The Kasson is where Penfield started. Irving Penn founded the brand in 1975 in Massachusetts, and the original Kasson parka was the jacket that established the company’s reputation for working outerwear built against serious northeast winters. Fifty years on, Penfield has reissued it using the original pattern, with the square-cut silhouette, two-way front zip, and snap-over storm flap that defined the first version.
The fabric is Penfield’s 60/40 cotton/nylon otto, a tightly woven ripstop construction treated with a PFC-free water-repellent coating. The insulation is recycled fibre fill. The result is a jacket that handles light rain without becoming a shell, retains warmth without puffing out, and sits at the looser cut that allows layering underneath. The hood is adjustable but not overengineered; the cuffs fasten with Velcro. There are four exterior patch pockets, two hand-warmer pockets, and a zip chest pocket.
Where a lot of archive reissues add visible branding to signal their heritage credentials, this one is restrained. The woven chest patch carries a small 50th anniversary logo, and that is the extent of it. The rest of the jacket reads as the thing itself rather than as a commemoration of the thing.
The navy colourway shown is close to the original 1975 colourway. It is not a fashion jacket made to look like outdoor gear. It is outdoor gear, made exactly as it was before outdoor gear became a fashion category.
£275 - penfield.com