If you follow me on Instagram (and, if not, come on over!), you’ll know I do a lot of my Instagram Stories when I’m walking the dog. You might ask why and I guess it’s simply because I’m rarely disturbed when I’m walking, have time to think, and it’s also a time when I can’t do much else apart from listen to podcasts! It’s become a bit of a thing and I really enjoy sharing my walks with my Instagram followers. From cow based weather forecasts to cross sheep (as well as social media tips, tricks and lots else, obviously!).
Now, as much as I love walking, I don’t like getting wet. I really have to make myself walk in the rain. As in, every bit of me says ‘no, you don’t want to do that’ and 99% of the time (unless it’s a monsoon!) I’m out there. Walking. I’ve had good waterproof jackets before, but they always finish at, well, normal jacket length. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all. But my one ‘weakness’ in my waterproofing attire is my legs – and more precisely my thighs. I usually wear wellies or boots, so lower legs are sorted, my knees must be water repellent, but my thighs- they get soaked. Obviously one option is wearing waterproof trousers but there’s something about getting fully waterproofed to go on what should be a leisurely activity that doesn’t feel quite right. And takes a fair amount of time when you have an excitable (singing) trailhound dancing around your legs.
Let’s talk about the Joules Loxley Longline Waterproof Jacket…
So, when Joules offered to gift me a Loxley Longline Waterproof Jacket (scroll to the bottom to find out exactly what this means for this item), I was more than a little thrilled. I did have my reservations – mainly the length. Now, I’m tall. As in, I’m 6ft tall. So proper tall. And I was worried it would be short… although I actually have a ‘normal’ sized body, it’s just the legs. So while it might sit higher on me than on other people, it’s brilliant for me, but would also be great a little longer if you’re not my height. The arm length was another concern but I’ve found that ok too. There are some features I absolutely love though that I wanted to share in case you are considering a Loxley Longline Waterproof Jacket yourself…
- The lining. It’s a soft jersey and the navy coat I have has a lovely floral pattern.
- It’s surprisingly warm. It doesn’t have padding per se but the lining seems to do the job, and it’s also good because you can layer underneath it.
- The hood. I flipping love the hood. I have this thing with hoods. They never sit right. They either cover my eyes so I have to walk with my nose in the air to see where I’m going or they fall off. My previous ‘hack’ until now has been wearing a beanie or bobble hat underneath the hood as that tends to help. But it can get quite warm in there. This hood seems to have a little structure somehow and a slight peak, but it sits just right. So if you’ve been challenged in the hood department until now, I’d definitely test drive this hood.
- The drawcord. As I’ve said, I’m tall. I also have quite broad shoulder and quite wide hips. In the middle I’m not as wide. But some longer length jackets I’ve seen either don’t take this into account or are so fitted I would never dare order because the chances of me having that exact curve, I would say, would be pretty flipping slim. This one has an adjustable drawcord, you can make the curve suit you. How good is that?! Don’t get me wrong, I would take looking like a tent over getting wet thighs any day of the week, but if there’s a way not to look like a tent and stay dry, I’m down with that!
So that’s my take on it. I’m very grateful to Joules for the gifted item and you’ll be seeing me in it on Instagram Stories during the autumn and winter, I have no doubt. Here’s the link if you fancy a look.
Just a quick note. As I said above, this item was kindly gifted by Joules, as in I didn’t pay for it. However, Joules haven’t given me any guidelines as to what to say, when to say it – anything actually- I don’t have to post at all. Also, if you do purchase the jacket, the links above are NOT affiliate therefore I do not receive anything if you do purchase. I think it’s important to be clear. I’d also like to say that I would pay for this, I like it that much.
