Baracuta G9, G4 or G10: which Harrington to choose
Grab a Harrington by the hem and pull. If you feel a ribbed elastic knit band under your fingers that stretches and bounces back, you’re holding a G9. If instead you find a flat edge with a tab and adjustable buckle, it’s a G4. It’s a two-second gesture that clears up half the confusion about names in the store, without needing to read any label.
The other half can’t be solved with a gesture, and it’s not about the size. The size only tells you how the jacket is made: the length and how it closes. The two questions that decide your purchase are other, simpler ones: what do you wear underneath, and what weather should it stand up to? The hem answers the first, the fabric the second. The model comes after, as a consequence. Anyone who comes into the store already knowing "G9" has chosen the name before answering either question. If you want to see the garments right away, here are the Baracuta we have in the store.
What really changes between G9, G4, and G10
The G9 is the Harrington in the shape everyone has in mind: short, ending at the hip bone, with ribbed elastic bands closing the hem and cuffs, a double-slider zipper, a two-button collar, and raglan sleeves. These ribbed elastic bands are the garment’s character. They cinch at the hips, keep out air from below, and create that softly rounded line instantly recognizable from afar.
Products mentioned in this article
They are also its limit. The ribbed elastic band that closes the hem at the hips needs space beneath it: if you wear a fairly thick sweater underneath, the hem rises, bunches up, and the jacket stops sitting where it should. Size doesn’t matter here: it’s how that elastic edge works.
The G4 sprang from this. It maintains the raglan sleeves, the collar, and the Fraser tartan lining but replaces the ribbed elastic bands at the hem and cuffs with adjustable straps, and has a looser fit. How the jacket finishes changes: instead of closing snugly on its own, it rests on you and you adjust it. Over a heavy sweater, it’s the difference between a garment that fits and one that rides up.
Products mentioned in this article
For the same reason, your size doesn’t transfer automatically from one to the other. On a G9, the ribbed elastic band hugs the body and takes up some slack; on a G4, that slack remains and you manage it with the straps. If you’re switching models, your usual size might not be the right one.
The G10 It steps outside the short jacket family. It's a single-breasted jacket longer than the classic Harrington, featuring a shirt collar and hidden button closure instead of a zipper, slanted flap pockets, and a quilted inner vest detachable with a metal zipper that can be worn on its own. Dropping below where the G9 ends, it covers the hips, which the other two leave exposed, and it's the only one of the three that covers a temperature range rather than just a single point because you can remove the vest when it's not needed. In return, the hidden buttons don't seal against the wind as well as a zipper pulled all the way up does.
Because the same G9 comes in multiple fabrics
Because the shape is the same but the behavior differs. This is why it's helpful to stop thinking in numbers: on the shelf, there are jackets identical in form but that behave differently as soon as it rains, a breeze picks up, or you wear them every day for two years.
The G9 in Baracuta Cloth is the version in a cotton-polyester blend with a water-repellent finish, lined in Fraser tartan on a breathable Coolmax fabric. The water resistance is specified on the garment, and this is why it's the version to choose if your days often change weather halfway through.
The G9 in cotton twill is the everyday option. Compact cotton with a drier and stiffer feel at first, softening with wear and taking on the creases of the wearer. It's for anyone who wants a jacket that ages well rather than staying identical to day one. Dry cotton behaves like cotton: it feels the rain.
Products mentioned in this article
The Reversible G9 solves a different and more basic problem: it's two jackets, and you choose which to wear in the morning. It makes sense if your wardrobe is small or you travel, less so if you already know exactly how you want to dress.
Products mentioned in this article
And when it really rains
None of these are true rainwear, and it's worth saying this before you buy one. The Harrington has no hood, its collar is short and closes at the base of the neck: in a downpour, your shoulders get wet. The water-repellent treatment of the Cloth version is meant for light rain and ten-minute walks, not for an hour in the rain.
If that's the issue, the in-store answer is the Porton Wax, which is waxed cotton, where water is stopped by wax inside the fabric, not a layer applied on top: it features a double-slider zipper covered by a flap with snap buttons, a structured collar, adjustable cuffs, hand-warmer pockets plus patch pockets. It's the garment in this group that withstands the worst weather.
Products mentioned in this article
Waxed cotton has its cost, and it’s not just the price tag. The wax transfers to what you wear underneath and to car seats, the garment has its own smell, and occasionally requires rewaxing. It's not complicated but is genuine maintenance: here’s how to wash and rewax a waxed cotton jacket, including the things you shouldn’t do. If knowing this makes you lose interest, that’s useful information: it means your garment is different.
So which one do you pick, then
If the jacket is for the city and for work nine months a year, worn over a shirt or a light sweater, the G9 is the right choice, and the only question is which fabric: Cloth if you wear it when the weather is unpredictable, twill if you care about how it will age over the years.
If you often layer it over something thicker, like a sweater or hoodie, choose the G4: what you lose in a slim fit you gain in a jacket that stays in place.
If you’re looking for a single piece to cover you from mid-season to early winter, and you don’t mind a longer, more formal coat, the G10 with its detachable vest does the work of two jackets.
If the deciding factor is weather and the jacket needs to perform in rain and wind, then Porton Wax is your choice, accepting the maintenance it requires. One last thing when ordering from home: Porton comes in alpha sizes, while the others use jacket numbers, so check which sizing scale is on the product page before choosing.
These are pieces you understand better wearing than just describing, especially the difference between the ribbed elastic bands of the G9 and the adjustable straps of the G4: two minutes in front of a mirror wearing your usual sweater clarify more than any size chart. We’re in Biella, via Lamarmora 27. If you’re passing by, try on both with what you really wear.
Ski Sises on Google
Choose Ski Sises as a preferred source: you'll see our guides and news more often in Top stories on Google.
