Following on from the Patagonia kit form half way round the world and then some I was surprised to note the absence of British made suggestions.

Buying local you support the local economy and if the company has thought through its supply chain you cut the distance stuff travels and are sure people along the way are getting a decent wage.

Brant was on the radio with some jeans, I’ve got some Rab down kit which is excellent. what have you got? Tents, shoes, jackets, socks, whatever… .

Proper outdoor kit. -http://www.buffalosystems.co.uk

We asked if they’d help us do a HebTroCo edition – they are fully booked up with production until December 2021.

Cracking product.

PHD

https://www.phdesigns.co.uk/

Oh and Cioch. They make their own variants of Paramo clothing, all from a wee shed on Skye

https://www.cioch-direct.co.uk/introduction/welcome.html

https://www.altberg.co.uk/

Maybe I’m just too fussy but when choosing outdoor kit I’m more interested in function, longevity and often weight than I am in country of manufacture. I normally place all of those above price too.

Rapanui. Outdoors kit in a more beach/swim sense, but all organic cotton, and you can send old stuff back and they’ll recycle it into new stuff

https://rapanuiclothing.com/

Snugpak. The factory’s in Yorkshire:

https://www.aiguillealpine.co.uk/

Maybe I’m just too fussy

perhaps not fussy, just missing the point re. shipping miles, supporting local etc. Possibly if you’re planning to summit Muchu Chhish or something then the absolutely best technical equipment may be required 😃

Bit niche maybe but I see Wildcat are back making their bike packing bags again!

https://www.sar-products.com/about-us/

i second the buffalo kit, it’s awesome. Having relied on it in the army for warmth and durability i can’t fault it. I’ve also got a really old teclite riding shirt as well, as soon as it gets to around 5c, that goes on without any other layers, comfy down to around -5..

Just took a look at that PHD stuff and saw Ventile, and thought ooh i loved my old SAS Smock that was made from Ventile, so thought i’d have a gander – – -HOLY CHRIST ££££££££££££££££££££

I’m with Scotroutes on this one. Very little of the UK manufactured clothing appeals to me for a variety of reasons.

I’ll add Hilltrek in Aboyne in the interests of fairness tho.

im not entirely sure anyone is saying buy british over others – but there is very good british produced outdoor kit that a lot of people wouldn’t ordinarly know about – Buffalo as above, loads of my mates never heard of it, but it’s awesome.

OMM? Terra Nova? Though was dissapointed to see a recent Laser Comp purchase ‘made in China’… And second PHD. Their kit is A1 👍

Not got any of their kit but Keela design and manufacture in Fife
https://keelaoutdoors.com/

Carradice bags last forever and all made in Lancashire and they also make the Swim Feral Turtlebag swim bags
https://www.carradice.co.uk/
https://swimferal.co.uk/

Restrap bikepacking bags made in Yorkshire
https://restrap.com/

Wizard Works made in London
https://wizard.works/

If you’re into climbing the DMM make most of their climbing gear in North Wales
https://dmmwales.com/

Alpkit do made some stuff in the UK, I think mainly their premium bag range.

Bound to be others. Google also found a slightly out of date Ramblers article showing UK made walking kit (none of you fancy bikes for them). https://www.ramblers.org.uk/news/walk-magazine/current-issue/2017/february/spring-2017/best-of-british-gear.aspx

Personally I own UK made kit from DMM, Carradice, Terra Nova and PHD and it is all great.

PHD kit is fantastic, top quality and they’ll customise most of it.

Also great people, my oldest is wheelchair and they’ve made him a custom blanket for when he’s in it. Nice people.

Are mountain equipment and montane british?

Montane certainly is. They are based in the NE. Not sure where their kit is made though.

Mountain Equipment make some of the best cut jackets this bod has ever tried on, and has been doing so for a long time. Top performing too technical wise. Based in Cheshire aren’t they…though almost certainly not made there, might be wrong. One of the highest ethical ratings too.

Bridgedale socks still made in NI.

Jottnar are based in Cardiff, set up by a couple of ex-Marines.

ME are now as British as Vauxhall were… They were started by Pete Hutchinson who later ‘sold out’ and then later started PHD. Sadly, he died a couple of years ago. IIRC ME all but went bust under a bit of an accounting cloud and were snapped up Mike Ashleyesque but more upmarket.

Good shout on bridgedale, their merino socks are amazing.

Lomo do some decent kit and are based in Glasgow, dunno where it’s made though.

This miles thing, if something’s made in the UK, but all the component parts or fabrics aren’t, how do we know?.

I believe these are good:
https://www.lancashirepike.co.uk/

Not all of it, but most of their better tents:

https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/

Didn’t Berghaus have a UK made range/project last year iirc?

Nobody mentioned
https://www.jottnar.com/pages/about-us
Very nice stuff

http://www.mcnairshirts.com Certainly not cheap but it is superb clothing, and they’re brilliant to deal with. Based in Slaithwaite nr Huddersfield.

jottnar is nice but expensive , and made in China

Nobody mentioned

You sure?

Second that it’s very nice kit though.

how do we know?.

Have look at their website, the last jeans Madame bought for junior stated where the coton was grown, where it was woven, cut and turned into jeans. Companies that want to add value by doing things right are generally all to keen to tell you.

Some of the above aren’t British made if you look:

https://rapanuiclothing.com/the-journey/

But some are:

https://www.bridgedale.com/about-us

Some of the things Madame has tracked down carry the philosphy through to the packaging and transport, a T-shirt came in zero-plastic packaging.

Not outdoor kit as such but Lusso make all their cycling clothing in Manchester. I’ve been buying their kit since around 1990. It’s good kit and I like supporting a UK manufacturer

The Keela range in general may be quite limited in its appeal to us as mountain bikers but their Saxon is a cycling specific, genuinely good, lightweight waterproof jacket that is made locally, just over in Fife. I use a couple of other items of theirs regularly too and it’s tremendous value as they’re direct sale.

Arktis make outdoor/military stuff in the UK.

I have a Keela Lomond coat for wet local dog and pub walks and it’s great – loads of features, good cut and it was a bargain price. I also have a Snugpack poncho – not UK made but it works well.

The issue is largely that companies like ME, Montane, Rab etc are all much of a muchness in terms of manufacturing locations with companies like Patagonia or Arcteryx, so making buying choices on the basis of where they’re headquartered seems pretty pointless. I find Arcteryx stuff fits me well, and has been pretty robust, so I tend to stick with that. My ‘range of use’ includes regular outings on the Scottish hills in winter, in all conditions, and as a result, I tend to be pretty conservative in terms of sticking with what I know and what has proved reliable in the past. I think Norrona’s design and ethics is up there with the best, and should probably get more attention than it does – a 5 year warranty on all their laminate waterproofs is standard, and I think you can push that out to 7 if you register your purchase with them.

A lot of the other stuff mentioned on here is often pretty ‘agricultural’ in comparison, or tends towards ‘lifestyle’ clothing, rather than kit designed for ‘full-on’ conditions in the Scottish mountains. Buffalo, Paramo have their enthusiastic followers, but their kit has limitations in terms of the range of use etc, and I’ve never found the ‘warm and wet’ approach to winter mountaineering very rewarding.

Of all the smaller companies mentioned, I think Jottnar are probably the closest in quality and design to the ‘big boys’ – I know it’s very popular amongst a lot of the outdoor pro community up in Lochaber. Unfortunately, my typically Scottish short broad build doesn’t work for the Jottnar stuff, which seems to follow the Scandi companies in terms of the tall slim body type it’s tailored for. Friends who use bits of Alpkit’s stuff like the Definition jacket speak highly of it, and it seemed pretty well put together when I had a look at it. I don’t think either Jottnar or Alpkit manufacture their clothing in the UK though, which still raises the question of just how ‘British’ you’re buying?

Not outdoor kit as such but Lusso make all their cycling clothing in Manchester.

That’s the surprise of the year for me. I’d lumped them together with the budget brands and through total prejudice, discounted them. I read a review of one of their products, bought it and am really impressed. The fabric is Windstopper by another name and tidily sewn together by Mancunian slaves. Perfect.

Are we talking British as in British company or British as in British made?

The Chinese do some great stitching.

My idea was stuff that has at least some of the process in the UK. It might be just filling down into shells made elsewhere or the whole hog with local wool, spinning and manufacture:

https://www.blacksheepknitwear.com/pages/about-us

I know nothing about them other than the website but as someone who regards cotton t-shirts and cotton or wool sweaters as outdoor kit their range appeals. Prices are very reasonable.

EDZ make merino stuff in Maryport, Cumbria – not sure where the wool is from.

https://www.edzlayering.com

At the rate things are going, buying British might be the only option for a while – I was looking at both the Patagonia and Arcteryx webshops today, and neither of them are accepting sales from the UK at the moment!
How waterproof is Brexit unicorn skin?