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Sailing Jackets and clothing has always been a bit of a hard subject and often boils down to how much cash you’re willing to part with.

He’re we’re reviewing both of these entry level jackets, the Helly Hansen Coastal III ~ £130 and it’s counterpart the Gill OS2 Offshore ~ £170. Despite seeming from different ranges they are Hellys & Gills most basic coastal sailing jackets intended for ambling around in coastal waters.

Helly Hansen Coastal III

Gill OS2

Main uses
If you’re new to buying sailing jackets then it’s worth pointing out from the outset that both of these jackets offer no thermal protection. They are windproof, waterproof, have high-vis hoods, large pockets for gloves/snacks and elastics around your wrists to stop the odd wave going up your arm.
Underneath you need to have a baselayer i.e. a t-shirt/thermal top and a mid-layer i.e. a fleece/jumper if you’re going anywhere cold.

The test
The test for this was with a weeks sailing up in Scotland, I have to admit I didn’t manage to pack the Gill so can’t account for it’s performance but another person on the trip had the Gill and wasn’t complaining. During the week we had plenty of rain and wind as would be expected and not a drip made it through the outer layer. The high collar helped with the wind and overall I would consider it one of my most important pieces of sailing equipment.

Key Differences
I have tried both of these and found that they were roughly the same with a few key differences. The main one that I could notice was that Gill have a much larger zip on their base jacket which only seems to starton the Fjord/Skagen jackets wih Helly.

The other main difference was the sizes, Helly & Gill have slightly different sizes. I’m an average build 5ft10 and weigh 80kg/175lbs I personally found the Gill medium a little snug and the large a little large whereas the Helly medium seemed to work well for me.

The limits
These are obviously not MPX suits or ocean jackets, they’re very well suited for a week or two of continuous sailing around as the names suggest coastal waters. I have worn my Helly in a force 8 gale and it did the job there but had it been much longer than a few hours I expect I would have been pushing the limits of how dry I could really stay.

The alternatives
Downgrading
The best I could suggest would be a regular windproof jacket from a regular outdoor shop. These tend to be alot cheaper, depending on what you go for you lose out on the high vis element as well as potentially the nice large pockets of sailing jackets which can easily be got at with gloves on. If you’re only going for a weekend buying doesn’t make sense if you’ve decided that you are forever a sailor get your cards out.

More of the same
Don’t forget to check out Musto’s BR1 Channel Jacket ~ £150 and Henri Lloyds Biscay Jacket ~ £150 both of them in particular the Musto are also definitely worth a look.

Upgrading
The next step up is the Helly Fjord/Skagen ~ £200 or the Gill OS1 ~ £300 or the Musto Offshore Jacket ~ £200. Both of these are visibly for more adventurous sailors with transparent pockets on the arms for notes/maps and feel stiffer. Hopefully the nice people at Helly & Gill will give/lend us some of these to test in the future.

Conclusion
Both of these jackets will keep you dry for your weekend and occasional weekly sailing I wouldn’t like to give them a star rating as they both serve their purpose very well. I would probably say that the Gill is slightly better for its big zip and general feel but then it’s an extra £40.

Have you tried either of these or another jacket? Let us know in the comments and we’ll check them out.