them all back to storage. The Relwen Windzip Jacket just might make your wardrobe complete to handle any weather outside of the heat.

I’ll dive into what I believe to be the 5 most important factors when evaluating a jacket:

• Performance
• Cost
• Style
• Versatility
• Durability

Performance

It’s important to first decide what you intend to use a jacket for, or any clothing for that matter, when determining how it performs. What I mean is that a rain jacket isn’t going to typically rank high in performance for its warmth. Conversely, a down-filled parka will never perform better than a light denim jacket if your goal is to add a warm summer night option to your closet.

If you head over to Relwen’s website to read view the jacket you’ll note something interesting. The only place they mention ‘wind’ is…in the name of the jacket itself and when talking about the elastic cuffs on the sleeves and hem. I find that hard to believe for one reason. I’ve never owned a jacket that was better at keeping a cold, blistery wind from getting in. Ever. If I were on the marketing team at Relwen, I’d be SURE to highlight the fact that their combination of materials and weave do this better than all other jackets somewhere other than in the name. But I digress.

What almost seems like a side note is the details. The chest-located tech pocket is the perfect size for holding a smartphone, your favorite EDC item, wallet, or keys. What’s more, the jacket features elastic cuffing and hem to help seal out the wind and cool air.

So what is this jacket for? Or better yet, who is the Relwen Windzip Jacket for?

At Everterre I believe in maximizing any clothing or gear’s use as much as possible. This jacket is incredible for an everyday wear. I’ve worn it commuting to work. For context, I take a ferry across a windy harbor in the dead of winter. This means walking from my truck to the ferry line at 5am if it’s 10 degrees with a wind chill below 0. With the proper layers and accessories, I’ve managed to stay warm during that. Once I’m in the city, I’m on a bike to the office. It doesn’t have to be windy for a cold morning to feel windy on a bike. Yep, checks that box too.

I wear this on morning and evening hikes throughout fall, winter, and spring. To the beach on an early morning surf day before switching into my winter wetsuit in the Northeast. I’ve even worn it under my waders while surf fishing. This jacket does it all for me.

Find the sweet spot

Relwen lists the temperature range from 35-50 degrees, while it’s certainly perfect for that, I’ve worn this jacket from 60 degrees over a t-shirt down to 10 degrees layered over multiple merino wool shirts, gloves, hat, and a gaiter. It’s truly been a pleasure to see this thing in action across all conditions outside of the heat. The only time I try my best to avoid wearing it is in the rain. I have dedicated rain jackets and coats for that which are better and repelling water or snow. I have accidentally been caught in light rain a few times and it faired just fine, but don’t expect it to bead water or really repel moisture all that much.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that I’m not saying if you wear only a t-shirt underneath that it will keep you as warm as a bulky down parka. I’m saying that with proper layering, which I’m a firm believer in when dressing for the cold, this subtle jacket can take on the cold no problem.

Cost

You’ll have to hear me out on this one. I’ll get right to it – the Relwen Windzip Jacket is a $268 jacket at the time of this writing. That’s no easy decision in today’s inflation-dominated world, let alone when comparing to the thousands of options on the market. So is this even in the realm of final choices? My take: yes. Yes, it is.

Here’s why. Whenever I’m buying a piece of clothing or accessory I ask myself one question first: ‘How often am I going to use this?’ That simple question is geared to answer one thing: what is the cost per wear of this item? If you’re looking at a Tom Ford tuxedo that can run you over $5,000 how does that look? Well, if I attend 5 black-tie events in the next 5 years that would, let’s see if my math is still solid, $1,000 per wear. Seem reasonable? Not for my lifestyle.

How often can one man wear the Relwen Windzip Jacket? More than you would think.

Wearing a $100 jacket once each week during the 6 colder months after 5 years works out to about $0.83 per wear. Yes, that’s eighty-three cents per wear. Is that worth it to you? If it’s a decent jacket, it sure as hell is for me. In reality, it’s currently January in the Northeast and a day hasn’t gone by in the past 2 months (which wasn’t raining) that I didn’t wear this jacket. Let’s call that roughly 50 times. In just two months a $268 jacket works out to $5.36 per wear.

I’ve owned this jacket for over 2 years, I’ve worn it literally hundreds of times. It’s totally worth it. It’s a joy to wear. And guess what? It looks great….

Style

Did I mention the Relwen Windzip Jacket looks great?

The hardest decision I had to make about this jacket was which color to purchase. Currently there are 5 color ways: Ghost Grey, Bright Navy, Burgundy, Midnight, and Pine. Mine is Pine and I love it. It goes with jeans, most of my work trousers, or anything khaki colored. I wear it with any color pants other than green or something bright and colorful, which is almost zero items in my drawer full of pants.

I was very close to going with navy, but I simply had other navy jackets and coats and almost nothing in any green outside of a light chore coat that is for a bit warmer weather. Which brings me to the next tenet…

Versatility

I dress this jacket up to commute to my office over a button down shirt with navy or grey trousers, with jeans to the park or on a walk, and even with shorts at times. I wear it out to casual dinners, or to my father’s house to split firewood. I’ve mentioned I wear it fishing, I wear it to the grocery store. It never looks out of place. I even wear it into the woods to check out my hunting areas.

Not to jump back up to performance, but it handles briars, brush, and sticker bushes way better than I thought – though do so at your own risk. I don’t think it’s entirely meant for that. Another segue….

Durability

When I say it handles brush and briars well, I don’t mean as well as a wool field jacket or something meant for that. I simply mean that it has, in fact, handled that. Any time you have a nylon shell like this one you run the risk of tears and rips if you’re pulling yourself through sharp thorn bushes and the like. But again, it’s not meant for that.

When I talk about durability I mean a few things. For one, after hundreds of wears the color hasn’t even slightly faded. The high-friction and movement area like elbows, underarms, zippers, and buttons are all like new. I really mean like new. I don’t have a single area that jumps out at me that screams ‘worn’.

Zipping up The Relwen Windzip Jacket

Forgive the pun, I tried. The point is this jacket is one of the most go-to items that I’ve ever owned. That includes clothing, tools, and accessories. I’ve worn this more than any other article in the past two years, and it just plain works. It has done so well for me that I’m constantly checking Relwen’s site to see any new items that might fit into my closet. And that’s with knowing full well it’s going to cost me. Remember, with clothing less is more. I try to find items that I’ll wear constantly, are versatile, and will last for years to come. The Relwen Windzip Jacket checks those three boxes, as well as the 5 listed above.

You can pick this up directly from Relwen’s website or over at Huckberry. You’ll be glad you did.