A proper piece of purpose-built angling outerwear from Diem, this softshell manages to look considerably sharper than most fishing jackets while retaining the practical details that actually matter outdoors. The muted olive-green exterior is brought to life by vivid red zips and an equally striking red fleece interior, giving it a distinctive technical appearance without straying into the garish.

The softshell outer is constructed from 94% polyester with 6% elastane, providing a useful degree of stretch and flexibility rather than the stiff feel of a conventional weather jacket. Inside, the rich red fleece backing provides warmth against the body and continues through the hood, making this particularly well suited to cooler days on the bank, walking, hiking and general outdoor use.

The front is dominated by Diem’s contrasting red zip system, with a full-length central fastening accompanied by four individually zipped external pockets — two vertically positioned chest pockets for easy-access storage and a further pair of zipped hand pockets lower down. Open the jacket and there are two additional large internal drop pockets, bringing the total to six and providing plenty of room for the smaller pieces of kit that inevitably accumulate during a day outdoors.

The hood is substantial without being cumbersome, fleece lined for additional warmth and equipped with drawcord adjusters around the opening, allowing it to be pulled closer when conditions deteriorate. The high neckline offers useful coverage when fully zipped, while the hem has its own drawcord adjustment to help close the jacket around the body and keep draughts at bay.

There has been similar attention paid to the sleeves. Shaped panel construction allows greater freedom of movement through the arms, while both cuffs incorporate adjustable hook-and-loop tabs, allowing the openings to be tightened comfortably around the wrists. The 6% elastane content complements that articulated construction particularly well, giving the jacket the flexibility expected from a genuine softshell.

Diem branding is nicely judged rather than plastered everywhere: an embroidered Diem signature sits at the chest, with the smaller red emblem repeated at the rear shoulder. Against the restrained olive exterior, those flashes of red — the four pocket zips, main zip, hood lining and embroidered details — give what could have been a purely functional fishing jacket a surprisingly distinctive identity.

Although clearly conceived with angling and outdoor use in mind, there is nothing overly specialised about its appearance. It works equally convincingly as a practical everyday softshell for walking, hiking, camping or simply dealing with changeable British weather.

A particularly well-equipped Diem jacket, combining stretch softshell construction, warm fleece backing, adjustable hood, adjustable cuffs, drawcord hem and six useful pockets in a design that manages the rather difficult trick of being genuinely practical while still looking rather good.