Unfortunately I have only just read this post and would like to put up the case for the defence. I am amazed to hear that you have suffered a problem with our Traveller jacket as we have this fully tested for waterproofness. I am always extremely concerned when one of our customers isn't happy with a product and would have welcomed the opportunity to be able to have sorted this out at the time. Customer satisfaction is of utmost importance to us and we pride ourselves on our high level of service and quality products. Over the years we have had many many happy customers and I feel personally quite upset to hear this comment. I would welcome the chance to discuss this further.
Maria Chilvers
Country Innovation
By coincidence, I recently took the Country Innovation jacket out of the cupboard for a 10-day birding fieldwork trip, in woodland. I am now looking for a new jacket (hence revisiting this thread and seeing your post). The real problem with the jacket is the stitching and the studs, and I am astounded that this did not come up in thorough road-testing.
The stitching is not protected, so it snags on thorns, twigs, and gets abraded. This is a particular issue for the seams on the arms, and the stitching on my jacket is now fraying and has begun to unravel and pull out on one arm. This is after maybe 30 days solid use in total, over a couple of years.
The studs on the cuffs, collar and pockets are really infuriating. They have no backing at all. On this trip the studs on the collar actually gave me a painful rash (I'm not allergic to the metals, e.g. nickel), as when worn over a t-shirt the studs were constantly rubbing against the back of my neck for the entire day - it was bare metal stud rubbing against skin. This was made worse when wearing binoculars or a camera, due to the strap over the collar. The jacket was then impossible to use in the field without wearing some kind of collared shirt underneath, to protect my neck - not what I needed in humid spring woodland.
Similarly, the cold metal studs on the cuffs could only be kept from the skin on the wrist by using long sleeves. Another poor choice.
I also had to fasten every one of the many studs on the pockets to avoid them rattling with every step. Not very good when trying to do fieldwork and listening for bird calls.
Don't get me wrong, it has some plus points - it's a wonderful roomy fit, and the pockets are great, and apart from the rattling it's quiet - no rustling (one of the reasons I bought it). But it's just not fit for purpose as a fieldwork or birding jacket, as it is not robust enough (poor stitching/seams), and even ended up being painful and annoying to wear due to the studs.
Luckily, it didn't rain so I never got the chance to get wet.
I'm afraid that I can't recommend it as a birding or fieldwork jacket, and I don't think that I'll ever wear it again.