Submitted by Eric Daniel
My ex-wife hated it. My current wife hates it. My Mother hates it. I love it. What I'm referring to is my Filson Model 63 double logger jacket.
For those of you who have never experienced a Filson jacket, there really isn't anything else out there that compares. Filson jackets are about as old school as they come (C.C. Filson began selling their tin-cloth garments in 1897.) Made from oil-treated cotton (referred to as tin cloth) the double logger is simply a beast when it comes to putting up with use and abuse in the field. I purchased mine right after moving to Washington in 1995 to start working as a wildland firefighter for the USFS on the Wenatchee NF (in the above photographs the one on the left is a new model 63, while the one on the right is mine, still going strong after 10 years of field use.)
The Model 63 was a perfect replacement for my FS issued brush jacket and served as a good substitute for my Army issued gortex jacket. While the tin cloth is technically not waterproof, the treated cotton cloth is VERY water resistant (water doesn't run off the cloth, it bounces) and I do not recall ever getting wet underneath. Moreover, it is quite wind resistant, which allowed me to get by with just a nomex fireshirt underneath to keep warm on the line (yes, it does snow on the fireline.)
Refinishing the coat is accomplished by re-applying finishing wax, which you can purchase from Filson, and the few tears and holes I've gotten in the jacket were easily repaired by getting a replacement square of fabric from Filson and having a patch stitched in.
If only there were some way to get my wife to like it it'd be perfect....
