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The Sunderland Typhoon is arguably the best value waterproof jacket on the market, offering exceptional quality and longevity at a reasonable price.
Steve Carroll has donned some outerwear in his time but he’s never quite had anything like the Sunderland Typhoon Waterproof Golf Jacket
If you’re the type who believes I’m some kind of snake oil salesman for trying to convince you £150 for a jacket represents great value, bear with me.
Because it does. In fact, I firmly believe the Sunderland Typhoon might just be the best value waterproof jacket on the market right now.
With golf apparel, anyone who confesses to being price conscious is always having to make a compromise.
You either sign over the deeds of your property, but bag a quality piece of clothing that might just last you for life – or at least comes with a “lifetime guarantee” – or recognise you haven’t got the best part of £500 to invest in keeping you dry during a storm and opt for something much cheaper but you know will be leaking like a dodgy sink in a couple of years.
With this waterproof jacket, you’ve got the best of both worlds. It’s a garment of exceptional quality that you’ll be provably be wearing at the end of this decade. And it won’t require you spending the rest of 2025 living off beans on toast.
Sunderland say the Typhoon is constructed from 100% recycled polyester, has a lifetime waterproof guarantee, and boasts 8,000mm protection. That’s a lot of rain.
Fleece-lined handwarmer pockets, bonded storm cuffs, a lock down front zip, and a mesh interior are complemented by adjustable draw cords at the waist and hem to ensure a secure fit. This is a garment that entirely sets its stall out at keeping H2O away from your body.
I like the understated Sunderland logo on the right sleeve. In the navy version, the embroidery is high quality but not ostentatious. It isn’t screaming out in technicolour to tell you who made it.
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Slipping it over my shoulders, it’s true to size. I’m roughly 5’9” and normally wear medium. The Typhoon fits well around the waist and the sleeves do not hang over the wrists.
On Course Testing
I gave this the treatment. Nothing was spared on your behalf, dear readers. I played 27 holes in the Sunderland Typhoon jacket on a blustery day at Hartlepool, which ended with a very sharp shower as the day finished, and then carted it round Close House, in Newcastle, during a round where it hammered down all the way through. The things I do for you.
Sunderland have a mantra, #NEVERWEATHERBEATEN, and it’s written onto the inside pocket of this jacket. You can be as sceptical as you like, but I reckon I could wear this in a hurricane and still come out dry on the other side.
It is an incredible performer. I can’t vouch for how it will be in the depths of winter but it’s a lovely and warm fit – so much so that after a couple of holes, I was ridding myself of unnecessary layers.
By far its biggest plus is its weight and fabric construction. I’ve had waterproof jackets that felt rigid to the point of being cardboard. Try swinging in that? Hint: You can’t.
But the outer shell is very soft to the touch and remains so as you’re putting it on. This jacket moves with you, it doesn’t work against you.
The rain can’t permeate that layer however hard it falls. And believe me, I’ve seen it falling over the last couple of weeks. Gratefully, that liquid is not deflected either. It doesn’t run down off the jacket and onto your trousers as I’ve seen so many others do.
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In fact, it’s so impressive you must remember to shake it off when you get into a drier space. Otherwise, as I found at Hartlepool, you pick it up half an hour later and the rain droplets are still perfectly formed.
I prefer my cuffs to be tight and I’ve ruined many a sleeve by adjusting the Velcro fasteners too firmly and stripping half the wrist away over time.
It’s very hard to do this with the Typhoon because the adjusters are snag-resistant. The inner storm cuff also removes that feeling of a big gap between the bottom of your wrist and the jacket itself.
A major fail for these type of garments can be the seams. Let it rain hard enough and you can be sure that, over time, there will be a breach. At that point, you’re just getting soaked somewhere else as the water streams through the zip front and the pockets.
This jacket promises sealed seams and it definitely delivers on that.
Final Thoughts
So many of these jackets are also obviously ‘golf’. It’s like seeing someone walking down a high street with a huge umbrella, it just looks a bit weird away from the fairways.
I tested the navy version of the Sunderland Typhoon waterproof golf jacket and it looks like any other I might pop out to the shops in when precipitation is coming down. This will be worn as much off-course as it will on.
Fit: True to Size/Small/Large Value for Money: 10/10 Comfort: 10/10
