FORLOH Expedition Series Parka Review: Amish Duck Down and 100% American-Made

The FORLOH Expedition Series Parka steps up because the 100% U.S.-sourced reply to the parkas of the north.

When it involves American-made outside merchandise, FORLOH goes all out. The Expedition Series Parka is not any exception. The firm prides itself on being “All-American,” and up to now, it appears to have stood as much as the problem. It isn’t straightforward to supply and produce every part domestically — and it definitely isn’t a budget solution to do it.

If you’ve ever looked for a parka for excessive outside circumstances, up so far, you’ve seemingly been directed towards a Canadian or Nordic-made product. Your choices have now come stateside.

But does this new excessive jacket reside as much as the long-established competitors to the north?

In brief: I used to be initially skeptical of this parka, however my skepticism rapidly shifted into reward. This hardcore jacket performs, and I used to be glad to eat some crow. I discovered myself grateful to have the Expedition Series Parka on my again when temps dropped and the world turned chilly.

FORLOH Expedition Series Parka Review

Expedition Series Parka Overview

The opening line on FORLOH’s web site description of the Expedition Series Parka just about sums it up: “Built for Greenland, designed for everyone.”

Essentially, this parka is the 100% U.S.-sourced and made reply to the ever-popular Canada Goose parka. At $1,195, it’s no low-cost purchase, however it’s cheaper than lots of its rivals, which isn’t a simple feat.

It’s a water-resistant, seam-sealed, three-layer, 800+ fill white duck-down beast. It is designed for the harshest environments. The down is sourced from Amish farms in Indiana and Pennsylvania. The remainder of the supplies are designed, sourced, manufactured, and put collectively domestically as effectively.

Available in each males’s and girls’s sizes, these parkas are patterned to both mix in or stand out out of your environment. With colours starting from Snowfall (white camo sample) to FORLOH Red (a real cherry pink), there’s a glance that can seemingly suit your fashion.

For those that take pleasure in an journey in hardcore environments, the Expedition Series Parkas are fitted with RECCO expertise, which means if there’s an avalanche, if you happen to get misplaced, if search and rescue come searching for you — so long as you’re nonetheless in your parka, you’ll seemingly be heat and be discovered.

The FORLOH Expedition Series Parka Test

Initial Impressions

I’m not going to sugarcoat it. When I first opened the package deal, I chuckled. The sample jogged my memory a little bit of one thing you may see in a ’90s-era hip-hop video. It was clearly too cool for me, for I’m not hip. But — with the intent being snow camo, it really works.

The different factor I seen instantly comes from the standpoint of the hunter in me. It isn’t quiet. This parka has fairly a little bit of swish-swish, paying homage to the parachute pants of my youth. Why am I caught within the ’80s and ’90s for this overview?

When it involves weight, this parka has some heft. It feels substantial. When I first put it on, I felt a bit marshmallow-man-ish.

That’s all to say that I used to be judging it harshly proper out of the gate. I really feel that’s solely honest once you begin a bit of outerwear that is available in effectively over the $1,000 worth level.

But my preliminary critiques rapidly turned null and void once I took the parka into the sector.

That dang factor performs.

In the Field

What a yr to check chilly climate gear, am I proper? I used to be lucky sufficient to get my arms on this jacket earlier than it was out there to the general public, and it occurred to be throughout some record-breaking chilly and Montana’s mountain lion season.

With the mercury hovering at what I’ve come to lovingly confer with as Cold AF and my trip being a snowmobile within the pursuit of meat, I totally anticipated the Expedition Parka to let me down. Cold turns into a complete lot colder once you combine motion, and we definitely don’t like to maneuver slowly in our pursuit.

After loading canine on sleds and heading into the white, I rapidly started to swallow the majority of my doubts concerning the parka.

Fit and Function

Listen — after having low expectations, I discovered myself in what most individuals would take into account unbearably chilly temps feeling completely comfy. The FORLOH Expedition Series Parka primarily created its personal little setting of heat and luxury. I didn’t really feel the wind or the chilly — one dang iota. Even with bluebird skies, doing 20 mph on a snow machine in sub-0 Fahrenheit temps is rarely nice. This journey was shockingly cozy.

The bulkiness of my first impression felt far much less so in the actual world. It really matches comparatively slim and doesn’t prohibit in methods I believed it could. Even with the lengthy minimize, the facet snaps permit for unrestricted motion on the waist if wanted and will be buttoned again as much as retain extra warmth across the bottom and hips.

After ripping round on a sled after which having the canine tree a cat, I did try and do some fairly vertical trekking via the snow within the parka — and deserted it a couple of hundred yards into the hike. It’s an excessive amount of parka for intense climbing, no matter temp. It spent a part of the hunt adorning a tree marked by a pin for later retrieval. Yes, it may be opened up — however the insulation is simply too hardcore, and sweating in temps this low borders on harmful.

When it involves the noise of the fabric, I finished noticing as soon as I used to be surrounded by the brap of a snow machine and the crunch of ice. Sure, it’s too noisy to elk hunt in, however that isn’t what it’s designed to do.

RECCO

I typically discover myself in the course of nowhere, and I are likely to put myself in conditions that may not be thought of the most secure by the common particular person’s commonplace. Even with all the brand new tech that I sometimes have in my pocket, there’s critical peace of thoughts figuring out that I’m traceable if the unthinkable occurs.

If I dump my snowmobile (which I typically do) and may’t get it going or am simply caught within the wilderness for no matter motive, a flyover can discover me with out recognizing me visually. An avalanche is a continuing concern, and figuring out {that a} piece of attire I’m sporting drastically will increase my odds of survival is a kind of perks that sits behind my thoughts once I head into the chilly.

I hope I by no means want it — however dangit, I’m glad I’ve it.

Final Thoughts

Every piece of substances has advantages and disadvantages. This parka is not any exception. The cons began out as critical doubts of mine after which waned. Aside from the associated fee, the parka is precisely what the corporate says it’s.

Pros

• Insanely heat
• Comfortable, Great match
• Does what it says it does

Cons

• Expensive (although comprehensible when contemplating the home sourcing and higher-priced competitors)
• Noisy (which now not feels all that intrusive)
• Might simply be too heat for some actions, no matter outside temps

Is it value it?

I imply — the FORLOH Expedition Series Parka prices greater than my first two vehicles mixed, although it’s nonetheless extra moderately priced than its Canadian counterpart. This isn’t a purchase order you make on a whim.

If you solely plan to put on it a couple of occasions a yr, it’s in all probability not value your dime…

However: If you’re going to be out within the brutal chilly for a very good chunk of the winter; you’re a winter predator hunter or an ice fisherman; if you happen to’re a backcountry winter hiker/skier/wanderer/snowmobiler; you name your self an arctic adventurer; or if you happen to simply have the scratch and need to not expertise an oz of chilly round you — this parka does the job, and it does it effectively.

This isn’t an funding to take evenly, however if you happen to’re an individual that wants gear that may stand as much as brutal circumstances, that is an choice I don’t assume you’ll remorse.

Check Price at FORLOH

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