Changing of the Guard

About the time I was in high school I would occasionally go into my parents hall closet to look for a coat on particulary cold nights (as few as they are here), one item I would "borrow" from my father would be his old parka from when my parents lived in the northeast part of the US. My mom and dad had matching parkas purchased from Sears in the early seventies; one in sage green and the other in blue. These were essential copies of the military N-3B parka and were fairly popular at the time (and still are). Fast forward about 20 years and I still have my father parka and it became part of my winter rotation of cold weather jackets. However, those twenty years weren't exactly kind to the faithful parka and it bears the signs of a much used life. I recently decided to replace my fathers parka and get my own of the same ilk. I decided to go with the Alpha Industries slim fit N-3B parka in the very same blue as my dads. It arrived just the other day and I am glad to see that the legacy will be carried on without fear. The quality is fantastic and the fit is superb. The only difference, style-wise, is an inside pocket that seems to have been added as an after thought, but it's by no means a strike against the coat. I had tried the cheaper versions and found the pockets to be lined with the same nylon as the outside, but the Alpha Industries model came with a warmer and more forgiving cloth lining for the pockets. As of yet, I have found no con's to counter the long list of pro's that I have for this parka and am pleased to have a proper replacement for my fathers parka. As soon as the coat get;s a little more wear, I intend to take some pictures of it in action.

P.S. On a more sentimental note, after purchasing mine and speaking to my parents about theirs, I realized that that my father was the same age as I am now when he first bought his years ago. I don't know why that makes this seem all the more "right" to me.