Särmä TST Woolshell Jacket

We've played around with many wool-based outdoor and military clothes over the years; the Woolshell is a completely rethought design based on experiences and ideas gathered from numerous projects. Functionally this is much like a modern tactical softshell jacket with its minimalistic and sleek appearance. Combining this functionality with high-quality natural wool fabrics makes this a rather unique garment!

Wool? As in old-timey clothes?

Yes! High-quality wool is not at all scratchy and nasty. Wool has some really useful properties:

• Breathes, doesn't feel like plastic
• Won't soil easily and cleans up nicely
• Doesn't easily catch fire
• Forms on its wearer
• Relatively warm even if it gets moist, but won't really soak in water.
• Made in the EU, in Latvia

Good wool frieze is expensive and has some heft to it, that's why it's not nowadays used so much. It's still more than a viable application for temperate and cold-weather clothing articles.

Modern, functional design

• Snug fit
• Adjustable hood, the drawcord can be pulled into the jacket
• Front zipper w. interior storm flap
• Underarm ventilation zippers
• Elastic drawcord adjustable hem
• Articulated elbows
• Elbow reinforcements w. pad pockets
• Hook-and-loop cuffs
• Loop for sleeve patches
• Four pockets:
  • Two zippered chest pockets
  • Two zippered upper arm pockets
• Materials:
  • Wool frieze: 70/30% recycled wool/recycled polyamide, 400 g/m²
  • Reinforcements: 50/50% cotton/polyester
  • Pocket lining: 100% polyester

The original idea for the Woolshell design began as a simple fantasy - wouldn't it be great to have a wool suit that could comfortably be worn under gear and shell garments without causing too much excess bulk? Basically, this would be a garment that could alternate between shell and mid-layer functions, with the fantastic properties of wool being the main attraction. This idea matured over the years and eventually ended up as an update for our legacy wool jackets and pants, tying these together with the current Särmä TST clothing system designs.

Besides the wool and its naturally fantastic properties the other big thing about the Woolshell jacket is the design. The snug fit minimizes excess material which means a decrease in weight and less uncomfortable bunching up under gear and shell clothing. The fit and low-profile pocket design result in a sleek garment, especially considering the main material! And when the going gets tough, that's when the underarm ventilation zippers and breathable materials kick in.