Manifattura Ceccarelli Parka Review and Durability Warning

[SignInStranger]

I want to start by saying that I absolutely adore the look and fit of this jacket and that the critique in this thread is only to do with the quality of the seams in certain areas. For context, I am not rich and the decision to purchase this beautiful jacket was a major investment based on my impression that it is would be very durable. The jacket has been worn for one year from November-March, the next year from October-March and this winter since mid December. During that time I have worn it every day, true, but only in the city on my subway commute and never in the wild or during any type of strenuous activity. I want to love the jacket and the brand enough that I have tried to come up with all sorts of reasons as to why this might actually be my fault; maybe I held onto the escalator railing in a careless manner, maybe the buckles of my Trakke messenger bag somehow rubbed too much against the sleeves? But this is a military-inspired waxed cotton jacket with pockets for hunting. It is meant to be used in a rougher manner than I ever have -- indeed, the point of such an item is that you shouldn't have to baby it at all. Around the same time as I bought this my wife bought a significantly cheaper waxed cotton jacket from Swedish brand Brixtol, which actually gets their fabric from the same Scottish supplier as Manifattura Ceccarelli but that actually looks near mint today, even on the sleeves.

If durability is not an issue for you and you don't mind a few holes here and there, I can definitively recommend this jacket. It is as practical as it is beautiful with many pockets, including a pair of game pockets in the back that I've yet to find an urban use for. It has a decent amount of warmth (you have to layer of course) but it is not in any way ***bersome and I am always pleased with how easy it is to throw it on for a walk. If I was rich enough to buy a new one of these every couple of years maybe that's exactly what I would do, but alas I once again find myself in the market for a jacket and unless this is a known issue that has since been fixed, I am sad to say it probably won't be a Manafattura Ceccarelli.

 

[l0fielectronic]

I mean its not the seams or construction which have failed here its the material which has just been worn through.

I've got one of the Free Rain/My Life jackets they did about fifteen years ago, which is I think the same jacket pretty much with a couple of extra features. Thats still pretty good but I probably only wear it thirty or so days a year. It does have some wear and slight fraying to the cuffs like yours but nothing worn through anywhere. I wonder if the quality isn't what it used to be.

The material does look pretty dry, I wonder if re waxing it at some point would've helped ...although I wouldn't expect to have to re-wax a jacket after two years wear either.

 

[Bennarion]

Cool jacket

 

[TLW '90]

My 40 year old m65 is in much better condition than this, and my 50 year old m65 is in better condition where the fabric is concerned.
A lot of stitching has come out after all these years, but the fabric is still going strong.

I am quite surprised that an expensive waxed cotton canvas jacket has worn this many holes through in the time you've had it.
And the lining in the sleeves ?
That seems quite premature to me as well.
I'd expect something like this to hold up significantly better than that.

I don't know if the stiffness of the wax is allowing stress points to form, but yeah if I had this kind of experience I'd just replace it with a USGI m65 field jacket or fishtail parka for significantly less money that would probably last longer.
I just can't imagine one wearing through this fast.

 

[JDelage]

Interesting. I have a green mountain jacket in the WX (waxed cotton) fabric I bought in 2020. I mostly wear it in cold & wet weather but here in Seattle that's quite a chunk of the year. My jacket has nothing like that - no hole, no real abrasion, no fraying...

The damage on your jacket looks mostly to be on the inside of the sleeves, right? This is a weird spot.

 

[barnabus]

From what I can find, the fabric is this parka is Halley Stevenson waxed cotton canvas. But I can't find the fabric weight specified anywhere.

My old Barbour International is 8oz waxed cotton, it's done me 10 years of pretty heavy, regular wear - even including a motorcycle crash - and it doesn't show anything like the wear on your parka.

Maybe it's worth contacting the manufacturer - not with a complaint, simply to question whether they might expect this to happen.

Also, if you otherwise love the jacket, there are plenty of companies around that can repair those holes. To my mind, a well-repaired waxed cotton jacket is even cooler. I sent mine back to Barbour to have a rip repaired after the bike crash and I love it more than ever now.

 

[barnabus]

my 50 year old m65 is in better condition where the fabric is concerned

To be fair, your M65 will be NyCo, 50/50 cotton/nylon. So I would fully expect it to be far more robust than straight up waxed cotton.

I also suspect that waxed fabric is more vulnerable to micro wear than unwaxed, due to its rigidity and reduced flexibility.

 

[RDS]

I’m not familiar with that brand, however as it is a waxed cotton jacket I also wonder if it was ever re-waxed.

With regular wear a waxed jacket ought to be re-waxed at least annually, and as this jacket appears to have been worn daily, very probably even more frequently.

Although the wax on a cotton jacket is mainly there to improve water resistance it also helps to prevent wear caused by friction and rubbing.

Any ‘dry’ spots on a waxed cotton jacket will soon wear if they aren’t treated with extra wax being applied. This doesn’t necessarily mean the entire jacket has to be done and sometimes it can be just the relevant areas of high wear or where there’s more rubbing; which, as in this case, is generally cuffs and inside sleeves.

 

[Tom71]

Wow, this looks like a jacket with some serious miles on it!

All the wear, damage, frayeing, how the folds are settled in - this looks like some ten years of very regular wear. I can´t imagine how a total of eleven months can put this strain on waxed cotton.
I have a Barbour that is 15 years old and was never baybied (my go-to travel jacket for a long time), and it looks WAY better.

I have been eyeing MC for some time now. I find their designs attractive and the prices just about still bearable, but I wouldn´t want to see a deterioration like that after minor use.

I would definitely reach out to them and politely ask if they can do something in terms of repair. I am sure they wouldn´t want something like this to become a trademark of how their jackets stand the test of time.

 

[TLW '90]

To be fair, your M65 will be NyCo, 50/50 cotton/nylon. So I would fully expect it to be far more robust than straight up waxed cotton.

I also suspect that waxed fabric is more vulnerable to micro wear than unwaxed, due to its rigidity and reduced flexibility.

For the outside sure, but the lining inside the sleeves wearing like this in only 11 months of total wear ?
That seems pretty unacceptable to me.

 

[Jon Crow]

This reminds of a old filthy farmer coat where I grew up in Yorkshire, absence of pig shight and other stains though, looks dried out as well

 

[barnabus]

Get it repaired, it'll be good for years to come.

Look at this picture of then-Prince Charles in his old jacket. More repairs than coat.