Top end Rab gear is excellent. My primaloft was about £180 6 yearsago. 30 quid a year been used on several long climbing trips abroad and lots of short ones. Plus countless plods and climbs in UK. Overpriced for UK conditions generally I’d say yes. Priceless for actually doing what its designed for. Way better than any jacket I ever owned Iin the past. Same for lightweight waterproof and sacs and boots. IF being used for what the adverts show and not shopping on the high street.

Yeah, I bought a climbing jacket and it’s not as good for walking to the pub in…

That’s not really what I meant though – if you’re going walking in the Lakes/Brecon Beacons/Peak District in Winter you’re going to want the fabrics used in mountaineering gear, but not necessarily a jacket designed to work with a harness and bibs, high pockets to clear a harness etc. But there’s not a lot of performance/technical gear for this, which is probably a bigger market than winter mountaineers. But that’s not a great image to sell though is it.

I guess it’s a bit like people buying a great big off road SUV for the couple of weeks a year they think it helps in winter conditions, when a 4 wheel drive estate car might be better suited, but doesn’t look as cool.

Which is a bit off the point of the topic, but not totally – I was looking at a 1992 Patagonia catalogue (yes I know how sad it is to keep them) and it’s surprising how many different cuts are available from one manufacturer – longer cut “anorak” fleeces and waterproofs for ski mountaineering, hiking stuff, MTB waterproofs with pretty big drop tails. Arguably more specific designs/cuts, but fabric and weights wouldn’t be up to much compared to modern gear.

Got a Berghaus pack which I bought 20+ yrs ago. Still going strong and I am sick of the sight of it 🙂 but other than weight there is no reason to replace it.

One major disappointment for me has been the claimed breathability of fabrics. As a runner and generally someone who moves quite quickly when in the hills or outdoors the much promised breathability of Goretex (and I had a Goretex jacket in the 80’s) made by Frank Shorter (probably not personally!) and since then have had a few others including a few proprietary brands and Event. None “breathe” particularly well and whilst I dont expect to stay “very” dry I find them all disappointing. Its probably not really possible even when wearing only a Helly Hansen under a shell, they simply shouldn’t make the claims.

For running I go with Gore products which are well made, breathable (non waterproof jackets) and comfortable.

Gore Tex and other breathable fabrics will never work well in the UK if you’re very active inside them. There’s simply just not a large enough temperature and humidity difference between inside and outside. They will be better than non breathable though.

Seems to me that good quality kit from 80s and 90s was very well made but current materials are technically superior to old ones. Bought a TNF Mountain jacket from a mate who had used it for two seasons on the Alps and two expeditions, used it for few years myself and now it still used by my father as a work wear. It does weigh a ton and there is some leakage in the high wear areas but it still works.

Got a Karrimor Jaguar rucksack from the late ’80s

Looks similar to mine, bought in -88 or thereabouts. Unfortunately the stiching seems to be falling off even if the fabric is still OK.
It is also very light compared to modern ones but there is much less padding everywhere.

Even more specialist outdoor stuff seems fashion led, compare a fell runner’s bumbag to those fishing vest things with the squeezy bottles – one’s about £20 and the other £100 plus.

I’ve got both, and the vest backpack is a lot more comfortable for a long (3hr+) run, and you can carry more water + other stuff. Of course, you do get a lot of people that seem to need them for a quick hour in the local park, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their place.

If modern stuff is so good, how come it wasn’t around 20 years ago?