Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
General => Gear Questions, Information, Reviews and Competitions => Topic started by: 666_pack on January 13, 2010
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o.k. Some advice please.
I'm after a new jacket and was wondering what you guys use.
Ideally I dont want to spend more than £150 and weight and packsize are an issue.
I was thinking of either
this
http://www.outdoorwarehouse.co.uk/index.cfm?action=shop.detail&pid=B659F403-FF29-08BD-485E80065492A6F4&cid=F0590123-93E6-4369-8E1EF4936A670469&bid=47943F53-FF29-08BD-48910F6C9CA2B549&order=priceHigh&parent=&page=2
or
at a push and at the right price this
http://www.outdoorwarehouse.co.uk/index.cfm?action=shop.detail&pid=E715B799-FF29-08BD-48986B9437F14B20&cid=F0590123-93E6-4369-8E1EF4936A670469&bid=47943F53-FF29-08BD-48910F6C9CA2B549&order=priceHigh&parent=&page=1
all comments welcome.
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I got this:
http://www.mandmdirect.com/products-Berghaus-Mens-Gore-Tex-Paclite-Jacket-Graphite_BE426.htm
Berghaus Paclite Goretex for £80 odd delivered. I've tried a few different breatheable fabrics (like Hyvent from TNF) and didn't think much of them so I finally went Goretex. Will hopefully get a wet walk in it this Sat to test it. (Its the same jacket as Andys).
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Have you looked on needle sports? I find it pretty reasonable price wise, got some climbing stuff of there.
They have a few waterproofs in that price range and this wich might be up your alley
http://www.needlesports.com/cgi-bin/sh000002.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fneedlesports.com%2facatalog%2f&WD=precip&PN=Mail_Order_Waterproofs_59.html%23aMAR_20PCJ#aMAR_20PCJ
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Go to Lindsays in Coleraine and ask for advice. They'll often suggest something you wouldn't have thought of that turns out to be really really good. They also sell stuff that's a season or two out of date (Ooh, it's Green- I can't buy that in green - this season thay're all purple!) for ridiculous prices.
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The precip ain't a bad choice, have seen pretty good reviews for it, have also seen them new for around 30 quid on ebay which is a very good price.
When I get round to replacing my pretty dead paclite, which is more of a shower proof than waterproof these days, I'll probably be doing it with a marmot precip or possibly a haglofs jkt if the price is right.
I would have thought you could do better than 90 quid for a lightweight waterproof with all the sales that are on??
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Backpackinglight.co.uk do the Montane Venture jacket (http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product415.asp). If I get a jacket again it will most likely be the Venture. BPL have it at a good price, and I remember when I enquired about it Bob recommended to go a size bigger as they are quite a small fit. As it happened I was in a local store that stocked them and thought would try one on, indeed it did take a size bigger. The only thing that put me off slightly were the zips. Seemed rather flimsy to me, but in use they are probably fine.
One jacket I wont be getting again is a North Face. I had originally bought a Paclite TNF jacket from Tiso and it wetted out from the day I bought it. Eventually got it returned to TNF through Tiso and replaced as the DWR was faulty. Now the TNF jacket I replaced it with (think its called the All Terrain) is starting to wear out. All around the cuffs the outer material is wearing through, and I have a rip in the material on the sleeve. Now its perfectly possible that the rip was caused by me snagging it on something, although I certainly cant remember anything. The wear on the cuffs is strange though, I do wear the jacket a lot but at the end of the day its barely a year old and the material is already wearing thin. Compare that to my girlfriends Berghaus which is something like 8 years old and still going strong... For High Street fashion the TNF jackets definitely look the part, but I personally couldnt recommend one for the hills :)
Oh, the other jacket I was quite impressed with was the Mountain Equipment Morpheus (http://www.mountain-equipment.co.uk/the_gear/clothing/hardshell/morpheus_jacket---406/). Slightly lighter than the Venture, 3 layer Gore-tex and its probably got one of the best hoods I've ever stuck my head in! Fair bit more expensive than the Montane though...
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I Have this RAB Coat:-
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/rab_event_latok_alpine_jacket.html
really lightweight, but expensive
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TNF stuff used to be good. Now I'm not so sure that the quality from years ago is there. I have a TNF Paclite jacket and Berghaus trousers which, while probably the most breathable Goretex I've used, still can't cope with strenuous activity. Add a good dose of mud and wear and you may as well be in a bin bag. I have heard great reports about E-vent apparently blowing GoreTex out of the water. The Paramo stuff is reported to be good as well.
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The Paramo gear gets a great reputation, excellent breathability and will last ages. The only thing that put me off was the fact that it is meant to be a good bit warmer than your average Gore/eVent jacket and can be a bit warm for the summer months. Suppose it depends whether you are generally a hot or cold person though!
Lindsays that DryBag mentions stock Paramo gear. They were very helpful last time I called in and the place is like Aladdins cave. Wrong end of the country for me to make regular visits though!
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Paramo is a whole layering system designed to be worn together however I can't vouch for it either way.
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cheers guy for all the input. Looks like i'll have to have a think but about it but am really torn between the venture and now superfly. It's now do to which one I can get at the bet price. ???
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The montane jackets have a good rep so prob a good choice there.
Craghoppers have a pretty major sale going on at the minute and it might be worth having a look there before committing, £55 for a paclite jacket and £30 quid for a decent down vest is nearly impossible to beat. I would definitely advise the purchase of a down vest if they are the right size, one of the best investments for warmth for its weight volume, just don't let it get wet!
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Craghoppers have a pretty major sale going on at the minute and it might be worth having a look there before committing, £55 for a paclite jacket and £30 quid for a decent down vest is nearly impossible to beat.
Do Craghoppers have an online store with a sale at the moment? I've been on the look out for a down vest and some waterproof leggings so might check that out myself.
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Down Bodywarmer @ £30 was here but they seem to be out of stock. Might be other bargains to be had though.
http://www.craghoppers.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_13552_-1__107286_11051_
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Craghoppers do have a website - I can't access it from work but it's probably www.craghoppers.co.uk. The sale prices are good, and if you hunt around you can always get a further 15-30% off with a voucher code. Having said that, Lindsays (I know I sound like a broken record!) do some craghoppers stuff even cheaper than sale prices.
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666, not sure if you got sorted with a jacket yet? Just a heads up that Tiso in Belfast have both the Montane Venture & Superfly on a sale rail. The Venture is £99 and they had S, M and XL when I was in. The Superfly was £129 and had a L size and a couple of others. I'm gutted they didn't have a L left in the Venture, it's a steal at £99!