[PublicEnemyNo1]

Good evening. Need a "birding" jacket. Obviously, as I reside near Sheffield, I would prefer it to be waterproof but then it all gets complicated. For starters, I dont want to spend much on it - £50 ideally, £70 tops - so that rules out Paramo and country inovations (this could end up being a short thread) but as lad I remember tagging along with my Dad in alsorts so these arent brands essential.

The options that I've find so far are regatta (cheap, some noisy Waxbill isnt) US army Goretex £30 from here http://www.worldofsurplus.com/ishop/...hopscr569.html or maybe a cheap army/para windproof smock from here http://www.strikeforcesupplies.co.uk/ or maybe one those Montane Extremes (or evelent) all-in-one jobs from, well, pretty much anywhere.

Heres the rub. I remember scratching and rustling my way through Holcomb pines as a youth wearing a jacket that couldnt have made more noise if I had been wrapped in bubblewrap and eating a packet of crisps at the same time. I dont really want to get snotty looks from all and sundry if the same thing happened again. Also not sure if noise from a jacket would make much difference in a hide (thinking when stuff gets up close).

So any opinions on the above or alternatives that would keep warm and dry for most of the year would be great.

[Vectis Birder]

Last year I bought a camo jacket which is made of quiet material and is showerproof. It is 3/4 length and has good big pockets for notebooks, sketchbooks, sarnies, etc. I got it from a local army surplus/camping store and it cost all of £12.

[Allen]

You could try one of these - one of the few makes I could find on the market with bellows pockets. They also do excellent client service/returns if you don't like.

http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/keela_ott...length_jacket/

[number6]

Parasmock and some Nikwax wash in waterpoofing (as per Paramo), gotta be worth a go .

[PublicEnemyNo1]

Many thanks for your input everyone. It appears that "quiet" seems a better bet than noisy camo. The keela looks an interesting option - not sure about the longer length thing, but a bit of googling leads me to beleive they do a regular option. That said, for hide hopping on most reserves through most sorts of environment, a "nikwaxed" para smock sounds good and maybe a cheapo w.proof in case it tips down. I'll no doubt spend alot of time on reserves as well - certainly till I find my feet after not holding a pair of bins in anger for the better part of 17 years !

[Nick-on]

Could try this, should tick all the boxes
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GERMAN-MILITAR...QQcmdZViewItem

I bought a Flecktarn goretex waterproof, also off e-bay, for about £20 last year and it's pretty quiet so you could try that if you are going to be out and about in a downpour (such as seem very common in the Sheffield area at the moment)

HTH

Nick

[Claymore]

Hi,
Check out this website, looks like decent prices?
http://www.armysurplusclothinglanark.com/
Cheers
Brian