Barbour Jacket of the Day: The Gamefair

This is my first Barbour jacket, the mediumweight thornproof Gamefair. Longer than the Beaufort, but shorter than the Border. It has a single interior game pocket, two bellows pockets and two moleskin lined handwarmer pockets.

There was a "British Shop" in Newburyport, the town that I grew up in, that carried Barbour, they must have been one of the first importers in the US. I was in and out of there pretty often trying different cookies and candy and poking around. The jackets were less expensive then, but I remember thinking that they seemed totally out of my ballpark. Getting a Barbour jacket was always in the back of my mind from that point on.

A lot of the guys I work with were starting to buy Filson jackets for our outdoor work and I started thinking about that Barbour I always wanted. I bought this used on eBay, to see if it would "pass muster". It was a little beat up, so I had it repaired at the Barbour HQ in Milford, NH. It had a torn lining and needed a rewaxing. Not that big a deal and it was short money to make the jacket "almost new". The jacket performs great, except on super-cold rainy days, when the sleeves freeze up and on the hottest rainy days when it gets too steamy.

Since the Gamefair, I've amassed a pretty good collection, one for every occasion. Some were purchased new and some were purchased used and fixed up. I've also put on a few pounds since I started and my chest size has gone up, but I'm reluctant to give up my smaller size jackets. As long as there's room in the coat closet, they're not going anywhere.