Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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** I turned invasive pests into badass belts and bags: badleathergoods.com **
Videos I mentioned:
* The 6 Best Casual Winter Jackets of All Time: youtube.com/watch?v=cw26vbxn1E4
* Why the Deck Jacket Is the Best Winter Jacket: youtube.com/watch?v=Za6yawG1sMc
* My Favorite Leather Gloves: youtube.com/watch?v=4XLaNpBW7ds


TWO BRANDS. FOUR JACKETS. It’s a super duper review comparison of my two favorite winter jackets: Freenote Cloth’s RJ2, the only legit denim jacket for winter, and Iron Heart’s N1, the best deck jacket in the world. These are both very significant and very cool jackets that are thoughtfully made, historically informed, will last forever, and will get better with age — that’s one reason why I got them second hand.

While I have a fair few jackets and coats to get me through New York City winters these days, I find that I always reach for one of these two pieces, so let’s compare them.

00:00 the best casual winter jackets
01:40 the best denim jacket for winter
03:32 Freenote RJ2 review
08:05 Why deck jackets are the best winter jacket
09:27 Freenote Mariner vs RJ2
10:23 Iron Heart’s N1 deck jacket sizing
11:35 Iron Heart’s B2 jacket
12:38 Why Iron Heart makes the best deck jacket
15:09 Iron Heart vs Freenote jackets
16:00 WINNER: THE BEST WINTER JACKET IS

Written review of the RJ2 stridewise.com/freenote-rj2-winter-denim-jacket-review