Ah, the Great British Summertime. Sadly, you can’t depend on it. Last week, we had a pretty intense heatwave, followed up by a fairly miserable couple of days of drizzle and cloud. We found ourselves in Edinburgh for the latter part of the week, but there was no way we were going to let a bit of rain ruin a family weekend away.
Thankfully, we’d teamed up with Didriksons to keep us dry for the occasion, and keep us dry they did, giving us the confidence to venture out in the damp Scottish weather with our little one in tow.
We road-tested the Havoc Women’s Jacket, and the Wylie Kid’s Jacket.
First things first, I feel like the little one and I rocked the waterproof look pretty well! This isn’t always easy to do, but the clean lines of the women’s jacket and the trendy detailing on both avoided the unfashionable sort of feeling you can sometimes get when dressing for the great outdoors.
Looks, especially when you need to keep your little one warm and dry, aren’t the be all and end all. It helps, therefore, that the products from Didriksons (check out their full range here) are backed up by one hell of a technical, almost geeky punch, that ensures quality is kept at the forefront of the garments.
Our little one’s Wylie jacket was 100% waterproof and 100% windproof. She therefore managed to stay in a remarkably good mood when being carried around in the rain as we walked up the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.
Although the jacket isn’t full-length, the material was such that the water didn’t run straight onto her legs, keeping her whole body dry and comfortable.
Another top feature was the thin nature of the material. We’ve all been there with waterproof clothing, ending up sweating and feeling disgusting in a bid to stay dry. The warmth level of the Wylie jacket is only around 30%, meaning that you can layer up or not underneath as you see fit. Our little one didn’t overheat, but she did stay dry, which was a big tick in the box.
The Wylie jacket has a chin guard to prevent those precious little chins being nipped by nasty zips, and a detachable hood for days when a little protection is needed but rain is by no means guaranteed.
A final note on sizing as well. Our little girl, now one-year-old, is on the smaller side for her age and gender, but she fitted nicely into a size 90, with a little sleeve-rolling along the way. If you’re worried about your little one fitting into a waterproof like this, don’t worry about it; if our little one can get away with it, so can yours.
As for my coat, I loved that the hood could be easily folded away into a discrete pocket by the collar. I also liked the look of the hidden pockets and the neat elastic fabric at the end of the sleeves. Again, the material with the Havoc was breathable, so no sweating, and there was a media pocket with cord opening for use with mobiles and headphones.
The Havoc is not marketed as fully waterproof; it is designed for wind and light rainfalls. Product spec says it should not be worn in heavy rainfall conditions, but to be honest, I road-tested it pretty thoroughly in the Scottish rain and it held up brilliantly. I didn’t get at all wet, and stayed warm and comfortable throughout the course of the afternoon.
Didriksons pride themselves on offering products boosted by the Scandinavian way of functional thinking, bringing clean lines and clever features to bridge the gap between practical and stylish. We’d go out of our way to recommend the clothing from Didriksons and in particular the Havoc jacket for women, and the gorgeous little Wylie jacket for cheeky little ones.