Winter is pretty much upon us. And any gentleman needs a nice, well-fitting winter coat. For cold days, a simple overcoat and perhaps a sweater will do the trick. For truly frigid temperatures, something more intense is needed. Ideally, you’d want a winter parka to be, of course, very warm, long enough to cover a suit jacket but not too long to look strange when worn casually, and have a nice, slim fit. Believe it or not, this is quite difficult to achieve. In our searching, though, the Alpha Industries N-3B Slim-Fit Parka Coat ($96-$200) comes the closest to ticking all those boxes, and for a pretty reasonable price.
Packaging & Experience
You’ll be getting this from Amazon, so all the benefits of Prime go along with it. Quick, easy shipping and returns. Nothing else to say here! The one down size? Different colors and prices are oddly, and randomly, different prices. Typical of Amazon, and can sometimes work to your advantage, while other times being quite annoying. A-
Style & Design
This is quite a good-looking winter coat. Often, winter coats suffer from being overly puffy, and just not very shaped. This happens to look, overall, quite nice. The design itself is also well-done, with details like a removable faux-fur hood liner (which, indeed, you should likely remove), bicep zip pockets, and a cool, bright lining on the inside of the coat, adding some visual interest. Beyond that, there is both a substantial zipper closure, as well as buttons on the placket. The length is spot-on, covering a suit jacket perfectly, while not being too long to look strange worn casually. This allows you to have just one, serious winter coat for all situations, which is ideal.
It comes in a bunch of colors, but we find that the navy, black, or grey will be the most versatile. However, many of the colors have a bit of a sheen to them, and we found this the least problematic with black, which was our favorite option. It’s a bit more expensive than the others, though, so bear that in mind. We wish these coats were less shiny-looking. Beyond that, though, the design and styling is on point. A
Quality & Construction
This is not, by any means, the most high quality coat on the market. However, it’s still solidly built. While it might not have any genuine down lining, everything about it is still quite substantial. The zippers and buttons are all thick, durable, and quality. The feel to the coat, overall, is quite substantial, and there is nothing about it that feels cheap. At the lower prices points, it’s a steal. At the higher price points, it’s just about what you would expect. Better than anything from Zara or the like, but not at all the level of Moncler and so on.
As for heat, it does a great job. It is super insulating, and wearing it inside, for instance, will induce sweating quite radpily. This should more than keep you warm in the coldest of temperatures. For skiing, one might perhaps want something more specific to the sport. But for a typical day to day, this can be your heavy duty winter coat, absolutely. A-
The Fit
(Note: I am 6’1” and 165 lbs. and usually wear a 15.5” / 34 shirt in a slim or extra slim fit.)
This coat claims to be a slim fit, something that seldom few winter coats even claim. Is it actually, though? In truth, the claim is dubious. It’s slimmer than many winter coats, in that it is not a garbage bag, tent-like tapestry billowing around your body. But calling this a true slim fit is difficult. I tried both a size Medium and Small, and the Medium was much too big on me, despite Medium Slim Fits usually being my go-to size in things like coats or sweaters. However, the size Small did fit me quite well, with perfect sleeve and torso lengths. The waist and chest was a nice, pretty slim fit, but the bicep area of the arms, as usual, I wish were substantially slimmer. For me, it’s a perfect balance, overall, between being slim, but still easily fitting a suit on underneath. In the photos in this review, I am wearing a double breasted suit underneath, and the jacket slipped on and off no problem at all. So, in the end, the fit is acceptable for a winter parka, though could be improved. B+
Value & Conclusion
Alpha Industries N-3B Slim-Fit Parka Coat — $96-$200: Look, here’s the truth. Despite, in our opinion, the winter parka being the ideal winter coat for truly freezing days, coats like this are hard to find. Most retailers offer standard puffer coats, too short for a suit, or topcoats, too lightweight for the dead of winter. A slim-fit winter parka, then, is hard to come by. This option, while not perfect, is thus far the best that we have seen. It’s solid quality, well-designed, ticks most all boxes, and fits well enough. Final Grade: A-