Feb 25

Feb 25 Norrøna oslo GORE-TEX Insulated Parka (2018)

Norrøna oslo GORE-TEX Insulated Parka (2018)

Type: Parka / Use: Lifestyle / Face: Recycled Polyester / Insulation: Synthetic

Technologies: GORE-TEX 2L, Primaloft Silver Eco

Between reviewing the oslo for Highsnobiety and writing this review, I had the good fortune to visit Norway. Let me tell you: it can be bleak.

A mild September day might mean no sun and 40° F. In Bergen (a lovely place; also, the wettest city in Europe), it rained for three days straight. The people are friendly and the coffee is strong. But you everyone’s breathing the same air. The minimal clothing. The thoughtful lifestyle. The Scandi crime genre. I guess what I’m saying is, we’re all products of our environment. When it’s dark and cold for ten months out of twelve, things take on a certain character.

Norrøna’s oslo coat is a pinnacle parka cast in this mold. Developed at Norrøna HQ in Lysaker, a suburb of its namesake city, the oslo GORE-TEX Insulated Parka joins the usual bells and whistles in an earnest, even conscientious, way.

On the function side, a recycled polyester face is laminated to a 2L GORE-TEX membrane for a weatherproof barrier worthy of Norwegian rains. Primaloft Silver Eco insulation throughout the jacket provides a comfortable winter warmth while upping the jacket’s recycled credentials. A PFC-free DWR and adjustment points around hood, cuff, and hem complete the package.

Lookswise, the oslo forgoes featurelessness. Instead of a sheer GORE wall, two big glove pockets stick out at the hip, with two larger cubbies right above. Tonal buttons on the cuffs and chest add a bit of heritage charm. A high neck and oversized zipper deepen the oslo’s Old World feeling. There’s a rooting in the past here that one rarely sees with other range-toppers, one that borders on self-consciousness. This is not a Y2K stealth ship – it’s a parka meant for architects to wear out to dinner. Because it’s modernity, certain tech will be used to keep people warm and dry. But because of that, there must be something warm - something familiar - lest the whole thing come out cold.

Maybe I’m reading too much into the buttons. But hey, I like the looks. Moving on.

After two years of wear, my feelings on the oslo have intensified – both the good and the bad.

On the good side, its combination of Silver Eco and GORE 2L make this jacket one of the more comfortable parkas I own. I don’t trust it down to 0° F the way I do the Hooded Spur, but it’s very pleasant for most of the New York winter. It’s like a beefed up Arc’teryx Magnus: good with layers, but fine without.

I also find myself loving the jacket’s styling more and more as it ages. I tire of techwear so easily these days. Because the oslo never tried to be some depilated cruise missile, it’s got a bit of timelessness to it. I find it infinitely wearable, especially in this handsome navy color, especially with high-end “old dude” streetwear from the likes of Noah and Aime Leon Dore. I must acknowledge that, selfishly, these feelings may all be because it fits me really well. A coat made by Norwegians is cut for tall skinny white dudes. Who’d have thunk.

On the bad, my gripes with the oslo are all about features.

The main zipper is a source of frustration. It’s hard to close, far from smooth, and not particularly comfortable if it brushes against a tee or thin sweater. As I read it, a lot of it has to do with the sheer size and weight of the thing. The teeth and these big, gnashing steel incisors. Attached as they are, it’s easy for the synthetic face to pull in directions and make “waves” along the zipper track. That still doesn’t excuse the struggles I have with the double zipper – every tenth wear, it’ll be a solid 30 seconds of tugging just to get it to take. The zipper issues may have been fixed in current versions, but yeesh. No amount of neato magnet-closing front flap can make up for the very real idea that the main thing you need is, after $700, somehow out of line.

My other black mark here has to do with the oslo’s slash pockets. Which is to say: there aren’t any slash pockets. Without gloves, you’re stuck rubbing your rib cage through the high button pockets, or walking around like an MRI patient with hands thrust straight down into the front glove pockets. It could all be so simple. Instead, it is not.

In summary: like Norway itself, the oslo is thoughtful, gorgeous, and built for the cold. It is, however, not the most socially-minded. The fact that I’m still wearing it often shows my feelings. I love the jacket’s looks and technologies. I just wish it could be better.