Oros Parka- Space Technology for Earthly Adventures

It’s freaking cold. Like frostbite on your tiggly bits cold. Not sure where you live, work, or play but staying warm is something all of us want to do this winter. Ok, sure some guys won’t admit they worry about “staying warm” but ain’t nobody who climbed Everest was like “nah, I’m not worried.” Our crew never really understood the guy wearing flip flops and a T-Shirt while everyone else is wrapped up in thermal blankets and beanies. Don’t be that guy. Be the guy who rocks a jacket designed to keep you warm even in space- the Oros Apparel Orion Parka if we’re being exact.

Sure you may not climb Everest, fly to the moon, or need to stay warm in space, but every guy needs a legit jacket to keep them warm as they walk to the office, head to the slopes for some epic boarding, or even hang out with the crew down at the campsite. No matter what life you live, the necessity of a great jacket that can handle life’s elements is a must have. The crew over at Oros gets it- they build the things any guy needs to stay warm. Their product line is dope, and their Parka game is on point. In fact, we’d claim this jacket to be out of this world.

Our crew wanted to get our hands on (really more so our bodies in) The Orion Parka to test it out for the ultimate duuude review.

INITIAL IMPRESSION

Our crew was shipped the Teak color Orion Parka for the review. When we initially opened the box, our crew found the weight (just under 50oz), material, jacket lines/stitching as sheer perfection. The color was really solid and the look of the Parka had a sleek and modern flair. The fully waterproof and breathable shell fabric rates at 20K/15K and is compiled of 68% Nylon, 26% Polyester, and 6% Elastane. Inside fabric is lined with 88% recycled Polyester from post-consumer content equating to 92% Polyester, 8% Elastane and 100% down right warm cozy comfort. Sure that’s 200% total awesomeness, but we did say this jacket was out of this world!

Tossing on the jacket, we found the mid-thigh length fit and Solarcore insulated media pockets to be a nice touch. The adjustable hem and hood set our review up to test out the design against wind and rain (heck maybe even snow). The internal stretch cuffs felt great as we slid the jacket on and through. Wearing the jacket in the office inspired us to take it outdoors for the ultimate review. While we didn’t climb Everest we did give it the crews’ best shot at testing the durability, functionality, and comfort.

Our initial duuude crew impression: Warm, stylish, and comfortable. Let’s do this!

TESTING IT OUT

How in the world do we legit test a jacket that uses the same space-age tech as NASA? Not sure how you review a jacket made of Solarcore (same material NASA uses to insulate a space shuttle in -455 F vacuum of space). If this review was done 20 years from now we may have actually tried it in space, but here on earth, for a group of duuudes we have to get creative. Thinking caps on.

Oros’ Parka is designed to take on the toughest of these 3 issues: Warmth, Wind, and Water. That had us thinking- let’s test each out individually with a series of elements thrown at them to see how the Parka does. The results…

Warmth

The Test: Walk in Freezer + 20min Snow Challenge

Our crew has a buddy who’s restaurant has a walk in freezer. Have you been in one? It’s cold. Like 0 to -10 degrees cold to meet FDA requirements. Well, we threw the Parka on a duuude crew dude and had them sit in the freezer for 15 minutes. The result? Nothing. They said it was warm, no issues. We then asked them to do it without the Parka. The difference? Well, we will miss them being on staff. None the less the Parka reigned true to its word. Next up we went to the snow. We happen to be less than 50 miles from snowfall, so we went to the slopes and laid down on the snow- for 20 minutes with the Parka on. The result? Could have laid there all day. Again the Parka stood up to the task. Since we were at the snow we decided to hit the slopes- the Parka let’s say did better than we did. An all day boarding outing in the Parka? Sheer pleasure.

Result: Epic Pass!

Wind

The Test: Brisky walk in S.F.

How do you test this out? Well, we googled the most windy cold spots we could find and thought the flight to the Himalayas was too pricey. So we settled for the drive up to San Francisco. We looked at the weather and found a rather windy and cold day. Drove up and hit the streets in the Parka. On a windy, cold day in SF we found the jackets fully insulated Solarcore really did knock the wind down. Our faces felt it for sure, but our chest, arms, and mid thigh all stayed wind impact free.

Result: Not Winded

Water

The Test: Hose off

Last but not least, the water test. Sure we could have waited for rain. But if you live in California that’s like waiting for Santa as a kid. So, we thought let’s get the hose. We threw on the Parka and stood out in the road. Meanwhile a crew member grabbed the hose, set to spray and went for it. We threw all kinds of water sprays at the Parka. After about 7 minutes of hosing the crew member, we took off the jacket to find zero water on chest, arms, or mid leg. Dry as a thanksgiving turkey. Nicely done.

Result: No water, no cry

The crew’s run at giving the jacket an ultimate test went as planned: the Parka made the cut!

STANDOUT FEATURES

We get it- for some they may not be needing a jacket that can fend off a hose attack or help them stay warm in a restaurant freezer. However, this jacket aka Parka does have some standout features we all can get behind:

The full body jacket and sleeves are fully insulated with Solarcore to keep you warm and comfortable in the coldest of weather
The Parka features an adjustable hem and hood to add to its wind breaking and warm creating construction
The Parka comes in plenty of sizes from small all the way up to 3XL
The Parka has 3 color options to fit your fancy- Black, Night Sky, and Teak

All in all this Parka has the design to last a lifetime and the technology to withstand whatever comes its way.

BONUS FEATURES

Who doesn’t like bonus stuff? Yeah- we all do. As a bonus feature, Oros offers a full line of products to keep you warm in whatever outdoor adventures you take on.

Oros features:

Jackets
Mid-layers
Bottoms
and Accessories like gloves, mittens, beanies and beyond

Oros Overall duuude Factor: Warmest Parka this side of the Sun

Price: $350 on OROS Apparel ***Enjoy free shipping on US orders over $99 at OROS! Plus Free Returns and Exchanges.

Visit Oros

Durable technical yet so comfortable youll want to live in. (1).PNG

BRAND INFO

Built to Go Beyond

Homebase for team OROS is Portland, OR. Not only basecamp for their design program but also the perfect place to get out and test prototypes of the gear.

“Our founders Michael and Rithvik met as a pair of science geeks in college. While on a climbing trip in the Alps, Michael had trouble staying warm despite being puffed up with layers of insulation. There had to be a better way to enjoy the adventure.”

— Oros Apparel

To learn more, explore the backstory, or to go inside the bios of Oros creators head over to Oros and see where it takes you.