I stress-tested this jacket on a violently pitching sea during a storm, and it kept me bone dry
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(Image credit: Ed Smith)
(Image credit: Ed Smith)
T3 VerdictSuperbly featured, brilliantly designed, and expertly constructed from the most advanced materials available, decades of hard-earned sailing and outdoor experience in the most challenging conditions have been poured into the Helly Hansen Skagen Offshore Sailing Jacket. And it shows. This is the best jacket for sailing and boating out there.
T3 Verdict
Superbly featured, brilliantly designed, and expertly constructed from the most advanced materials available, decades of hard-earned sailing and outdoor experience in the most challenging conditions have been poured into the Helly Hansen Skagen Offshore Sailing Jacket. And it shows. This is the best jacket for sailing and boating out there.
Reasons to buy+Extremely protective 2-layer construction+Brushed fabric chin/face guard with Velcro attachments+Tuck-away hood+High-vis elements+Multiple pockets
Extremely protective 2-layer construction
Brushed fabric chin/face guard with Velcro attachments
Tuck-away hood
High-vis elements
Multiple pockets
No inside pockets
Over-specced for general use
Quite pricey
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
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Helly Hansen Men’s Skagen Offshore Sailing Jacket deals
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One hundred and forty years of expertise, experience and product evolution have led to the development of highly protective garments developed and designed for people who spend time in the tall mountains and high seas, such as the two-layered Helly Hansen Skagen Offshore Sailing coat, which is most certainly one of thebest waterproof jacketsout there for wearing while sailing and boating.
(First reviewed May 2023)
Helly Hansen Skagen Offshore Sailing Jacket review: price and availability
The Helly Hansen Skagen Offshore Sailing Jacket is available to buy now directly fromHelly Hansen UK,Helly Hansen USandHelly Hansen AUfor a recommended retail price of £350/$375/AU$650. It comes in four colours: Azid Lime, Cloudberry, Alert Red and Navy.
Helly Hansen Skagen Offshore Sailing Jacket review: specifications
(Image credit: Ed Smith)
(Image credit: Ed Smith)
Helly Hansen Skagen Offshore Sailing jacket: construction and features
This two-layer jacket has an inner lining made from 100% recycled mesh, which is soft and comfortable if worn next to skin (although typically you will have a base and mid-layer on beneath the Skagen) and assists massively with the breathability of the garment.
There are no genuine inside pockets on the Skagen, probably for the very good reason that, when you have it on, the conditions are usually such that you won’t want to open it for fear of letting rain and seawater in past all those brilliant defences, but there is a chest pocket that sits outside the main zip, but inside the Velcro-shutting AquaGuard flap.
But it’s the outer layer where all the real magic happens. Made with Helly Tech Performance material, which is highly waterproof (10,000+ HH), completely windproof and very breathable (10000+ g/sq.m/day), the Skagen’s outer shell provides excellent protection from everything the elements can and will throw at you when you’re out to sea.
(Image credit: Ed Smith)
(Image credit: Ed Smith)
The heavy-duty YKK AquaGuard main zip, sealed seams and double overlapping front flap, secured with Velcro, ensure water is kept at bay. The cuffs have a fully adjustable but double-secure sealing system, with high-vis elements. The storm hood (also made entirely with high-vis material) can be tucked away completely behind the neck, but when it’s out and in place, it provides comprehensive protection for the head and the majority of the face, with a pull-across, soft-backed chin protector.
The lower hem can be drawn in tight around the hips and waist, so worn with theHelly Hansen Foil Sailing Pants, you have a totally waterproof soft suit of armour to keep you dry and warm in even the worst conditions. A high collar and low-reaching back panel complete the comprehensive coverage area.
The Skagen has two big deep lower side pockets, cleverly accessible from both the top and the side, as well as a pair of angled breast pockets with fully waterproof zips and a soft, thermal lining to keep your hands warm if required. On each shoulder there is a super reflective patch.
Helly Hansen Skagen Offshore Sailing jacket: on the water
The maiden voyage for my Skagen Offshore Sailing jacket was during a baptism-of-fire, hands-on winter sailing trip on a Figaro Bénéteau 3 racing yacht with professional sailorsJoan Mulloyand Piers Copham. The boat was a thing of beauty, and since we were supposed to be cruising along the coast of South Wales - alongside the Gower Peninsula, with the Mumbles and the Brecon Beacons shaping the skyline - the scenario should have been idyllic. Instead, however, a storm is gusting up to 32 knots, sideways rain is hitting us full in the face, and the boat is bucking up and down so violently on mountainous waves that the bow is sometimes submerged.
(Image credit: Ed Smith)
(Image credit: Ed Smith)
Helly Hansen Skagen Offshore Sailing jacket: final verdict
If you’re sailing or doing any sort of boating or coast-based activity during the months of the year when conditions can be seriously challenging – which, in Britain, can be quite a chunk of the calendar – the Helly Hansen Skagen Offshore jacket is one of the most technically capable, impressively protective and well-featured jackets you will ever find. It keeps you dry, it keeps you warm, and it allows you to stay active in even the worst of weather, and there are myriad safety features in case something does go wrong.
Helly Hansen Men’s Skagen Offshore Sailing Jacket: Price Comparison
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