Harrington Jacket Review Baracuta G9 – Is It Worth It?

Today, we discuss whether the Harrington jacket g9 from Baracuta is worth your money or not.

How The Harrington Jacket Came To Be

Basically, the origins are unclear because, on the one hand, you have John and Isaac Miller who founded the company Baracuta and claimed to have invented the Harrington jacket in 1937. The other English company Grenfell claims that they invented the Harrington jacket as early as 1931. Unfortunately, the records aren’t clear so we’ll never be able to prove who invented what.

That being said, Baracuta has been more associated with the Harrington jacket and their model number is the g9. Baracuta made their name with rainwear and John and Isaac Miller were avid golfers and that helped inspire the design and the qualities of the jacket because it’s often used on the golf course. Baracuta offers different jackets such as the g4 or the g10 and I guess in the g9, the G stands for golf.

As you can see, there’s a close relation between golfing and the Harrington jacket. For example, if you look at the angled flat pockets, they’re ideal to keep golf balls and the ribs at the hip allow you to freely swing. In the 1930s, golf was mainly a sport for the wealthy and as such, the Baracuta jacket which was worn in the golf courses became somewhat of a status symbol. By the 1950s, Ivy League students made the Baracuta g9 jacket a part of the preppy style.

In the 1950s and 60s, some of Hollywood icons wore the Baracuta g9 and some of the most memorable films of the decade. For example, in 1955, James Dean wore it in Rebel without a cause. In 1958, Elvis Presley wore it in King Creole and last but not least, in 1968, Steve McQueen wore the Baracuta g9 in the Thomas Crown Affair. He was also known as the king of cool and he even wore it on the cover of Life magazine. Because of that, Baracuta became synonymous with cool successful people. Now, Steve McQueen didn’t just wear the Baracuta g9 on the set but just like Frank Sinatra or Gregory Peck, he also wore it personally in his spare time. That really helped cement the status of a cool jacket for the Baracuta g9.

So how did they get the name, Harrington jacket? Actually, that was until 1964. It was a popular TV series by the name of Peyton Place and the actor Ryan O’Neal starred as Rodney Harrington wore it and because of that, it got the name Harrington jacket. There was a popular menswear retailer by the name of John Simmons and he really marketed that name Harrington jacket too. After the G9’s initial popularity in the 50s and 60s, the interest vanished a bit but it usually came back into popularity at least once a decade. Despite all that, the Baracuta G9 Harrington jacket remains one of the most timeless and stylish iconic jackets that you can have in a casual world.

What Makes The Baracuta G9 So Special?

So other than famous people wearing it, what exactly makes it so special?

It simply is a waist long jacket that is quite fitted and has a pleasing silhouette. It comes in many different materials but the classic is a cotton poly blend which is 50% cotton and 50% polyester. It’s meant to be water resistant and weather resistant and therefore, it’s not as soft to the touch as the inside which is 80% cotton and 20% polyester.

Baracuta sells the g9 jacket in a range of options including suede leather, regular leather, camouflage, and teddy bear fabric. Sometimes you can also find them in tweed but frankly, the classic jacket is always the poly-cotton blend. The classic g9 generally has a solid outside color even though you can find it with patterns and stuff like camouflage these days.

On the inside, you usually find a plaid or a tartan out of green, red, blue, and white which is also known as a Fraser tartan. It feels quite soft, breathable, and comfortable just like the cotton ribs on the end of the sleeves and the waist. When you walk, you can hear your arms rubbing a bit on the shell but it’s by no means as loud as the Canada Goose jacket.

The classic g9 version features angled side pockets with a flap and a button closure, the more modern interpretations have snap buttons. The size I’m wearing in the video is a 42 which is pretty much true to size. It really isn’t too big such like a Barbour Beaufort. I was positively surprised by the length of the sleeves in a size 42 which is much better than on all the Barbour waxed jackets we reviewed.

Just like the iconic Burberry trench coat or the Barbour waxed jackets, the Baracuta g9 features a Raglan sleeve because it is better to let the water roll off. The front zipper is a double metal zipper from YKK and it works quite well. I also like the fact of double zippers that you can always open them depending on how hot you are or close them to your desired position. It basically features a straight collar that can be flapped over if you want to for a different look. If you look at the back of the jacket, it has a very interesting yoke that was inspired by an umbrella and the idea is that water can roll up your jacket very conveniently without getting you wet. Ingeniously, they also added vent holes in there. That way, you don’t overheat very easily.

Modern Baracuta g9 jackets are made of a shell fabric called Coolmax which is supposed to be very breathable and also water repellent. Today, the jackets are made in England but that wasn’t always the case. There was a time it was outsourced to Asia and other countries but they brought it back to England for good measure. Looking at the seams, they all have a very high stitch density, they’re straight and sewn very close to the edge so the workmanship, overall, is very good.

Overall, the garment feels very well made even though the YKK zippers are not the best ones on the market. Baracuta also pays attention to details, for example, if you look at the buttons, you can see the engraving Baracuta g9 and 1937 which was the year it was designed. Now, it also has a shank which makes sense for the thickness of the fabric but the buttons are plastic and not horn. After all, it is a factory made garment but it is well made. You can tell by looking at the buttonholes, they were cut first and then sewn with a machine. Cheaper buttonholes are sewn first and then cut leaving you with more residual threads.

Is The Baracuta G9 Harrington Jacket Worth It?

Well, it retails for $390 in the US and as I said before, I would stick with a classic cotton polyblend one simply because that’s the iconic jacket and it’s the least expensive one. While $390 are not a bargain for a casual jacket that you will mostly wear during spring or fall season, I still think there is a place for it in your wardrobe.

First of all, it comes in a really large range of colors but it also has a very pleasing slim modern cut, even though it was designed in 1937. Frankly, before I bought one, I didn’t anticipate liking it as much as I do now. Of course, the fact that James Dean and Steve McQueen wore it is certainly not detracting from it.

At the same time, I’m more focused on the materials themselves and I’m really pleased with the length of the sleeves which is often something I find challenging because I have above-average long arms. Personally, I’m also a big fan of the 1930s and having items that are originally from the time period or at least inspired by it are always a plus in my book.

On top of that, it’s very functional jacket; I can wear it when it’s raining outside when I need to pick up some groceries or drop off my daughter somewhere, Of course, you can also use it playing golf or you could even wear it shooting. Although, I think a waxed cotton jacket such as the Barbour jacket is better suited for that.

If you consider the price per wear and you just wear it ten times during the spring and ten times during the fall for just ten years, that breaks down to $1.95 per wear which I think is totally worth it.

Of course, you can also get the jackets used on places such as eBay but really understand what you’re buying and who you’re buying from and make sure you can return a jacket because there are lots of fakes on eBay, especially the ones sold from Eastern Europe, so buyer beware!

So in conclusion, I think the Baracuta g9 Harrington jacket is worth its money even at the retail price level for almost any man out there interested in classic men’s clothing and even more casual clothing because it is a more casual jacket.