I’d been looking at the Woolrich Elite Barn Coat for well over a year before I finally pulled the trigger and got one. With a few months of use past, it’s time to share my opinions of it.
I was drawn to the Barn Coat originally because of how happy I was with other Woolrich Elite products. Well made, good materials, well thought out designs. They were prone to going overboard with the pockets on the pants, but the Discreet Pants get the mix right. It’s hard to put too many pockets on a coat though.
The Barn Coat is a good 3 season jacket for those of us who live in less frigid climates. And by that I mean Virginia. Where I live. It runs true enough to size that I can wear a good fleece or thick sweater underneath the jacket to layer effectively. The canvas-like material is infused with some kind of water repellent to minimize absorption on rainy days. The sleeves are lined and stay pretty warm. The wrists have limited size adjustment.
The main thing that got me interested, besides the quality of construction, was the pocket layout.
The outside of the jacket has 6 pockets, the same setup on each side. A waist pocket, a flapped pocket and a zippered pocket are stacked on each side.
The waist pocket is quite deep, enough to stick my hands in past my wrists. The zippered pocket is nearly invisible as it is hidden behind the flapped pocket. The flapped pocket has a fake button closure, but it really closed by velcro. The inside of the flapped pocket is lined and has stitched in elastic loops for storage, similar to the 5.11 or Woolrich vests.
All of the pockets are decently sized. The flapped pocket is shown here with a Ruger LCP for size comparison.
Inside, there are MORE POCKETS. Two pockets sit up by the lapel, good for pens, wallet, business cards and such. Below that is a large pocket big enough to hide who knows what. I showed it with a G19 and AR magazine for a size comparison.
I like that it’s not too long. It hangs a few inches below the beltline allowing for easy concealment of whatever you have on your belt. (sorry for the lousy photo)
After a few months of use, there are things I would like to see changed, other things that I really like.
I really like the outer pocket setup. I can carry a lot of everyday stuff with this setup. The flapped pocket easily becomes a dump type pouch when you tuck the lid. The waist pockets are big enough and inconspicuous enough that if someone were inclined to try off body carry, they could easily do it.
I would like to see a bigger collar or perhaps even a hood. At the very least the collar should be lined if I want to flip it up for extra warmth. I don’t like the fake button on the flapped pocket. It looks dumb. I’d prefer a velcro type setup for adjusting the wrist sizing. It would adjust faster and easier, which comes in handy when the weather varies enough that you don’t wear gloves every day.
Overall I’m quite pleased with the coat, particularly since I got it at a nice price from Botach (where I get all of my Woolrich stuff, always on sale). At 50 bucks, this coat is a steal. I’ll be buying another for my Dad. I’ve had a few similar styles of coat, from LL Bean and various other brands, but none have had the combination of features and build quality this version has. Well done Woolrich.