Outerwear is a big consideration when it comes to your postal uniform allowance. We know that many new usps postal employees simply can’t afford their allowance dollars for some of the big ticket outerwear items, however the bottom line is that if you work in a cold climate, you’ll need at least one good piece of postal uniform outerwear. We break down your choices and let you know what our customers have told us over the years.
Most important, for all practical purposes most letter carriers and MVS folks really have four options for postal uniform outerwear. Also, two of the three options actually act as liners and can zip into the gortex jacket/liner which is the creme dela creme of postal outerwear. Here are your four most basic outerwear choices:
Lightest Weight Option: Medium Weight Fleece Jacket:
This jacket is very similar to made by North Face or Patagonia. For those of you in areas of the country that experience bitter cold temperatures, this probably ISN’T your best option for your first piece of postal uniform outerwear, however, this is a great jacket for protection and warmth down to about 30 degrees or so. Also, this is a great option to build your way into the Parka liner which we will talk about in a moment.
Heavier Weight Option: Heavy Weight Jacket -
This jacket should be thought of to be similar to a duck coat, with a fleece collar. If you have no usps postal uniform outerwear today, and you have some uniform allowance dollars to spend, this is most likely the jacket you want to go with. It is the most versatile of four of the postal uniform jackets. It can take you from fall all the way through winter with appropriate layering. Best of all, when you are ready this jacket will also zip into the gortex jacket/liner which will provide you with the absolute warmest available us postal uniform option.
Heaviest Weight Option: Insulated Parka
Think of this jacket as George Costanza’s puffy coat! You’ll certainly be warm and toasty in this jacket, but this isn’t the best option for your first usps postal uniform outerwear. While we like the warmth of this jacket we really like the three other options as they work together and act as liners. So unless this happens to fit into you allowance budget, or you just have to have a parka this year, we are bigger fans of going with option 1, or option 2, then incorporating the next jacket.
The Gold Standard: Waterproof Breathable Parka Shell
This jacket is made of the highest quality. We believe this is the gold standard when it comes to US Postal Uniform Outerwear. With proper layering this can be worn year round, however due to cost, this is usually a piece that is purchased later on in careers. This jacket blocks wind, and water. Best of all, the first two options we wrote about zip into this jacket and act as liners! It’s this versatility that make this a must have postal uniform piece, along with one of the first two options depending on your climate.