Technical outerwear with ThruDark
Introducing a high-performance outerwear brand from the UK that you need to know about!
Exploring new brands is honestly one of the best things about fashion. There’s so much out there and finding something new to add to the rotation keeps things interesting. Today I’m linking up with ThruDark to learn more about the brand, check out some of their outerwear pieces, and tell you why you should have them on your radar.
ThruDark started as an idea around 2016 and it has a pretty neat history. Started by two friends after serving in the UK military, the two would constantly tinker with their gear to make them fit better for their everyday needs. After a while, they became pretty good at tailoring their garments, removing and adding certain parts to their existing kits. After they completed their service they decided to take this experience to start ThruDark.
To begin the brand’s journey, the two worked at a factory in England to better understand how to create garments from the ground up— I’m into the fact that they wanted to do this right, and I think that knowledge and experience has carried over to the clothes they make today.
Let’s dive right into it — how are the clothes? I picked up a few pieces to review and give my honest feedback on, and honestly, I was pleasantly surprised at the level of detail the garments had as soon as I had them in hand. The quality is also really solid, and I’ve been having a blast wearing these items recently. Garments fit true to size, and the cool thing is that ThruDark offers sizes up to XXXL — a size brands don’t usually carry. Each piece comes with its unique features, equipped with technical fabrics from brands like Pertex and Primaloft — enough about all that though, let’s peep the outerwear.
Let’s look at the Engage Jacket to start us off. Made in Poland, this jacket is insulated using Primaloft technology and treated with a water-resistant coating from Pertex— without boring you with the technical stuff, it’s a jacket that will keep you warm, regulating your body temperature while repelling all of that rain or snow from getting inside.
I think the coolest details are in the hood. Comes with a brim on the hood that you can simply fold in and out, giving you additional protection. The way they designed the drawstrings is great — on most jackets, I find that the drawstrings kind of hang after you tighten them, and sure you could tuck them, but that’s not always a good option. Herr that excess string is kept in place thanks to a to a small opening that lets the code sit inside the neck area. You can also adjust the fit of your hood with the hidden drawstring at the back for additional styling.
For the pockets, you have two massive ones at the front that can hold two bottles of wine if need — i’ve tested — and if you need even more storage then you’ll find 3 additional hidden pockets on the inside. One thing that I thought was cool is the minimal stitching on the exterior, which gives this flat-panelling vibe to it that I like. Typically you see panel stitching to maintain the down fill in place, but with the Primaloft technology, there’s no need to worry about that.
It’s been really fun to wear this piece recently, especially when I don’t need to worry about having to wear additional layers if it’s colder. For all of my cropped-style heads, you’ll be able to easily adjust the fit at the waist with drawstrings.
The Engage Jacket is available for purchase in Olive, Red and Black on the ThruDark website here.
The Ithax Jacket is a lightweight, packable down jacket that is also filled using Primaloft insulation. It comes in both hood and non-hooded versions, and I decided to go with the hood because I was curious about how it would fit on my head specifically. Many brands have pieces like this, but usually, I find that the way they design this type of hood just falls short for me — sometimes it doesn’t fit right, or the opening is too large, or there’s too much excess material that bunches up around the neck, which makes it kind of look ugly. I was hyped to find that the hood on the Ithax Jacket fits perfectly around my head and face without looking weird.
Pairing a light down with another jacket doesn’t work all the time. Depending on the shape of the jacket, the fabric bunches up too much on the inside of the other piece, but because the Ithax jacket is cut a bit slimmer on the sides, I found it much easier to pair it with another jacket over top. Also, when you tighten up those drawstrings at the bottom the side of the jacket doesn’t puff out like most others do, so that was a huge plus.
Overall, really simple jacket that shares similarities to the first piece we talked about like the hidden drawstrings at the back of the hood for easy fit adjustments and hidden pockets on the inside. This is a piece you can either rock on its own or easily pair with another outerwear item for increased warmth if needed.
The Ithax jacket is available in multiple colorways on the ThruDark website here.
The last jacket I got was actually made in Ukraine, which is not something you see every day, so I was kind of stoked about that. The Ronin Tanto Snow Jacket is ideal for serious mountaineering, hitting the slopes, or simply getting a fit off. The jacket comes with Recco tech that is specifically used for rescue missions during avalanches and other extreme events. Love the overall shape, comes with a dropped shoulder cut, and again, this brand really knows how to make a hood that looks good on and off the face — it’s such a small detail, but to me, that’s one of the most important elements of an outerwear piece so I’m genuinely thrilled at the execution.
This jacket has pockets galore. Four pockets on the front, with two massive chest pockets that can fit an iPad if you want. Hidden zip pockets on the inside with additional pockets on each sleeve — ideal for a lift pass for when you’re skiing for example. Completely waterproof thanks to full taped seams, so if you need something that will guarantee your dryness then this piece is it.
On the inside things start to get interesting. You have classic features like the snow gaiters at the wrists for even more protection from the cold and snow and a removable snow skirt at the waist that’s perfect for keeping anything from the outside going up your jacket. One of the hidden pockets on the sleeves comes with a built-in cloth that’s designed to clean your goggles on the go which is a nice little touch.
One of my favorite features of this jacket is the hidden drawstrings for the hood which you can find inside the chest pocket at the front — shown in the photo above. They come with a quick-release clasp that you can press on to quickly release the tension of the drawstring, making it easy to adjust the fit of your hood on the go. One additional thing that I thought was a nice touch was the larger velcro at the sleeve — Some shell jackets that I own go with a smaller velcro or other tech and that’s where I find myself needing to adjust my sleeves more than I need to because they come undone. With the Ronin jacket, I don’t have that issue and that’s a plus.
I think for the amount of technology put into this piece and its overall purpose, in comparison to other jackets out there, especially when it comes to prices, this is a very solid item that’s more affordable than other choices out there.
You can grab the Ronin Tanto Snow Jacket on the ThruDark website here.
I was also curious about some of their base layers so I ended up grabbing the Oryon Delta long sleeve. Specifically designed for intense heat, the Oryon Delta utilizes Polartec Delta cooling fabric that is insanely lightweight and breathable — long story short, it’s more of a form-fitting piece that works with your body to enhance the moisture-wicking capabilities, pushing the sweat to the fabrics outer layer so you can remain dry. Really technical piece here, and honestly I haven’t had the proper opportunity to push it to its limit just yet, but I’m interested to see how it works when the time is right.
Straightforward style that’s lightweight and comes with two large chest pockets with a hidden zipper. It’s not a super-cheap item, but for the tech and its purpose, I think it comes at a reasonable price point.
You can purchase the Oryon Delta Long Sleeve on the website in a variety of other colors here.
Overall, I think this is a very solid brand that you should consider if you’re looking for serious outerwear that’s designed to work in extreme weather conditions while making you look good. What I enjoy about this particular brand is the overall simplicity of the designs, which allows me to easily incorporate the pieces within my existing wardrobe. Sure, you can go the full expedition vibe, but you can also dress these pieces in a more streetwear fit if you want — Here are a couple of outfits that I built to show you exactly what I mean.
And that’s it! These are obviously just some of the great items that are offered by the brand, and I’m personally excited to continue to wear these pieces as we close out the winter season. I recommend taking some time to go through their entire catalog to see what they have to offer because there are a lot of other great products available.
Another week another banger. I think it would be cool if you made a post abt bags, people r fading away from the tote bag era lol.
what pants are shown on the fit pics? nice post 🙏🏽