Apparently, that’s not meant to come off?

With the temperature dropping and the good old British weather being as temperamental as ever, staying dry can be just as important as eating and drinking. A staple of a the never ending task of staying dry is your shell jacket. Whether you’re a technical layering kind of person, or happy to throw on the latest 3-in-1 at the first sign of rain, our jackets often amount to the most technically advanced and expensive pieces of equipment we carry. 

Myself? I go for the layering approach; I tend to run pretty hot when I’m out and about but can struggle with the finer temperature control when I’m in the heights. The layering approach allows for this finer control of your temperature and, in turn, your comfort (I’ll write up a little guide as to approaching layering systems for all budgets soon!). 

As a result of my 8-year-old Jack Wolfskin starting to show some pretty blatant signs of abuse, I was in the market for a new technical shell; Something light on weight, heavy on performance and midweight on price. I follow a site many of you will probably be familiar with, SportPursuit, who do pretty much the best deals on any outdoor clothing you’ll ever come across. 

*Stage is set, enter Fjern Orkan eVent Waterproof Jacket* 

Despite the pretty Nordic sounding name and roots of Fjern, the origin of the brand is in fact a group of UK based outdoor enthusiasts with a strong belief in the Nordic approach to the outdoors. The Orkan is their flagship shell jacket, incorporating an eVent membrane in 3 layers and some pretty colour schemes, ensuring you stay 100% dry from rain or sweat. For those of you that haven’t heard of eVent before, just know that it is on par, if not better, than the equivalent GoreTex membrane.  

Now, first thing first, this jacket is nothing short of the most comfortable waterproof I’ve ever worn. The cut is slightly athletic, going as far as being pretty flattering and specifically designed for layering; the colour is deep but not loud; and the inner layer is soft enough against your skin you’d be forgiven for wanting to wear it all day, every day. 

In regard to features, it’d be easier to write-up what it didn’t have. The lack of an exterior chest pocket is annoying, if a little trivial; it could be said the interior phone and separate meshed map pockets make up for this. Proper, hip-belt-compatible pockets adorn the front and some subtle branding can be found to the rear. 

The quality of the jacket could have been perfect; despite the lightweight nature, everything appears to be well put together. Sealed seems, toggled zips, expensive feeling Velcro and a relatively effective drawcord system all make for a definite feeling of confidence when facing down some of the grey sky stuff. That said, this jacket did fail; not catastrophically, but enough for it to put a damper on the purchase. 

The lower drawcord system fell apart where it attaches to the inside of the jacket. This meant that a gentle pull ripped it clean out, while I was in the clouds on Moel Hebog; not ideal. Having a good look at how and where it came apart, it appears to have been poorly attached to the inside of the jacket in the first place, so a manufacturing error more than a design flaw. 

A quick discussion with the original retailer and a replacement was sent my way; much better attachment on the drawcord. It’s important to look after these high-tech jackets in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations; the eVent membrane in this jacket wants to be regularly washed with a tech wash to unblock the pores. As a result, the DWR treatment (the treatment that makes the water bead on the surface and prevents it ‘wetting out’) will need re-applying and re-activating with heat just as regularly. Don’t let this put you off though, in the same manner we clean, wax and treat our boots to give them a chance in protecting us, this jacket does need a little TLC occasionally.

All in all, this jacket is ace. After a good few outings in some pretty harsh conditions and it hasn’t leaked a single drop, while evaporating all of the sweat. It’s comfortable, lightweight and packs down tight, proving that you apparently can have your cake and eat it! In fact, it’s so good, Polly immediately picked up one of the women’s ones!

Edit – So it’s been close to 1 year of having this coat, having used it in everything from a quick dash to the shops in the rain, to a vicious downpour on the summit of Moel Hebog, and I’ve been left somewhat disappointed! Despite having followed the care instruction to the absolute letter, while using the very products Fjern themselves suggest using; the waterproof ability of this coat has drastically reduced through use. After only 12 months using it, the coat will completely wet-out in less than 30 mins worth of rain, rendering the eVent membrane all but useless. This results in a huge increase in condensation build up inside the coat, which leaves you just as wet as you would have been without it! I’m also not convinced the eVent membrane is actually stopping water passing through.

I’ve demoted this coat to pretty lightweight use – it’s very lightweight and very packable, so maybe I was hoping for too much; but considering the insistence that eVent is just as good as GoreTex, I was hopeful it would come up to standard! Unfortunately not. I’m now on the hunt for a GoreTex coat that is a little heavier.

Stand-out features

  • Unique eVent® membrane with Direct Venting™ technology
  • DWR finish (Durable Water Repellent) helps repel water from fabric surface
  • Anatomical shaping for fit and comfort, designed for technical layering
  • Two large zipped hand warmer pockets, positioned high enough to avoid harnesses/backpack straps
  • Internal stretch mesh pocket, large enough for storing gloves, map, goggles etc
  • Underarm pit zips with water repellent zippers
  • Corded zipper pulls are easy to grab, even whilst wearing gloves
  • Hypalon Velcro cuff adjusters
  • Adjustable drawcord hem with drop back for extra coverage
  • Internal zip chest pocket with earphone cable port

Recommendation Rating: 55%

Fjern Mens Orkan Waterproof Shell – RRP £300 at Fjern – Also available at SportPursuit for £139.99 at the time of writing


12 Comments

Sara · 07/10/2021 at 8:11 am

Thanks for your review – it has just saved my from making a mistake choosing the eVent!
Have you found any better waterproof jackets?

    Zac Urquhart · 07/10/2021 at 1:48 pm

    I’m glad you’ve been able to make an informed decision! I’m currently testing a GoreTex Pro membraned jacket which is showing good things – but the eVent did too until it stopped working! I’ll definitely be reviewing this jacket in the near future once I’ve abused it properly with some winter weather.

    For the record though, eVent isn’t a bad membrane per say, it definitely has its use cases! The Orkan is very packable and light, so is pretty good as a ‘it may rain today, it may not’ jacket. But as a fully fledged winter bruiser? I’d be looking toward GoreTex Pro membranes!

Jacob · 17/11/2021 at 4:16 pm

To add to the above i have a a few issues with my Orkan (a little under 24 months old) as well. One seam under the arm has come away from the zipper and one of the pocket seams has just come away. Fjern’s response “I am really sorry about this. Like I said, we would not expect this to happen after 2 years of using the jacket…..” but have refused to do anything about it!

    Zac Urquhart · 17/11/2021 at 4:52 pm

    I really wanted to love this jacket! First impressions were genuine, but it’s since been downgraded to ‘light use’ at best. I’ve also had trouble with some of the tape of recent. It seems that the eVent fabric wants lots of washing etc., but the jacket construction just doesn’t allow for it without it failing. The fact the company have been less than helpful to you is less than ideal; I could name a few other companies that would jump at the chance to make it right. Hopefully this will be a set of lessons learned for Fjern; I’ll certainly be keeping tabs on their development.

    Thanks for dropping a line anyway! Let me know what/if you replace your Fjern and what with; always interested to see what everyone else is using!

Dan · 09/02/2022 at 8:10 pm

I know it’s not entirely relevant, but I have been using eVent cycling waterproofs (Endura) for around 8 hard-use years – and still as good as new – and I have an eVent outdoor coat – and I think they are better than any Gortex stuff I’ve had as it is very much more breathable.

Ironing the fabric should bring back the beading.

I hope this helps, as it’s unfair (in my view) to diss eVent.

    zacurquhart · 11/02/2022 at 8:12 pm

    That’s fair, and thanks for commenting! It’s good to have this sort of information in one place.

    I did try all the recommended methods of rejuvenation for the DWR coating but nothing really worked, or it would only last a wear or two.

    I’ve since got a Goretex Pro jacket and it’s definitely better in respect to durability and breathability in the worst conditions the UK has thrown at it!

    I do think it’s a matter of opinion regardless – As I said, I run hot and sweaty, which is a bad combination with eVent in my experience.

Nick · 04/04/2022 at 10:17 am

I found the jacket to perform the same.
Great at first, but after about 6 months to a year, it started failing despite regular care. Now relegated to dog walking in light showers.

I’m regularly up on the mountains and am now looking for a reliable jacket.

dave · 27/04/2022 at 9:26 am

I’ve had 2 of these jackets so far, and pocket seams have failed from holding keys/phone/wallet… nothing massively heavy… but my car keys did fall through without me noticing on the first time… fortunately I retraced my steps and found them but I was VERY peeved at it occurring again.

Maybe last 12 months of “light” use but certainly… if I had been using them as I had actually envisaged (running, MTBing, bouldering) then they probably would have fallen apart far quicker.

Sports Pursuit customer service is always good when things go wrong. They replaced the first one (per 2yr warranty), 2nd one was 12 months since last replaced, and they immediately offered a refund including all return and original postage fees, and didnt push me down the replacement route. Ill stick with SP but just buy a different brand.

Calum · 09/06/2022 at 4:06 pm

Owned one of these jackets for 4 years now. Pocket seams have failed, some of the sleeve seams are also beginning to fail and the logos are now badly worn away. It performs well in the hills, quite cold though, as you would expect from an e vent, but I like that. However, I wouldn’t buy again, due to the issues stated as well as the quite unhelpful customer service when I raised the issue.

    zacurquhart · 13/06/2022 at 6:29 am

    Completely concur on this – it seems the build quality can’t keep up with the flexibility and care requirement of the eVent fabric! Shame really, mine has been demoted to strictly ‘walking about town’ duties.

Patrick E Ford · 25/03/2023 at 3:13 pm

Just in the response to the above comments about the Fjern Orkan, I can only say thank you for relaying your experiences. It is really difficult to find genuine field tested experiences of jackets. The sales blurb is not very informative. I bought a RAB eVent jacket about 8 yrs ago after reading all the hype. RAB is a reputable British firm that has historically alway made high end climbing sleeping bags etc, so when looking at their jackets I was excited. Seams in the pockets and around the shoulders started to fail after 18 months and the waterproofness was about as good as a teabag, despite proofing as per instructions. They replaced the jacket first time but the same thing happened again, at which point the original warranty had expired and they wouldn’t replace again. I have only ever used it for wet walks around home and shopping! I wouldn’t buy RAB eVent again. GORE-TEX all the way for me

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