UKH

Good evening,

I'm wondering could you help me in choosing a good winter jacket. As I'm disabled and use a powered wheelchair my needs are quite specific, I hope you don't mind me listing would requirements I would need in a jackpot below.;

Due to lack of physical movement I would need a warm jacket. I don't have a strong preference between either down or synthetic however the cleaning and caring for a synthetic would probably suit me that bit better. ( I'm still happy for Down Recommendations) also though.

I would have a reasonable budget and don't mind spending whatever to get something suitable.

I'm approx 43 inch chest and 36 inch waist however as I'm a seated position most of the time I prefer something which has a bit of room and not a slim fit.

Finally I have found chest pockets or a kangaroo style pocket to be a great help in terms of access particularly in the seated position.

I would like to thank you in advance and look forward to hearing from you and any help and advice will be greatly appreciated.

AJ.

Hi AJ,

I don't have any recommendations but you might do better renaming the thread mention jackets or people who do have a good knowledge of the market may not see this

The montane extreme smock could fit this quite well? Definitely has the pocket arrangement right, easy to wash and I used to frequently wear mine on combat weekends as a cadet, great for spending 2+ hours lying in a ditch on Otterburn in November so pretty good when not active.

Rab also do a down smock with a kangaroo pocket IIRC, called the Kinder I think? 

A bit of lateral thinking, using an idea from surfing, would a heated gilet work for you, under a synthetic coat?

Something like this. https://www.amazon.co.uk/ORORO-Womens-Heated-Battery-Neutral/dp/B0B2529ZVL/...

You could then use a lighter weight (and therefore cheaper) synthetic from somewhere like Decathlon, or TKMaxx.

In terms of warm synthetics, I have a Mountain Equipment Citadel, the older version, which has two high up roomy pockets and inside pockets. It sizes up quite large as its designed to go over lots of layers. Rab, Montane, etc do similar items.

Would the length of a jacket be an important factor? A family member is a wheelchair user and, for her, a coat either needs to end just below the waist or be significantly longer so she isn't sitting on the hem which is uncomfortable and can cause pressure sores.

I'd recommend checking out alpkit they have a good selection of gear. https://alpkit.com

I'd also recommend going in to good outdoor shop. Cotswolds Outdoors pride themselves on customer service. There will be other smaller shops around the country. Not knowing where you're located it's a bit hard to recommend one.

Hope this helps 

I feel as though this post needs a bump.

Following on from phizz4's idea, you can get similar for motorbikes, so worth checking out, especially if you have 12 volt chair, as could potentially plug in directly - some ideas here:

https://ripsandrides.com/best-heated-motorcycle-gear/

I'm sure I don't need to tell you to be careful with heated clothing if you have reduced sensation, as you could easily cause yourself some nasty burns...