“In 1964, a man and his wife were racing through the snow-capped mountains of the Italian Alps in a Mini Moke adventure vehicle, chasing the last light of day. In the back seat sat a cardboard box, and inside the cardboard box lay a newborn child.

Sixty-two years later, a man woke up in a freezing apartment in Salford and listened to strangers scrape ice from their windscreens in the car park below. He reached into his wardrobe, grabbed the biggest coat he owned, and headed out to work.

The first man was Ron Smith. The second man is me. The link between us is Ron’s son, Jasper (the one in the cardboard box) grew up to found the company that made the biggest jacket in my wardrobe: the Arksen Asgard Parka.

Not much more needs to be said about my day – I reached the office, did my work, had a high-calorie lunch, and returned to my apartment. But there’s much more to be said about the coat I was wearing for the duration of it (our office isn’t very warm).

Arksen first introduced the Asgard back in 2025, and it has since become the brand’s crown jewel of outerwear – an expedition-grade parka that can handle subzero temperatures, howling gales, serious elevation – and of course, a 30-minute commute through Manchester City Centre’s frost-licked streets.

When you’re first faced with Arksen’s outerwear, your reaction will almost definitely be one of awe. Even if you’re not into jackets – even if you only get clothes from family members at Christmas, you can’t help but recognise the brand’s meticulous attention to detail. Italian-made fabrics, yarn-dyed shells, 4-way stretch panelling, elasticed cuffs, adjustable just-about-everything – the list goes on, and on.

Like everything the brand makes (and that includes yachts and vehicles), their apparel is produced to an absurd level of quality that can only be described as special.

Given all the technical jargon, experimental fabrics and innovative construction methods, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Arksen’s clothing is reserved only for expedition use – and although it is certainly capable of tackling the North Pole – my daily commute to the office in the Asgard Parka proves otherwise.

I certainly don’t need the 850-fill power, reinforced elbows and 10 pockets to trek across Piccadilly Gardens, but knowing that my coat could comfortably tackle Alaskan conditions triggers a childlike sensation within me that is otherwise hard to come across. And I know many people who feel the same way – a properly big coat induces a sense of pride that totally overrides whether the circumstances warrant it or not.