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Are they any good ?
Or for half the price should i just buy the Decathalon AM waterproof jacket ( again - but not send it back in a fit of pique)
why were you so cross with it last time?
They get really good reviews but mine was hopeless, 30ish mins in moderate rain and I had wet spots in odd places like elbows. One sleeve beaded and the other didn't.
Because it was clearly faulty I'd have accepted a replacement but Alpkit lost my return so I just took a refund. I think that Alpkit's customer service is good enough that it's usually worth having a punt on something.
I just ordered a Balance jacket yesterday so will let you know.
I've got one - as a hardshell waterproof I really like it for general walking and whatever. The cut is pretty good for MTB, long back and long-ish arms. I've worn mine for commuting on really heavy rain days but I don't wear it on the bike regularly. My one is an older one so it doesn't have pit-zips which means I wouldn't use it for MTB because I know it'll get too hot. Even the current one I think is a bit under-vented for my tastes.
My hissy fit last time with the decathalon jacket was that both the pit and back vents were non-sealable.
There was a fabric overlap to seal but this was 2cm at the most.
So in my wind it made it not waterproof. However in the real world it may be many times better that my Mountain Whorehouse 30 GBP boil in the bag waterproof.
I was just wondering whether I get something much better with the Alpkit Balance. It maybe appears not!
And it also took nearly 6 weeks to arrive - so I was already going to hate it before it came through the door ....
But other than that, its seemed okay
Mine has a good cut, decent breathability and gets hammered on the MTB. Not the most waterproof though. My first one was leaking through the material pretty badly so Alpkit replaced it. My second one has been washed very gently indeed but seems to be heading the same way 🙁 I will resurrect it with a wash and re-proof and it's only a MTB jacket anyway but still not mega impressed.
I'm a big Alpkit fan and their fit/cut has improved over what it was 10 years ago but most things are one flaw away from being perfect.