The North Face Men's Vostok Parka

The red version of this jacket kept me warm all the way through the 2012-13 Kazakhstan, standing at 630am waiting for buses in winter with temps down to -47C in Oskemen, yet it was also capable of being worn on the journey there and back in the summer on the plane without being too hot. I left many items behind when I left, but not this.

Outdoorkit delivered a fast efficient service at a super price. I wore this coat for the first time in Durham this week with blizzards and very cold wind and found it excellent. I wore a tee-shirt and cotton shirt underneath and was warm as toast. I bought the XL and found it to be very similar to other XL clothing I have. The hood is typically large but I wore a baseball cap underneath and found it okay but I can see that without a hat underneath it could slip down over your face. Bags of pockets - I liked the handwarmer pockets. Longer than many other parkas I tried so give good coverage to upper leg and thigh. Will be my No.1 parka for cold weather from now on. Very pleased with my first purchase from Outdoorkit.

Just bought the black Vostock today. Looks cool! My reason for buying is to keep me warm through winter trips to Moscow where temps can be minus 20 to 30 degrees. Whilst not having chance to put it to the test I am confident I have made a good choice. The only issue I see is the hood with faux fur falls in front of your eyes. To overcome this I will wrap/ roll back the hood. The instructions for " regular" washing means you will have to regularly clean it; wash by hand, then writes and tumble dry in a commercial laundrette. So not straight forward but I am sure it's not required too often and will be worth it to keep in tip top condition!

Firstly, the service was great and my coat arrived the next working day. The coat itself is brilliant; great looks, great quality, it's really warm and keeps out the wind and rain. I've read a few reviews online where people say that these coats run big and people should order a smaller size than recommended, but I'm 5 foot 9, have a 41 inch chest, am of average build and a medium fits me perfectly! Highly recommended.

I ordered this coat last Wednesday at noon, it arrived the next day less than 24 hours later - AMAZING SERVICE. The Vostok Parka is what it says it is and more; I can see it's potential in terms of keeping me warm, it has ample pockets for storage, the fur hood when pulled up with the face protector securely fastened by Velcro will provide a great defence against the cold - I CAN'T WAIT TO TAKE IT TO WINDERMERE AND GIVE IT A TEST!

The Vostok parka is a very nice winter coat. I am not keen on the block colours of the red and grey with the black, but the all black design colouring is much nicer. The parka has an easy to use heavy-duty zip that runs from the hem to the neck and a large facial storm flap to protect your lower face and a deep hood with fur trim. My only criticism is the hood which does not have any form of vertical adjustment on the back of the hood and so the deep tunnel hood will flop down over your eyes if the fur part is pulled forward for maximum protection. You can wear a beanie hat with a stiffened peak or a baseball cap to get around the problem, but a hood adjuster on the back of the hood or a bracing wire around the tunnel part of the hood would have made a big difference. Note this is is only a problem when the front of the hood is fully extended forwards. If the fur is folded back, then there is not an issue. Other than that I really like this parka.

First of all I would like to thank OutdoorKit for their first class service. This coat is in a class of its own; stunning to look at and it almost reaches down to the knee, but the beauty of this coat is its warmth. So incredibly light for its size with an abundance of pockets.