Kit review: Snugpak SJ6 jacket

The lightweight Snugpak SJ6 jacket is both wind and water-resistant. It’s a lovely piece of kit to wear while walking on windy days both in rural and urban settings.

Disclosure: I was sent an electric blue Snugpak SJ6 jacket to facilitate this review. Some of the links and banners below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

The sleek exterior design of the jacket features fashionable herringbone ribbing that’s referred to as ‘textured side panelling’ by Snugpak. It has a fold-away hood that seals within the coat’s high collar using a Velcro strip.

The ‘SJ’ in the naming convention of this piece of kit stands for ‘Softie Jackets’. Those initials refer to the comfy feel of the clothing rather than the men and women who wear them. Snugpak clothing has been worn by British military personnel in every theatre of deployment since the Falkland Islands in 1982.

The two sizable exterior pockets have zips and are in a comfortable position for hand-warming should you leave your gloves at home. The interior breast pocket is large enough to easily carry a paperback book and also zips up, meaning you can carry important documents safely.

This range of clothing is designed for wear in winter and on chilly spring and autumn days. The Snugpak SJ6 jacket is designed to be comfortable at a temperature of -5°C down to a low of -10°C:

I first wore my jacket on a chilly December evening on Seaburn Beach in Sunderland. The wind was whipping inland off the North Sea causing waves to break over Roker Pier. Believe me, the wind chill and damp cold of such days can make the air feel colder than being on an Alpine ski-lift in sub-zero temperatures. Yet I was impressed by the wind resistance offered by the jacket’s Paratex fabric and liked the fact I could snuggle my chin into the collar.

The jacket is both light and warm meaning I had no qualms in choosing it as my main outerwear for a trip to the Christmas markets of Berlin, Germany.

The specifications of the jacket

Six sizes of this jacket are available, ranging from extra-small (XS), weighing just 690 grams, to double extra-large (XXL), at 930 grams. I ordered the extra-large (XL) version of the SJ6, which weighs in at 870 grams.

The jackets come with a stuff sack, enabling them to be compacted for transport in baggage without running the risk of snagging the soft-feel material from which they are made.

The MML6 Softie Smock is a military version of the jacket with a camouflage pattern:

I have the red version of the jacket. They are available in seven different colours, including two different styles of camouflage plus olive and black. The military versions of the jacket feature Velcro patches for insignia.

The Paratex Micro exterior of the jacket is soft to the touch but hard wearing and water repellent. The interior is lined with a lighter version of Paratex fabric, which helps move moisture away from the wearer’s body.

The sleeves have thumb loops plus internal gathering around the wrist, maximising their insulation.

Three levels of insulation

Snugpak’s Softie Jackets series consists of three coats providing varying levels of insulation, from temperatures of 0°C down to -10°C. Durable Softie Premier insulation, also used in sleeping bags, lines the jackets.

The SJ3 is insulated for comfort at temperatures of 0°C and is the lightest of the three jackets in the series. The SJ9 jacket has an insulated hood and is the warmest of the three jackets, designed for comfort in temperatures of -10°C:

A quality piece of kit

I genuinely feel good wearing the Snugpak SJ6 jacket. I like the look of the coat and think it offers decent protection from cold and wind.

It proved practical too. I found there was plenty of pocket space for my bits and bobs while out photographing the Christmas markets of Berlin. Carrying a backpack laden with 10 kilograms of photographic equipment did not leave any marks on the jacket’s surface.

All told, the Snugpak SJ6 jacket gets a big thumbs up.

Further information

Find out more about the features and specifications of the Snugpak SJ6 Jacket on the Snugpak website or by calling +44 (0)1535 654479. You can order clothing and outdoor equipment – including tents, sleeping bags and rucksacks – directly from the Snugpak site.

Snugpak SJ6 Jackets are manufactured within the United Kingdom. Snugpak’s factory is based within the Waterloo Mills at Silsden in West Yorkshire.

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