I do not like the cold.
You may have heard of aerogel before.
Its like holding a little force field in your hands.
Credit:Nasa,.gov
So why doesnt every outerwear company use it to insulate their coats?
Its brittle, for one, shattering like glass under pressure.
It also tends to disintegrate in water.
Not exactly something you want in a coat, unless you happen to be an indoor statue.
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Oros claims to have solved these problems.
Oros just thinks it can make an even warmer coat all without the usual bulk associated with winter wear.
Its a minimal design but looks good in a utilitarian sort of way.
Theres also drawstring around the mens waist to create a better seal thats not present on the womans coat.
There were two things I noticed when I first put it on.
First, its surprisingly heavy for something thats supposed to be made out of the lightest stuff on earth.
The insulating portion may be lightweight, but the materials around it not so much.
Second: its thin.
Much thinner than the warmest coats Ive owned.
Its much easier to move around in than the bulk Im used to.
I feel less like a walking marshmallow.
So how does it actually perform at keeping me warm?
It outperforms my Uniqlo down coat by a large margin.
I can go on long walks in the winter.
I was able to go out on the coldest day of the season and not feel completely awful.
Im not filled with existential dread when the temperature drops below 40.
I would often quadruple layer up when the temperature went below freezing, and now I dont need to.
Equally important is the reduced bulk.
I dont really feel the Oros weight, but I do notice how much thinner it is.
Unfortunately, my girlfriend had a more mixed experience.
She found the Orion Parka to be warm, but not the warmest shes tried.
She also lamented having fewer pockets and noted the coat gets wrinkly fast.
Should you spend $300 on the Orion Parka?
Thats up to you.
