In early 1844, Halkett tested the first boat-cloak on the River Thames. He paddled it without taking on any water. His test went very well. Because of this, he took the boat-cloak with him while on naval service. He used it whenever he could to test it under many different sea conditions. In November 1844, Halkett wanted to test the boat-cloak in bad weather conditions. The seas of the Bay of Biscay were usually very bad, but the weather was unusually calm when he got there. The boat-cloak was very well liked by explorers. John Richardson (who had almost died during the 1819–1822 Coppermine expedition) wrote that "Had we been possessed of such a contrivance in our first expedition, I have little doubt of our having brought the whole party in safely".