I've heard them also called 60/40 parkas. They were kind of a fad in the mid to late 1970's. The cloth was I think polyester fibers wrapped with cotton in a 60 percent to 40 percent ratio. Not sure which was the 60. In theory, the weave was nicely breathable when dry, but the cotton fibers swelled when humid or wet, affording some water repellancy.

They had 4 flapped cargo pockets and a built an attached hood. Seems they were usually blue or khaki, and were American made. Maybe the main brand was North Face, but they were expensive so I bought a Camp 7. I think and hope I still have it somewhere. It is light blue.

They were touted as the do anything shell, and maybe 60/40 cloth was the first "technical" cloth. The idea works much better today with materials like Gore-Tex.

The one my sister purchased was bright white and the hood was giant, I guess for a helmet to fit.

I remember it being very thin.

Dad told me that it wasn't meant for warmth.

It was camo for the snow regions,

I had one, I think it was by Woolrich, called a 60/40.

Grew up in them. 60/40 from the OG Sierra Designs. Had regular and flannel lined. Mine were always green.

yep, but the style where I lived in KY was down jackets or puffer jackets, even had them in vest form (think Marty McFly)...

I had a Sierra Designs 60/40 in dark blue. GREAT Jacket. Perfect for layering. It was not waterproof but we are talking 1980 vintage and only waxed gear approached waterproof. The jacket is long gone, abused and worn out. I currently have an LL Bean jacket that is a reasonable facsimile but nothing replaces the OG stuff.

Ebay has lots of vintage jackets and parkas.

I had a blue one from REI. You could also spray them with Zepel (sp?) coating to increase water resistance. Waaaay cheaper than GoreTex shells.

And no, the blue insulated jacket above is not what we considered a 60/40.

I think LL Bean carried a lot of different styles . Probably still does .

60/40 parkas was based around moisture wetting-out the shell's surface fabric and utilizing the surface water tension to maintain a degree of water-resistant integrity. The problem, besides carrying so much water on the jacket itself, was once you broke that water-tension, like with a backpack strap pushing onto the material, water would just pour-in. LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, REI, The North Face, Early Winters, Sierra Designs all had their versions of the 60/40. Today, it's more retro nostalgia as there's much better materials and textiles available.

Herman's Sporting Goods in Tysons Corner sold a lot of parkas including the North Face which just like this one which I have:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/146367036266

They also carried a lot of Smith Wessons which you couldn't find any place else like M41, M29 and M629 when it first came out.

None of those are what I was remembering,
The thing I am thinking of came from the army / Navy store and was cotton / canvas.

I had a medium blue one from a company called Snow Lion. Vintage ones from that brand are out there.

Oh, yeah! In the 70s everyone was wearing puffy jackets. I remember thinking they looked peculiar, although I may very well have worn one myself.

I still have one of what I believe you’re referring to: green by Holubar of Boulder, CO. It was my first coat that I regularly used for backpacking and back country hiking. I also often wore it when working. Its advantage was its multitude of pockets to carry lots of stuff. Its disadvantage was that all the pockets made it difficult to find things: “Now, where is that? I’m sure it’s in one of these pockets.”

It was not, however, particularly waterproof and got replaced with a Gore-Tex version some years later.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
Oh, yeah! In the 70s everyone was wearing puffy jackets. I remember thinking they looked peculiar, although I may very well have worn one myself.

Grew up in Frostline kit coats (and sleeping bags) my mom made. Getting to school some days was like climbing the Eiger

Yup. Holubar in Boulder (and I think they had other locations around CO). I had a cloth-reinforced down parka (bright orange) in about 1974. Loved that coat! When I graduated, I moved to LA and gave it to my brother who was a Denver fireman and mountainering and climber type. He said he only wore it when the temps on the mountain were -10 or colder, otherwise it was too warm. Incidentally, Holubar got sold, and eventually ended up rebranded as Northface.

The mountain or 60/40 parkas are not puffy and if they had a lining it was a thin synthetic or at most cotton or wool flannel.

quote:

Originally posted by 41:
Herman's Sporting Goods in Tysons Corner sold a lot of parkas including the North Face which just like this one which I have:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/146367036266

They also carried a lot of Smith Wessons which you couldn't find any place else like M41, M29 and M629 when it first came out.

Wrong garment.
60/40 mountain parka was not insulated, it was basically a flannel-lined field parka. Insulated coats, snorkel jackets' or, puffys are a different more specialized item.

Sierra Designs is arguably the progenitor of the 60/40 Parka ...although I'd wager REI, The North Face or, Eddie Bauer likely had a similar, by the late-70's just about all those brands that catered to outdoor usage had a 60/40-type jacket. Holubar...there's a name I've not heard in a long-time, good heritage and epicenter of Colorado outdoors, whereas the others was either SF Bay Area or, Seattle-area.

A good look of a 60/40 Parka would be what Robert DeNiro wore in The Deer Hunter and I believe John Belushi wore one in the underrated film Continental Divide

quote:

Originally posted by Blackmore:
I had a medium blue one from a company called Snow Lion. Vintage ones from that brand are out there.

Snowlion was an outdoor equipment business started by Bill Simon. Simon is a seminal figure in the outdoor manufacturing world, largely responsible & influencial in the development of overseas manufacturing and the growth of many top brands today.

quote:

Originally posted by Reedman:
Incidentally, Holubar got sold, and eventually ended up rebranded as Northface.

Ummm no.
Holubar was purchased by The North Face when it was owned by Johnson Wax at the time. The business had been sold a few times, all the while expanding the number of locations; by the time The North Face purchased the rights from Johnson Wax I believe 1981, it was but a shell of what it was when the Holubar's owned it, and only the original Boulder location was its most valuable asset.