I'm looking for recommendations for a jacket to buy, for when out walking the dogs through the Winter.

I want a jacket as opposed to a coat, ie not long length.

Wanting to pay around £50-100.

Want it to be waterproof, don't mind if its bulky or thinner, cos I don't mind wearing more/less layers underneath.

Any recommendations would be great :-)

I've had multiple coats over the years and I'd recommend buying the best you can get - but buy secondhand to keep the price down.

* Paramo are excellent for warmth and waterproofing but aren't exactly thornproof if you have to negotiate overgrown gateways etc.  V expensive, even secondhand ones but I love mine in the cold and wet.  Some of their colours are ghastly but I have one in green :)
* Berghaus don't last too long but are much cheaper (and it shows) than they used to be - not bad all round performance but I don't like their 'old lady' colours much - too much pale blue and lilac!
* Regatta are pretty poor and only seem to last a season or two even if you re-waterproof
* Have a look at Country Innovation - their stuff is designed for birdwatchers and walkers so the colours are great, they perform well for warmth and waterproofing AND they pretty hardy and resistant to brambles and mud.  I have coats, jackets, and fleeces from here and they tend to be the ones I go to for most weathers.
* Kathmandu are typical mountain/hiking type gear - bright colours for search and rescue - but well made and do the job.  I have a simple black jacket that I keep for town/shopping etc.  It's properly waterproof and doesn't get sweaty
* Rohan are excellent for a variety of walking kit.  I buy all my dog walking trousers from here (Striders and Roamers) and I also get thin fleeces and merino wool layers too.  I've not tried their coats

Coats and jackets are such a personal thing and length of body and sleeve is key (I can't get on with North Face, despite trying several styles, for instance).  I'd suggest you try in the shops and then have a look online to double-check the best price.  Go Outdoors is a good store for seeing a large selection and their prices are very competitive too.  Good luck

I have a Regatta jacket, one of these

It was my husbands fishing jacket, but he upgraded, so I nicked it off him. I've been using it daily for 6 years and apart from the slobber stains it's in great shape. I use it all year round. It is too big for me, but that works in my favour as in the warmer months, I wear it open and there is loads of space for the air to circulate and stop me getting too hot, in the winter there is plenty of room for extra layers underneath.
Never had a problem with it letting the rain in, other than if it is really heavy downpour, my thighs get soaked from the rain flooding of the bottom of the jacket, so I invested in some water-proof trousers, LOL.

Nice big pockets with a big 'entrance' to them, so I have easy-access to the cubes of cheese in one pocket and plenty of room in the other to put a bag of buster poop in without it scagging on the zip, LOL

I must say that eBay is great for jackets. My husband replaced this jacket with a snow-boarding jacket, with a retail price of over £150, he paid £10 on ebay and the jacket was as good as new!!!!

For out-door wind & weather-proof jackets, have a look through the fishing section on eBay. Carp fishermen camp out in some nasty weather so there is usually a good selection of jackets & outdoor wear there that you may otherwise miss (new & used).

Interesting, ... I'd never thought about the fishing jackets, I bought one last winter for my Brother so I should've thought about that.  I've mainly been looking at the equestrian sites so far.   Thank you.

A Barbour, rain just runs off, easy to re-proof (after a few years), buy a size bigger and wear a fleece underneath.

Have a look at Arrak jackets, which are specificaly designed for dog walking , more than you wanted to pay though.
[url=]. http://www.arrak.co.uk/Jackets/b/2640503031?ie=UTF8&title=Jackets    [/url]

Thanks, they're smart :-)   but I'm just not willing to pay that much.   I've forked out hundreds in the past to Musto and the like,  and it seems that you don't always necessarily get what you pay for :-(   

Keep 'em coming folks, lol!   Its all very helpful. 

Got my Regatta jacket 3 years ago at Blackpool show, still going strong :)  Have had to re-waterproof it for the first time in the last couple of weeks but its absolutely fine again now :)

I think the SuperDry are really good quality

I've just bought one of these http://www.waggitt.co.uk - at first I thought that it may be a bit of a novelty as you get your breed picture or similar on any of the jackets that you choose. Mine cost me £40 and is warm, waterproof and comfortable. It depends on how often a jacket is worn I suppose but mine will probably last me a while as it is good quality. It will certainly get weather tested, living where I do but so far, it is actually water proof as I got caught in torrential rain for 2 hours last week and although my legs were soaked, the rest of me was dry.

Hmm some of those look quite tempting I must say!

Oh yeh, I like the look of these hairypooch.  Novelty or not, I think it looks ideal to get me through the next 4-5 months or so.  Living in Scotland, it will definitely get weather tested and I'm always out for hours with the dogs so there is every chance I will get caught in a 'shower'.  :-)

I've had multiple coats over the years and I'd recommend buying the best you can get -

Fully agreed but £50-£100 might get a used, highly water resistant, but not a warm one for all but mild winter days. Used are non to easy to get if you want a really warm one.

Maybe if original poster ups their ceiling and helps recommendations by saying if they are talking about a 15-20 min walk around a city park or if they are up in the wilds of Northumbria & upwards & out for a couple of hours summer & winter alike or the 20 min round a southern city local park job it would help those who reply to give suggestions more appropriate to original posters needs.

Id we are in for long, windy, cold winter  then windproof, highly water resistant down jacket is really the only thing. Again, that really is not the needs of everyones dog walking but for others its essential.
.

I've bought lots of jackets/ fleeces from http://www.mountainwarehouse.com/ always pop in when I am in town
Had one of these for over a year and it's great for both summer or winter
http://www.mountainwarehouse.com/womens/jackets/womens-3-in-1-jackets/storm-3-in-1-waterproof-womens-jacket-p2607.aspx?ism=0&cl=PURPLE

My favourite has to be a water resistance/windproof fleece that really does what it says
http://www.mountainwarehouse.com/womens/fleece/womens-fleece-jackets/tornado-womens-fleece-p6728.aspx?ism=1&cl=DARK%20PURPLE

I have the Mountain warehouse jacket (the first link you gave) and it's a really nice jacket and looks smart too. Not worn it out in horrendous weather as I tend to keep it for best rather then daily dog walking, but have worn it on the east coast in a cold howling gale and it was nice and warm.

> Living in Scotland, it will definitely get weather tested and I'm always out for hours with the dogs so there is every chance I will get caught in a 'shower'

I can vouch for its suitability then as I also live in "sunny" Scotland, hence the torrential rain test last week lol - mine is the parka, lovely and warm with fleece pockets and quilted on the inside, very good quality I would say. Just a warning, their sizes come up on the large side. I got what I thought would be good for wearing a thick sweater underneath and in actual fact I could probably wear 3 sweaters and it would still be too big but I don't really care what I look like when walking the dogs so it's all good.

I must be a right cheapskate. I wear a fleece if its cold and/or a waterproof primark jacket - £14 :-)

I must be a right cheapskate. I wear a fleece if its cold and/or a waterproof primark jacket - £14

Yes but whats your walking environment like & for how long, what sort of dog & whats its its needs? so many different variables decide individual needs.
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> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">so many different variables decide individual needs

a coat is to keep me dry and warm whilst holding some poo bags treats and maybe a toy or two. pretty much the same as most dog walkers needs i would imagine :-)

Thanks for everyone's recommendations.  Hairypooch - I think I'll go with that parka, based on what you've said, it just seems 'right' for me at the moment - and to be honest, I'm a sucker for the personalised touch, lol. 

Admin - feel free to lock/close this thread now :-)