These fabrics can be placed near or distant, and the closer they are, the more exquisite the corduroy weave is supposed to be.

There is a measurement to indicate what kind of weave the corduroy cloth has, known as wale. This is essentially a measurement of how close the fabric has been stitched and the thickness of the fabric itself. When buying corduroy sportcoats, the wale becomes an important deciding factor. If the wale is higher, it means that the cord in the fabric will be thinner, which in turn means that the coat will be rougher. A lower wale means that the cord is thicker and the coat will be softer to the feel.  

For example, a corduroy sport coat which is of 4 wale will have much broader cords than a coat which is of 10 wale. It will also be more expensive than the 10 wale coat. Usually, 6 wale is the preferred thickness for corduroy sport coats, which are the ones which are the most popularly purchased too. These coats are easily available over the Internet for prices of about $120 to $150.

The lowest wale available (and thus the most exquisite variety of corduroy) is 1.5 wale, which is also called as pinwale or needlecord. This contains fibers that are pressed very closely to each other, because of which the feel of these fabrics is absolutely smooth to the wearer. These are also the most expensive types of a corduroy sportcoat.  

Generally corduroy is considered to be a very durable material for making sportcoats and that is one of the reasons why it is preferred over other materials. However, in order to enhance their durability, several other additions might be made to these coats.

One of the things that are generally done is to add elbow patches made of a sturdier material such as suede which can add to the life of the coat. Some of these sportcoats are given a lining on the inside of another stronger fabric so that the coats last longer. 

Being coats, it is easy to understand that these corduroy sport coats are considered to be fashion accessories for men as much as they are supposed to be functional wear. Due to that there are various styles of these sport coats, as well as outdoor corduroy jackets available. Any online clothing store will have a huge range of these coats, at various prices and colors (though brown is typically the most popular), and you could have a ball of a time selecting the one that suits within your preferences and budget.