Alpha Industries Men's N-3B Parka

A much nicer and better made version of the snorkel parka I had back in the 70's. Not sure why so many reviews say it runs large. I normally wear a 2XL jacket, but after having my wife do a couple of measurements of my chest and gut (wearing 2 different weights of shirts - dress and heavy, and a light fleece vest as well) according to the size chart I needed a 3XL and that fit perfectly with the heavier shirt and vest combo. I didn't bother with the sleeve length because I wanted it to fit my torso and there isn't anything I could do about the sleeve length. Now bulky, yeah it's bulky. It's a heavy weight winter parka. What did you expect? Well made. Only fault I could find there was one button that I'll have tacked down a bit better, but other than that it was great. Unscientific warmth test - It was 15° this morning and I made my 30 minute commute with my car heater turned off. Stayed warm and toasty the whole trip. (Well, my feet got a bit cold...)

This is an awesome parka. I was looking for a flight style coat for the coming winter and found it. It is well put together and feels very nice. It is very bulky, but that is to be expected for extreme cold weather. The hood is soft, comfy, and huge. Not too sure about wearing the hood, but the rest of the coat is a definite winner. I've got a gut, so I ordered a little big, and I shouldn't have, I should have listened to the sizing chart on their website. This thing is awesome! Update: I had to come back and add to this review. I've had this jacket for a little over 3 years. I don't wear it a lot, because it is so warm, it has to be pretty cold to need it, and Kansas City doesn't get that cold. Well, today it did. It is -6 degrees, with a windchill of -25F. I had to change a tire on the side of the road in the open wind. This jacket performed amazingly! It is soft enough to allow free movement, and warm enough that I survived the ordeal without freezing. Everywhere the jacket covered, stayed warm. I am so thankful that I bit the bullet and bought this.

This N3-B Snorkel-Parka is comfortable, well made and available in decent sizes! Alpha's size chart is accurate but remember to allow for any extra clothing. Two inches on the chest size is usually good but it's all about personal taste. I have owned Alpha parkas from the mid-1990s and was concerned when they started to use plastic zips - but they are well made, run smoother than the metal versions and offer a better seal (IMO). Even though they contain a synthetic filler they are very warm but look 'cooler' than any other parka on the market! For those that are concerned about the fur-trim (removable) it is also synthetic. Most of the more expensive goose-down filled parkas come with a real-fur trim, so a plus if such things are not to your liking. In short: Well made, looks fantastic, very warm, good sizes available and a good price tag. Thank you Alpha Industries.

The parka is just as I expected I'm a little bit concerned about the zipper pocket under the left arm that the metal zipper mechanism may eventually snag the underarm left side of the coat . I'm thinking about wrapping that zipper assembly in something ...what I have done so far is unzip the pocket just a little bit and tuck the zipper assembly inside of it all of it doesn't fit the pocket but enough of it does that I'm less likely to snag it and rip a new jacket... also I wish the pockets were more on a slant instead of straight up and down, makes it a little difficult to put your hands in your pocket but overall the parka is very warm I like the fur around the top reminds me very much of the one I had in the Air Force

This a good quality parka for the price. I would recommend this to anyone needing a very warm coat but doesn't have the budget for something high-end like Canada Goose. The overall quality is good. The outer shell is nylon and has a glossy sheen to it. It does not let the wind through. The nylon is water-resistant, however, I would not wear it in a hard rain. I'm sure a hard rain would eventually soak through the nylon. The stitching is solid and doesn't seem like it will rip apart anytime soon and the parka is long enough to cover my butt. It has a drawstring on the inside to seal the bottom of the coat to keep the wind out. You will have to tie the drawstring yourself though. The coat is very warm but only if you know how to PROPERLY layer your clothes. Don't just throw this on over a T-shirt in 10 F weather and expect to stay warm unless you're working hard and generating some body heat. And no, your Fruit of the Loom longjohns with the waffle pattern that you bought at Wal-Mart is NOT a proper base layer. I've worn this coat in 5 F weather with properly layered clothes and I stayed toasty warm. And I'm generally a cold-natured person. I could see this coat easily working down to -20 F. I have doubts about -50 F though. Maybe if you had some exceptional quality clothes underneath it. (Fortunately it never gets anywhere near that cold here in the Midwest where I live) Contrary to what others are saying, the sizing is spot on. Take the time and actually read the sizing chart. I found the waist size to be the best indicator for properly sizing the coat. I'm 5' 9" ~170 lbs with a 34" waist. The medium fits me well. It has enough extra room to wear several layers of clothing underneath without a lot of empty space between the coat and my clothes. If you have doubts after reading the sizing chart then I would recommend one size up. Honestly, I don't understand a lot of these reviews on here where people say the sizing is way off. Most of them are complaining about a XXX-Large not fitting them!? These coats are cut for normal-shaped people. Perhaps you guys should be shopping in the Big & Tall department! Or go on a diet! :P There are some things about the coat that I don't like. The yarn loops to hook the storm flap buttons feel weak and I suspect they will eventually come off after repeated use.The same with the yarn that holds the storm flap buttons on the coat itself. They just feel weak.The hood is another issue for me. It feels like the hood is too short and presses down on the top of my head. I find myself having to bend my neck a little and look down to alleviate the pressure. I usually wear a high-quality trapper hat instead so this is not a big issue for me. And if you do wear the hood and zip the coat all the way up be prepared to have the faux fur in your mouth and eyes all the time. However, the faux fur liner is removable. Overall, it's a good coat and I would recommend it. I'm sure the quality is nowhere near as good as it used to be 20+ years ago. That's to be expected though since everything is made in China these days. It sucks but that's just the reality of our world now. :(

It's a great coat and plenty warm. I live in Minnesota where we are having a cold winter, as usual, and it keeps the wind off and I'm staying warm. While walking my dog I actually get too warm sometimes. I really like the outter pocket space and find the hood to block wind and snow well. The one complaint I would have is the inside chest pocket is kind of small and flimsy. The navy blue color is great with a nice sheen that makes the coat more original. Zippers work great and dont snag or freeze. One of the best coats I've ever had, great for shoveling snow and spending longer periods of time in winter weather.

After reading all the reviews I wasn't sure what size to get and if it would be a good investment. However I'm also a former marine and I've actually used the liner's from alpha on deployments and remembered how warm I stayed because of it so I went ahead and bought the jacket.. I'm 5'8" 215lbs and I bought a Large because I simply followed the size chart. Everyone else was saying go a size up go a size down but honestly if there was another person 5'8" and 165-180 lbs I would say go medium.. The part of the chart that helped best was honestly the waist size.. That's how I picked Large. Great jacket, got it in two days, fits perfectly kept me warm, and isn't too heavy either.. All I needed for snowy Chicago winters..

This coat is only lightly insulated with low value polyester. I bought it expecting an extreme cold weather parka but it's just a regular, low-cost parka. I'm happy with all the design aspects which were goverment specified, and Alpha does a decent job of making it. The nylon zipper is troublesome to get together and zip up sometimes which is bad for a piece of techinical gear. I'm a men's size 36R and ordered size Small. It fits fine but the hood is a little tight to wear a hat inside. If I were to keep this, I might need a medium so I could wear a lot more insulation underneath it. The main complaint is that the parka is not warm. I need a warm parka to walk the dog in the winter and for field astronomy. I walked the dog yesterday with the parka over my plain office clothes. It was at least 25F and while I was walking there was no surplus of warmth. Had I stopped, I would have gotten cold. For astronomy, I wore long underwear, trousers, two shirts, a fleece, ski gloves and -60 rated boots. I had a watch cap but also tried the hood. It was at least 15F and for 30 minutes the parka was fine, but by the second half hour, I was freezing cold. Astronomy is a tough test because you're just sitting still. This parka would have been warm if I was snowshoeing or skiing, maybe too warm. But without additional insulation it was inadaquate even for walking the dog in the sun, and the conditions above 0F were hardly extreme. I compared this parka to my Carhart cotton duck parka that is also lined with polyester. They're about the same except the N3-B has a much more thorough neck closure and snorkel hood -- otherwise it's not much wamer. The Carhart is cotton duck canvas which is much more abrasion and burn resistant than nylon. With a scarf to close the neck, it seems equivalent to this N3-B except the hood. I don't have the optional carhart hood to compare. The Carhart is less than a hundred dollars on Amazon. Since neither is adaquate for extreme cold weather without a lot of down or wool insulation underneath, I will probably have to look at Canada Goose or something.

I like it’s parkaness and its muted spaceman colour. Goldie Hawns hair as the trim for the hood is surprisingly soft and lots of volume. I would buy it again.

Excellent all weather coat

あったかいです。コレは本物です。他の方も言われてますが、袖は少し長めですね。

very good like always thx

too small