Rain or shine, the Florence Marine X Pertex Quantum jacket will keep you warm, dry, and comfortable. Photos: Lindquist
There’s a saying that I like, considering where I live: “There’s no bad weather, just bad gear.” My home is in a place where inclement weather is the norm for much of the year — rain, sleet, snow, and wind are the prevailing elements for the brunt of it, saved for a brief few months by the most spectacular summers that are made that much better by comparison — so I am a person who likes a good coat. And recently, I received a very good coat in the mail.
It came from the Florence Marine X team, who choose a handful of Florence Test Pilots for a program unlike any other in the garment business. In short, they pick a couple of people who apply to be test pilots, send them a piece of gear, get them to put it through its paces for a month or so, then hop on a call to discuss where they went wrong, where they went right, and what they could do to make things better. But they found that the program, while initially simply meant to get the public’s opinion on the gear they’re sending out to the world, turned into something else entirely.
“Florence Test Pilots began as a simple idea: get Florence gear into the hands of the community, gather feedback, and use that intel to make our concepts better,” said Shawn Grant, Director, Brand & Digital Experience at Florence. “But in the process, what started as a membership perk and wear-testing program has evolved into something much greater – real community.”
The program makes you feel as though you’re a part of the design process. My feedback (had I been able to get on the call with the Florence team — more on that later) could have a real, tangible influence on the product once it hits the market.
“It’s not everyday you can hop on a call with the youngest person to ever paddle from Molokai to Oahu, a North Shore lifeguard, and others from around the world, compare notes on gear, and then see your feedback directly impact the final product,” Grant continued. “There’s just nothing else like it.”
When I opened my Test Pilot package, it came with a personalized letter that explained exactly what the process entails. I was to wear the gear, test it out, and repeat. Along the way, document the process, take notes here and there, then report my findings back to the team at Florence.
When you become a Test Pilot, you get a letter explaining what you’ve got and what you’re supposed to do with it. Photo: Haro
I received the Florence Marine X Pertex Quantum Jacket, and I used it on an almost daily basis. Through rain and sleet and even a tiny hint of sun, I hiked in it, worked in it, and got blood all over it. The blood is why I wasn’t able to join the call, but it certainly made it evident that the weather proofing Florence Marine X used doesn’t just keep the rain out.
The day of the call, my dog came in from the yard with an enormous cut on his paw and leg that required 10 stitches, and since I was readying myself for the call, I was wearing the Quantum Jacket when he limped in. On the way to the vet, he sat on my lap and bled all over me. Three hours later, when we returned home, I simply wiped that dried blood off and the jacket was as good as new. Which, I think, says a lot about the quality of the jacket and the things you can do in it without worrying about ruining it forever.
So what makes the Quantum Jacket so great, aside from the blood-proofing? A few things come immediately to mind. It’s windproof — not in that ’90s windbreaker kind of way, but really and truly windproof. It’s also incredibly soft and, for how warm it is, weirdly light. The Pertex Quantum tech includes a tightly woven fabric with the finest of yarns that traps air close to your body, which warms it up. Because of all that air in the fabric, the jacket can pack down into a tiny little ball that fits into the smallest of packs, or a medium-sized fanny pack if you’re a fan of fanny packs.
Water resistant AND blood resistant. Photo: Florence Marine X
For a jacket that’s so soft and comfortable, it’s strangely durable. I can’t count how many times I snagged it on errant branches, and so far, I’ve only got a single, dangling thread to show for it. I did wear it in a full-on Noah’s ark deluge and found that it wasn’t as waterproof as a rubber rain coat, but even when soaked through, it kept me warm like a wool sweater does when wet. It’s so soft and warm that even when wearing it over just a t-shirt, the material is buttery soft enough to feel as though you’re wearing a comfortable old sweatshirt instead of a jacket.
What could they have done better? When I was younger, I had a jacket made by a company called K-Way. If you’re of a certain age, you might remember them. They were neon windbreakers that had a little zippered bag sewn into them. The coat rolled up into the bag and then strapped around your waist. Since the Quantum Jacket is so packable, I’d love to see something like that included. Another pocket or two would be handy as well.
All in all, though, Florence Marine X’s Pertex Quantum Jacket is a fantastic mid-weather coat that will keep you warm, dry, comfortable, and subtly stylish while you’re exploring the outdoors, no matter what the weather is doing. Because like I said, “there’s no bad weather, just bad gear.” Florence is not making bad gear… and they’re letting the consumer make it great.
