Nigel Cabourn Everest Parka - Superdenim Exclusive

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Images

—01. Navy exterior.
—02. Olive interior.

Words

Arguably Cabourn's most iconic piece, this season's Everest Parka has started to arrive in stores around the world. Made in Yorkshire from 100% British Ventile, these jackets, first seen in 2003, have received a series of slight tweaks over the years ensuring that each new edition is an improvement on the last. Beyond that, colour also plays an important part in keeping the garment fresh. In this spirit Superdenim is offering six of these parkas in navy blue - a colour that's never been used before, and won't be available anywhere else.

—Available exclusively at Superdenim

Comments

[Dookie]

THIS SHIT CRAY!

[peter]

Give me something simple and unfashiony from Crescent Down works every time.

[S]

Peter, this particular garment IS something simple and unfashiony. The price however...

[peter]

S---in its own way ,i think it is fashiony.

[Brian Braddock]

Each seasons is also at least £100 more expensive than the last and it's not just the parka.

The jackets are awesome, without doubt, but my personal favourite is last winter's Donkey Jacket. Team it with white Gitman BD and I can't see me wearing much else this winter.

Alright, on occasion maybe last winter's orange Cameraman with EG's goose down gillet underneath.

[Robin]

A trip to go visit the Base Camp at Mt. Everest would cost less than this jacket.

[Tim]

off topic..anyone seen nordwand (northface)? highly recommend seeing it. i don't think this parka could make it up everest but i'm sure it's great for the urban mountains where there are buttons to be pushed. The 03' one is still the best.

[Simon]

Why can't you just appreciate the greatness of this piece?

Yes, it is expensive, but so are many other things. All that aside, I like Robin's comment.

[Wilkie]

Those concerned about the price should note that even non-lined Ventile jackets tend to cost upwards of $1000 USD, with the notable exception of FSC's Ventile Parka. Throw in sheepskin, coyote, a polished Riri zipper, and goose down and it's easy to understand how quickly the materials cost escalated. On top of that, there is a great deal more detail on this jacket than is usually found on any parka, markedly the diagonally reinforced stitching on the hood, which is – to me anyway – the stand-out feature.

That said, they only made six of these things. They're clearly not going for mass- or even niche-market appeal here. This is a showcase piece that few will be able to justify financially, but those who can part with that kind of money for a seasonal garment will be quite happy with this, I'm sure.

[William]

It is, dope. A bit pricey, but, you only live once, right gents? Of course, unless your name is James.

[Cooly P]

One life to wear sick gear, keep it real guys and cop sick gear on the daily!

[Gabriele]

Nobody, including Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Carlos Slim can "justify the expense" for what is basically a piece of technical mountaineering clothing without the actual technical features that a mountain climbing person from a semi-professional level upwards would need or want.

I like this parka a lot, but people secondary-rationalising it's price using ridiculous statements about it's usefulness aren't being honest to themselves.

This thing is clearly meant to be worn in an urban environment, much like a Porsche Cayenne is meant to be driven in an urban environment. Nothing wrong with that at all, but let's stay honest here for a bit.

[SP]

Well put, Gabriele. I think it's an amazing piece of clothing and one that I'd love to own, even though I suspect it'd be too damn warm even for a UK winter. Pricing is a strange aspect of all this fashion/clothing/craft stuff; there are some things that are clearly cynical in their exorbitant prices, and some that have an integrity about them that, in my opinion, goes a long way in justifying the cost. I believe that Cabourn is making extremely nice clothes out of some of the best (though NOT necessarily the most technologically advanced) fabrics/materials available, to the best of his ability, because he is passionate about it. it's about craft, quality, history and culture. Whether you or I want to or could buy it is irrelevant - I'm just glad that someone out there is doing this stuff and adding to the culture that we're all so fascinated by. And why should he make them as cheap as possible so that fickle born-again woodsman hipsters can 'cop' them? It's not mass production. He's been doing this stuff for decades and has probably only been turning a sensible profit since the 'heritage' thing took off. When you look at mainstream high fashion and the prices there, you'll probably realise that Cabourn's stuff is pretty good value. Serious. The product is without compromise and is built to last.

[Wilkie]

Exactly. The cost isn't justified by its usefulness, but it doesn't necessarily need justification. The cost is the cost because of the materials used and the attention that went into both its design and its fabrication. Whether or not those things make it more 'useful' is hardly the point. It's about what it is, not what it does.