Gear Review: Keela Ventile Smock

Having worn the Keela Heritage Smock now for over 3 years I thought it high time I offered my thoughts on the jacket I wear more than any other.

As I spend most of my outdoor life in the woods I needed a jacket that was not only waterproof but could also handle being smashed about through undergrowth, abraded by firewood collection, and not melt in a panic went sat beside the fire. I like a simple garment, few frills and gimmicks which inevitably fail over time, a garment I can wear all day without feeling cooped in or wrapped in plastic. These criteria led me to the Ventile Smock by Keela.

During a knife demonstration on our Primary Bushcraft Day Course

Ventile:

As a fabric Ventile has an esteemed reputation, developed by the British military during WWII to provide fighter pilots ditched a sea with a lifesaving layer of clothing to extend rescue time in the exposed oceans. The RAF needed uniforms for pilots that were comfortable to wear in the cockpit but sealed into waterproof layers to keep pilots dry and warm while floating in the sea.

It works by swelling so tightly that once damp it doesn’t allow water to ingress inside the fabric. Here you find the usual pay-off with Ventile though: The fabric does get wet, and so can almost via osmosis let you get damp within the garment. Most manufacturers get around this problem by using a standard double layer of ventile fabric to vastly extend the time it takes for water to come through both layers, and with a little body heat the damp rarely gets through the inner layer. This is great, but it doubles the weight and bulk of the garment and as Ventile stiffens when wet it makes moving around a little cumbersome when you’re up against the worst weather; remember double layer Ventile RAF suits were intended to allow you to float comfortably but relatively immobile in frigid seas until rescue arrived, not storm up a hillside or move smoothly through the forest unhindered. Double layer Ventile is also less breathable, especially when wet, meaning if you’re working hard you get just as damp from perspiration from within the garment as you would with a single layer during activity.

Keela have adopted a different method, blending the old with the new just as we do in Bushcraft, to craft a better solution. The Ventile smock has a single layer of Ventile, with an ADS fabric liner to produce a lighter and more sophisticated jacket for active use in harsh conditions. This greatly appealed to me as I’m not usually one to be inactive in the woods, I like to make journey’s and move through the woods, so a jacket that can casually handle both the wet and abrasion of forest activity with the comfort and manoeuvrability of a simple smock sounded perfect for me.

ADS liner: Keela’s ADS liner fabric is a modern synthetic material which wicks moisture away from the body and distributes it over a large surface area, cleverly working with the natural evaporative process to keep you dry within the garment.

In this regard the smock has worked very well for me, I’ve worn it over several days of the wettest weather we get in the UK while teaching and have stayed dry the whole time. When paired with a wool layer underneath it extremely well in the cold too, as the Ventile fabric is very windproof and so prevents the warm air generated by your body from being blown away.

Fit:

The smock is generously fitted to allow for layering underneath without being “big, baggy, and ugly” like the classic gear for bushcraft. I really like the long cut of the back which protects your rear and allows run off of rain well below the waist. Keela have worked with the natural quality of the fabric here too by utilising a single piece of fabric for the back panel, so no seams to leak down your spine or across your shoulder blades.

The arms are nicely long too, which I use to pull my hands into during cold, wet days to protect my hands while hiking or standing still. The two press stud adjustments on the cuffs mean you can cinch the sleeves closed over gloves or directly against your wrist to prevent drafts and give a streamlined fit when climbing or carving with the smock on.

The neck of the smock can opened wide to provide a huge amount of venting of excess heat, with a zip and buttoned flap to offer an excellent amount of protection. One of my concerns when I bought the smock was that I’d have water ingress through the zip but so I haven’t had an issue and I’ve been out in some pretty horrendous rain.

The smock has two side zips which open from the bottom allowing you to easily get the jacket on and off, while also providing another means to vent hot air and perspiration if you’ve been working hard. I would quite like a modification here to clip the bottom hem together while having the zips open to allow venting with having the bottom flapping around.

For me personally with the work I do I could have the length of the smock be 5cm longer to water to run off even further down my thigh in heavy rain and also provide protection when sitting down. I can just about tuck the jacket under me when I sit down now but that extra 5cm would make a big difference. Having said that it would possibly restrict movement in the smock with the extra length so it’s certainly not a deal breaker.

Hood:

My only complaint with the smock is the hood. While being a perfectly adequate hood which does keep you dry, I feel it lack the finesse of some of Keela’s other outdoor jacket hoods. The major annoyance is that putting the hood up without fully buttoning the storm flaps together means they swing back and forth when walking or in the wind, often hitting you in the face. I think a simple redesign here, incorperating a halo drawstring and a slightly larger hood volume would be excellent, along with a rethink on the buttoned storm flaps. For current owners of the smock Keela could simply sell the hood (I’d buy one) and new jackets would benefit greatly.

I love that I can detach the hood though, a good feature if I’m wearing the smock with a wide brim hat or know the weather is going to be cold but dry. The hood just tucks into my rucksack on days like that. There are adjustable toggles on the hood and wire peak which work very well, being able to pull the hood tight around your face while keeping a good level of visibility.

Pockets:

Possibly my favourite feature of the smock are the pockets, being both simple and huge. The kangaroo pouch on the front is easily big enough to take a pair of binoculars, hat, gloves, cuts kit and more; and because it lofts on the outside of the smock your loaded pocket doesn’t crush into you when packed. The protective flap over the zip does a great job of keeping the pocket dry, I’ve used it several times as a dry store for my phone when the weather is really bad.

Under the kangaroo pouch is a hand-warmer sleeve pocket, which is brilliantly fleece lined, to dive your hands into when stopped during a hike. There is zips either side which allows you to keep the hand-warmer pocket closed so the smock sits closely to your body, and also means you can store gloves and other items in here to keep them warm by your stomach without worrying they’ll fall out in transit.

The only addition I’d like to see to these pockets are some gear tie-on loops, so I could larks foot a pocket knife or firesteel into the smock with a piece of paracord.

In summary if you’re looking for a jacket that comfy to wear all day long, tough enough to handle the rigours of woodland life, and waterproof to the nines… I’ve yet to find a garments that beats the Heritage smock from Keela.

Thank you for reading,

JD

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NB It’s worth noting at this point that I bought this smock with my own money 3 years ago, and have no affiliation with Keela outside of a few friendly emails and their support of our Longest Line Attempt.