Altra kit Mountain Parka

Posted on by Rob Drews

This Altra Kits of Boulder Colorado mountain parka is your quintessential parka and very comparable to other parkas of this era by companies like Class 5, The North Face, Holubar, Gerry and others.  Good weight to the parka due to the double layer throughout. Red 60/40 poly cotton shell with a  slightly lighter cotton blend interior in Tan. Two-way TALON heavy gauge loop tooth zipper in black. Velcro closure on the storm flap, hip pockets and breast pockets and inner pocket. Nylon draw cord cinch at waist and hood and at the waist.

This parka is in nice condition for its age. Clean fabric that shows little signs of heavy wear.  Some light staining on the back of the right sleeve and around the wrists.  No holes or snags. Washed and ready to wear.

Altra was one of the last to jump on the outdoor kit bus behind frostline and holubar.  This gear was sold as sew-at-home packages during the 70s and  80s and allowed people to construct high quality gear at a fraction of the price (if the purchaser was or knew a capable sewer of course). This piece in particular is extremely well sewn. Nice straight stitches, no breaks, they followed the pattern to the T.

Measures
23″ pit to pit
22.5″ pit to cuff
30 inches neck seam to cuff
29.5″ top of zipper to hem

Frostline Anorak Parka – Mens Large

Posted on by Rob Drews

Frostline Anorak Parka in Rust and Khaki. This parka is in good shape and is well sewn. Rust colored thread throughout the piece make for nice contrast on the Khaki. Great details around the front zip as the rust is carried up into the khaki. 65/35 Poly/Cotton shell or similar with full Nylon lining give this jacket nice weight. Talon zipper closure throughout.

Features:

  • Zip Kangaroo pocket
  • Separate pass-through front pocket
  • Nylon waist draw lace with spring cord lock
  • Velcro adjustable cuffs
  • 1/4 zip front
  • hood draw lace

The fabric on this parka is clean and in good shape, no holes or stains. Great contrast in colors from the yoke to the lower.

Measures:
24.5″ pit to pit
23″ pit to cuff
34″ neck to cuff
31.5 ” top of zip to hem

For those of you who may not be familiar Frostline was a Colorado based sew-it-yourself outdoor clothing kit company that manufactured a wide variety of products and styles beginning in the late 60s. The products featured innovative designs, materials and constructions and could be had for a fraction of the price of the leading outdoor companies if you knew how to sew (or could bribe someone who could).

Frostline 60/40 Mountain Parka

Posted on by Rob Drews

Classic Frostline Kit 60/40 parka. This is the quintessential parka of the 70s and probably the basis for multiple modern copies.  Good weight  due to the double poly/cotton layer throughout. Green 60/40 shell with a lighter cotton blend interior in Tan. Two-way YKK zipper in black. Velcro closure on the storm flap, hip pockets, breast pockets and wrist cinch. Nylon draw cord through the hood and at the waist. Zippered back game pocket and inner game pocket.

Frostline Kits wear sold as sew-at-home packages during the 70s and early 80s. This allowed people to construct high quality gear at a fraction of the price (if the purchaser was or knew a capable sewer of course). This piece in particular is extremely well sewn.

This parka is still available, please contact for price and details.

Holubar Mountain Parka

Posted on by Rob Drews

Original Holubar Parka from Boulder Colorado. This jacket features classic styling comprised of materials and craftsman ship that was top of the line in its day. It has clean lines that were innovative for the time evident in the pocket placement and yoke.

Cotton blend throughout, probably 60/40 poly cotton or similar. Double layer upper lined in gray. Very functional, well protecting 3 piece hood. Two-way heavy gauge YKK zipper and snap front closure. Drawstring waist cinch and Velcro cuff cinching. This thing also has pockets galore! two hip pockets with two left breast pockets (one zip one Velcro) and one right diagonal zip breast pocket. Also, one zippered back pocket.

This piece of outdoor  equipment history is in good used shape with no holes, rips or obvious stains. Wear on the left front hip pocket flap and storm flap is not a stain but discoloration probably caused by friction from a pack waist strap. There’s also some light spots on the left shoulder back. Other than this the jacket is in great shape.

Size Medium. Measures:
23.75″ pit to pit
26″ pit to cuff
37″ top of zip to Hem (note the front comes up  to cover ones nose when full zipped with the hood on)
32″ neck to cuff

Fostline Kit Anorak Parka

Posted on by Rob Drews

The Colorado sew-it-yourself kit company Frostline churned out dozens upon dozens of patterns throughout the 70s and 80s. This 60/40 Anorak Parka is a great example of how these affordable kits, when constructed properly resulted in beautiful, technical pieces as good as any others on the market at that time.

Features:

  • Zip Kangaroo pocket
  • Separate pass-through front pocket
  • Nylon waist draw lace with spring cord lock
  • Velcro adjustable cuffs
  • 1/4 zip front
  • hood draw lace
  • small gauge TALON zippers throughout

Hi-Gear 60/40 Parka.

Posted on by Rob Drews
labelVintage Hi-Gear 60/40 Parka

Japan made Hi-Gear Parka. The outer shell, technically 65/35 blend is fully lined  with a 100% nylon interior.  A Burgundy western-cut yoke extends up in to a three-piece hood, while also forming the top flap for two snap close breast pockets. The Burgundy snap fronts and stitching are continued throughout the piece for a nice contrast. Top and side entry front hip pockets. Arm pit grommets for ventilation Cotton hood and waist draw cords along with snap closure cuffs help keep the weather out.

Banana Equipment Anorak Parka

Posted on by Rob Drews
Vintage Banana Equipment Anorak Parka

Banana Equipment was a label born in Estes Park Colorado, at the foot of Rocky Mountain National park in the 1970s. Like the other Colorado companies of that era, they created quality goods for the serious outdoors men and were early to incorporate advancements in materials such as Gore-Tex.

This Anorak parka was produced later on in the company’s life time. As suggested by the color combination and logo, this piece was probably produced in the mid 80s. An earlier label would have included ‘Estes Park USA’ under the Gorilla.

Rather simple by design, this parka consists of a single layer poly/nylon fabric lower and double layers around the yoke. A nylon draw cord at the bottom is used rather than the more popular waist placement of that era. The front of the yoke reveals a small kangaroo pocket when unbuttoned.

Production runs of Banana Equipment products were small and these pieces are harder to come by than similar era outdoor equipment manufacturers.

The North Face Brown Label Gore-Tex Jacket

Posted on by Rob Drews
The North Face Brown Label Gore-Tex Jacket

This North Face Gore-Tex jacket is quite the piece. Full Gore-Tex outer and nylon inner lining. It’s as yellow as a pvc rain coat but rest assured its not. Very stylish and still functional as a windbreaker, the Gore-Tex has lost most of its repellent properties but could be treated with an aftermarket treatment if one so desired.  The label boast the remnants of the former owners last name in faded permanent marker. and from the W-L tag it’s assumed a women’s large but it fits like a short mens medium as well (see measurements).

Features include:

  • Two zippered front hip pockets
  • Zippered internal chest pocket
  • The North Face embossed snaps and zip front closure
  • Two-piece hood with compression over the brow and 2.5 inch bill independent of draw string.
  • Nylon/elastic draw cords with  Fastex spring loaded toggles (hood and waist)
  • Velcro wrist closure.

Gore-Tex received its first patent in 1976 and that combine with the brown label would date this jacket late 70s early 80s

Natural Comfort for REI 65/35 Parka

Posted on by Rob Drews
Natural Comfort for REI 60/40 Parka

Natural Comfort for Recreational Equipment Inc. This piece displays all the cut and quality of rivals of its day like Holubar, Woolrich, Gerry, and Bauer.

  • Dual layered 65/35 poly/cotton through out with fully lined Nylon sleeves and lower.
  • 2 Top and side entry waist pocket, 2 chest pockets, zippered inner breast pocket, 2 inner waist pockets and one zippered external duck pocket.
  • Heavy Duty YKK Double Zip in Grey contrast to the beige inner.
  • Embossed snap closure
  • Thick Velcro adjustable wrists
  • Awesome Blue and White cinch cord around hood and waist with leather button keepers on the end.

Relatively little is known about the maker itself but the quality is definitely on par with what REI demanded. REI contracted other manufacturers to make gear for the Co-op such as Thaw, a Seattle based company producing down gear. This jacket has good weight and good lines. I especially like the hood construction consisting of two pieces one wrapping around and up the back and the other capping off the top and down the front side.