Earlier this spring I purchased a sailing vest from Harken Sport off of their website. I thought I would let you know some of my thoughts about it. It is extremely well made, with what seems like high quality materials throughout. There is a full length zipper enclosing the front, two deep pockets to keep your hands warm and another chest pocket for whatever you may want to keep handy. All the zippers have what Harken calls “zipper garages,” these help to keep the zipper tabs from flapping about. Especially nice when you have the stand-up collar zipped all the way to your chin.
The arm holes fit quite snuggly around my arms to help keep drafts and I suppose water out. It is lined with fleece for warmth and the shell is water repellent, with what they call a Durable Water-Repellent finish. In general the vest has an almost tailored fit. I wish it had a loop at the top on the back so that you could hang it to dry or put away. I bought the red and gray model and find it striking, my wife likes it as well.
Unfortunately, Harken has chosen to discontinue this model, but if this vest is any indication of the quality of the rest of their line of sailing performance wear, I would not hesitate to purchase more. I am also on my second year of using a pair of their Hydroflux Sailing Shoes and am very pleased with those as well. You can see my review at the above link.
Here you can see me wearing the vest on a recent sail to Martha’s Vineyard. I have no doubt that if it were not for this vest I would have missed the mooring line and most likely fallen overboard trying. Well maybe not, but the fact is, this is a well made and stylish sailing vest that I expect will give me many years of comfort when the wind and the spray of the water try to chill my old bones.
Being a manufacturer of polar fleece and softshell garments(SIERRA), it has always intrigued me why anyone would want a waterproof vest where blind Charlie can see that the wearer’s arms will get wet.
Speaking for ourselves we only do softshell in full sleeve garments. They are our fastest selling line whilst also being our most expensive.
Mel, Perhaps you have struck on why they have discontinued the vest and are offering a similarly designed jacket. For me, I was more interested in the wind-proof aspects of the vest for the chilly spring and late fall weather we have in Minnesota. If it also repels water too, then great. A company I worked for in a different life carried the Sierra brand of fleece, they were good garments too as I recall.
Capt. Puffy Pants,
I wonder if you had the same thought as I had the first time I put one of these on – Why is the zipper set up on the wrong side. I realised that the garment was designed by a woman with the zip for a male garment turned inside out rendering it for the fairer crewmembers. Wanting the jacket I purchased it and had a new zip fitted that does up in the reassuringly familiar way all my other ones do!
Yours, Happily Macho
I checked my vest to make sure and the zipper is on the same side as every thing I own, the zipper tab is on the right.