Your Barbour Jacket Has a Hidden Feature You’re Probably Not Using

Let’s just say it has the potential to simplify your EDC.

a closeup of a barbour waxed jacket collar

Published February 1, 2025

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Barbour makes some of the most iconic jackets you can buy. Whether you own one or not, you’re probably familiar with some of the brand’s hallmarks that are present across many of its classic coats.

There’s the resilient waxed cotton finish, of course. The cozy corduroy collar. The traditional tartan lining. The rugged storm flap. Then there’s the prominent zipper.

Most front zippers found on Barbour jackets are made of brass and have an oversized round opening topped off with a Barbour logo. But if you’re only using this zipper as you would any other zipper on any other jacket, then you’re not getting the full potential out of your Barbour waxed jacket.

a closeup of a barbour jacket zipper — Barbour jackets are iconic, but they can also be full of surprises.

A Hidden Tool

Technically, Barbour’s oversized zippers with their large openings serve a functional purpose. The zippers have that large opening to make them easier to grip, especially when you’re wearing gloves. After all, Barbour’s roots are in the English countryside, where they have traditionally been worn for protection against the area’s cold temperatures and harsh elements.

But the unique shape of Barbour’s zippers perfectly lends itself to another use: a bottle opener.

a closeup of a barbour jacket zipper being used to open a bottle — The shape of the zipper’s opening makes it a natural fit for opening bottles.

As it turns out, the large round shape and flat top — which is there to accommodate the Barbour logo — are perfectly suited to poppin’ bottles.

Barbour doesn’t advertise this as a feature of the zippers — you’ll find no mention of it in the brand’s product listings — but it’s been a favorite party trick of Barbour owners for years.

Check social media and you’ll come across videos of Barbour devotees demonstrating the secret feature, and even Barbour itself has brought attention to it at least twice: Once in a Tumblr post a decade ago, and more recently in a TikTok video.

The way it works is pretty simple. Just line up the round bottom of your zipper’s opening over a bottle cap and use the flat logo to pry open your beverage. No additional EDC tool necessary.

Barbour’s two bestselling jackets, the Bedale and Beaufort, both have the bottle-opening zipper, as does the OG International seen in the images of this article. So take a look at the zipper on your Barbour, as the odds are pretty good that it could make you the life of your next party.