Really fancy getting a Rab Generator vest (in fact, my missus owes me one as a delayed birthday present)
No decent outdoor gear shops local to me, so online shopping.
Anywhere selling them at a reduced price? Best I’ve found so far is £72

go to RAB in Sheffield and buy a seconds

Tower Ridge Direct are generally good for Rab, as are The Outdoor Shop. Can’t beat £72 tho’.

Cheers,
Jamie

Does it have to be that make & model?
if not Primaloft vests are common, surely there must be another on offer at a lower price?

rab IME is cheap at whatever price cos you’ll likely not need to replace it

a – if mrs is buying it, does it matter how much it costs?
b- i got one for about £80 from go outdoors, i think it’s the most impressive piece of clothing i own and reckon it was cheap at the price.

Whilst true that Rab stuff is very good, if someone else is paying I’d rather have this from PHD
Made in Stalybridge, will last a lifetime and is a timeless design.

They take real pride in everything they make and will rectify any problems should you ever have one.

if mrs is buying it, does it matter how much it costs?

Joint account, and she doesn’t work at the moment…. 🙂

Elshalimo – what’s the differences between the Rab and the PHD vests then?

At a guess

It’s got the three letters ‘R’, ‘A’ and ‘B’ replaced with ‘P’, ‘H’ and ‘D’ and it’s sewn together by an old biddy in Yarkshare rather than a 7 year old boy in Bangladesh. Fit, form, materials and function – identical.

Having written that, I now prefer PHD as it’s a bit less ‘high street mountain gear’ and a bit more select. Both produce good kit tho.

I have one of the Rab ones bought on a whim then I was in Go outdoors a few years ago – turns out to be my most worn garment ever- just works

i looked at the Rab one, and bought an arcteryx one instead.

dead useful bit of kit, just not this time of year.

ir_bandito – The PHD kit is more function over form and built to last and to withstand abuse. Rab kit although decent quality, robust and functional is getting more shiny and spangly as time progresses. It really depends on what you personally prefer.
They don’t use the same fabrics/materials but the end product is similar i.e. a lightweight packable insulated vest

If you like Rab then this site has a few reduced Rab down options.

boblo – StalyVegas was in Cheshire, now in Tameside. Great place for real ale !!

jam bo, which arcteryx one did you get?

atom lt. paid about £75 i think in my local outdoor shop new year sale.

Sorry, geography fail and peed off a few regional bods to boot 🙂

I like PHD cos its run by the bloke who was the brains behind Mountain Equipment (before that went a bit ‘mountain fashion’. RAB used to be ‘Rab Carrington’ a mountaineering legend, it’s now going the way of Berghaus, ME, NF etc.

boblo – completely agree about direction and company ethos

ir_bandito – sorry but another thing to consider is that they’re not strictly all the same, even vests that use primaloft insulation. There are different versions of Primaloft and even within one type such as Primaloft One you can get different weights of it, e.g. 40g, 60g, 100g etc.
A general rule is that the heavier fill material is warmer as it is more insulation but it will take longer to dry if you wear it in a proper downpour. It’s a balance of total weight, pack-size and warmth.
e.g.
Montane Prism vest use 40g Primaloft one with Pertex Microlight outer
Rab Generator uses 100g Primaloft one with Pertex Quantum outer – (so more warmth but the outer fabric isn’t as tough as Prism)
Arcteryx Atom LT Vest uses own brand 60g CoreLoft fill

If you are unsure go for Haglofs, Rab, ArcTeryx or Patagonia as they are brands that you rarely have problems with.
It’s really worth reading online reviews and blogs before buying

It’s got the three letters ‘R’, ‘A’ and ‘B’ replaced with ‘P’, ‘H’ and ‘D’ and it’s sewn together by an old biddy in Yarkshare rather than a 7 year old boy in Bangladesh. Fit, form, materials and function – identical.

Oh great – so if I buy PHD then I have to live with the guilt of a Bangladeshi boy who can no longer afford to feed his family?

I suppose I could get a dozen t-shirts from Matalan to make up for it.

How long before PHD and Arcteryx become the new North Face/Mountain Equipment label?

No point being a brand snob if ultimately its good kit. I know what you’re saying though 😉

Read lots of reviews so far. Really hard to differentiate between them. Might have to make an efort to go shopping instead of online. Shudder…

Having gone on about PHD, for this sort of jacket I went for the Haglofs LIM Barrier pull on (smock to us). They do it in a jacket as well. The main reason was weight (275g) and Haglofs gear is also ace. In my defence, PHD didn’t do Primaloft when I bought it. Totally off topic, PHD’s sleeping bags are 3* but be prepared to sell a kidney.

@Grahams if you buy PHD, at least the Eccles cake industry is safe though eh? 🙂

I prefer to keep that industry alive with slightly more direct consumer power 😀

“unfitgeezer – Member
go to RAB in Sheffield and buy a seconds

POSTED 6 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST”

they’re not in Sheff any more, got a factory in Alfreton. If the factory shop was in Sheff i’d be skint by now!

Factory shop in Alfreton had a sale last Saturday 😐

RAB himself always used to shoplift gear when he was a poor chappie……

These guys are having a sale, lots of stuff half price or much reduced including the aforementioned Rab & Arcteryx insulated vests
http://www.trekitt.co.uk/bargains-summer-sale.irc

Thanks for that Shalimo, £240 pounds lighter but about 180 saved! Cheers.

Yeah! 🙄 £215 for £215 here…

72 quid for this:

?????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Should have said: genuine thank you, ElShalimo.

Looking forward to postie arriving. (I just saved a little more.)

I think they are £42 here ?
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edit – sorry posted at the same time and didn’t realise these might not be the real macoy

Thanks for the trekkit link.

Rab Generator purchased 🙂

Phd make the stuff here, Mill in east Manchester I had a vest made whilst i waited! Awesome kit, lightweight and very hard wearing.
Richard

some reduced Rab vests here…

linky