Potentially after a new hill walking jacket.
Only ever really had 2 – one was a cheap Berghaus boil-in-the-bag affair that was bought with no research in a retail outlet 10 years ago that I hated. The other is my current 6 year old Endura MT500 that was bought as it was half price. Like the pit zips but the hood is useless, the main zip stops too low and it’s bulky when packed down. The weak link in my outdoor gear has always been a really nice Lightweight, waterproof, breathable jacket. Seems like you need to spend around £300 to get something that ticks the boxes these days and even that isn’t high-end. I’ll keep the Endura for biking duties but looking for recommendations for the hill jacket, which won’t get cacked up with mud and grit. For the first time I want to buy on its uses rather than driven by a discount. This review is pretty good but open to suggestions…. https://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/gear-reviews/waterproofs/articles/berghaus-extrem-5000-vented-waterproof-jacket-review

I tend to stick with Mountain Equipment jackets these days. Good hoods and spot on for UK conditions.
Also Arc’teryx.

Futureboy – thanks – just been looking at this… https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15894970/mountain-equipment-men-s-rupal-waterproof-jacket-15894970

After much research I bought a RAB Kangri, and I’m well pleased with it. Its not a lightweight but its tough and its gore tex. I managed to get it for £225 in Go Outdoors because they price matched it. Theres a couple of good reviews if you have a look on youtube.

I’m a big fan of Rab. Currently still using their Event Alpine which I’ve had for donkey’s years. Quite lightweight but with suitable layers under it I’ve used it in winter conditions. It’s getting a bit tired (broken hood hoop, seam tapes coming adrift) but it still works well and I’m tempted to get to repaired rather than replace it. If looking for a new jacket I would definitely consider Rab again.

I have an old Berghaus Mera Peak too (good for full on horrible winters) – I don’t seem to wear out stuff.

Go & try plenty on, the fit, cut, length, thickness & purpose can vary widely & be very personal, as can the features, more minimal jackets with less features are quite common now, plus walking, hiking, climbing, mountaineering jackets can all differ in features but look very similar on the hanger.

My advise from experience would be don’t get hung up on the material, eg, Gore tex Active vs Gore tex pro, Pertex v exoshell v diamond light or whatever they are all called, fit & function is key, if anything consider the Denier level you want or need as that will play a part in comfort.

Arcteryx, Mountain equipment, RAB, Montane, Mammut, High end Berghaus & high end North face all have brilliant jackets from my experience

This year I’m using a Paramo Alta 3 as it has just been too warm for my normal Buffalo arrangement.

I’ve found it great. Super comfy and well tailored. No clamminess when working hard in wet and mild environment where a traditional hard shell would wet out.  Requires constant maintenance though. The Nikwax disappears at an astonishing rate, but this year winter season has been particularly wet and it is getting soaked what feels like constantly. I wash in the machine on a woolens cycle with soap flakes, them put it in bucket with warm water and the Nikwax. Leave for a while, spin cycle in the machine then leave to dry. I’ve found  this to be a better method than the Paramo suggested washing solution (too expensive) and putting the Nikwax in the machine leaves the wife complaining the next wash is ‘funny’.I’m doing this every six weeks and in that time the jacket would see approx. 24 intense use outings.

If you can’t be bothered with the faff a Keela Munro is good vfm. It is heavy and warm though, not ideal for anything other than walking.

Paramo

Keela Munro

I have a Mountain Equipment Lhotse. Not cheap but an excellent jacket.

Seems like you need to spend around £300 to get something that ticks the boxes these days and even that isn’t high-end.

Most are available half price in Sportspursuit.

eg https://www.sportpursuit.com/clothing/jackets-tops-jerseys?clothing_features=Waterproof&upper_body_type=Jackets&gender=Male&sport=Hiking_%26_Outdoors

Buy a selection by CC and send back the ones you don’t like.

On a similar topic a bit ago someone mentioned Sprayway. Bit of a blast from the past, but I looked at the recommended article and filed it under “seriously consider when my current jacket completes its current process of falling to bits”. The key feature was that it is a bit longer than most so more chance of keeping your bum dry.

My ideal hillwalking top-half is;

Craghoppers Elgin base layer (for tick-killing duties).

Then a paramo waterproof (in their lighter fabric)…take your pick*

Instead of a fleecy mid-layer, I’d carry their ‘Torres’ jacket or gilet in my rucksack and wear the Torres over the waterproof as conditions dictate . The way that these things warm you up and suck moisture to the outer layer is pretty awesome.

*the paramo waterproofs are not inherently waterproof. That’s the job of the nikwax/ grangers.

If your waterproof is ‘wetting-out’, whether it’s made of gore-tex, event or analogy, then you’re not doing the nikwax-treatment part correctly.

Your washing machine needs to be scrupulously clean before you start re-proofing, as any residual detergent in your washing machine will drastically reduce the effectiveness of the nikwax or grangers.

It’s all about preparation.

This means accumulating all the stuff that can be boil-washed (towels and bedding) and washing these at your machines hottest setting to eliminate any soapy residue from your washing machine.

When there are no more suds or foam in the wash cycle, then you’re ready to start the re-proofing (at the correct temp/ wash-cycle).

My take is that Mountain Equipment’s ‘alpine fit’ jackets – the Lhtose is the obvious one – are the best cut jackets out there if you have an athletic sort of build. Really neat fit, but without being restrictive and great hoods for UK conditions.

The new Rab Gore-Tex jackets – they’ve stopped doing eVent – are more generously cut, but have a waist cord so you can cinch them in a bit to compensate. The Ladakh GTX is a nice all-rounder with a good hood, lots of pockets and a mix of Gore-Tex Pro and C-KNIT, which is a softer, quieter fabric.

Gore-Tex Pro, fwiw, is a really good fabric for waterproofness, breathability and durability relative to weight, but boy is the stuff noisy in a crisp-packety sort of way. You really notice it, particularly with the hood up.

I think it was me who mentioned the revamped Sprayway Torridon jacket, complete with 90s-tastic retro colour options. It a proper ‘big jacket’ cut longer than most modern shells, so your crotch stays drier when you’re not wearing overtrousers and reassuringly solid. I wouldn’t wear one for technical mountaineering, but for traditional hillwalking / going to the shops in a deluge, it’s brilliant.

I cannot believe how heavy and badly cut the Keela Munro is. It’s like a 1960s army combat jacket complete with bat-wing sleeves. A truly horrible jacket imo. but if you want a one kilo plus shell that’s cut like an army surplus thing, there it is.

Oh, and the Alpkit stuff is a good balance of cost / performance and decent design. The Balance is pretty good, but lacks a chest pocket and their top-end technical jacket is a lot of shell for the money.

But the ME shells are really good. Outside Magazine ran a story a while back where the tester said that it was the best winter shell he’d used full stop, erm:

https://www.outsideonline.com/2354261/mountain-equipment-lhotse-best-winter-shell

Also, check out Sport Pursuit for near half-price deals on Arc’teryx. Just put Arc’teryx in the search box and see what comes up. Their stuff is excellent, but in all honesty, for UK use, I think ME is better. YMMV.

At work (rescue service) we use the keela Munro (along with several other keela items) which is a jacket for proper snotty weather, fantastic bit of kit used by LOTS of mountainy rescue types as well as military.

keela make a variety of jackets using the same waterproofing material dependent on the activity type.

they’re not stupid money at retail but can often be found reduced, as well they quite often pop up as ex police jackets on eBay.

I’ve become quite a keela convert thanks to work.

The keela Munro is ridiculously heavy and bulky. It might be waterproof and durable but you can get a jacket that will do both those just as well at half the weight. Light, cheap, strong choose two…

Paramo works for some but not others so unless you can try before you buy I’d be very wary.

I have the ME Rupal you linked to and find it to be a good compromise between durability and weight. I’ve used it for three seasons winter climbing which is very tough on jackets and it’s still going strong.

Also, if you’re on a budget, own-brand waterproof fabrics have improved a lot over the past five years or so as fabric manufacturers have got better at manipulating PU membranes and coatings, so you can – for example – buy a Mountain Equipment Drilite jacket with the same cut and features as their Gore-Tex stuff for a lot less and still have a jacket that performs decently.

That’s mostly because Gore-Tex is very expensive. The reason for that is that Gore is super thorough with its manufacturing and testing of individual fabrics, which is why it’s generally very dependable. And all that thoroughness along with a bunch of marketing and premium pricing means it costs more for the brands to use.

On niche stuff, I quite like Paramo, but it only really works for me in deep winter, sub-zero conditions. Otherwise I find it too warm, but I do run hot. It’s nice to wear though, very quiet, decently breathable and the latest designs – eg: the Enduro jacket – are a much neater cut than the older stuff.

13 miles in the wet Galloway hills today, and my 60 quid quechua from decathlon was brilliant once more.

300 quid my arse. 😂

Your washing machine needs to be scrupulously clean before you start re-proofing, as any residual detergent in your washing machine will drastically reduce the effectiveness of the nikwax or grangers.

It’s all about preparation.

This means accumulating all the stuff that can be boil-washed (towels and bedding) and washing these at your machines hottest setting to eliminate any soapy residue from your washing machine.

When there are no more suds or foam in the wash cycle, then you’re ready to start the re-proofing (at the correct temp/ wash-cycle).

Who can be arsed with that?

Planning my weeks laundry around proofing my jacket? No ta.

I recently bought an OEX branded one from go outdoors.

Nice fit, waterproof tested in the lakes and Wales.

Was about 100 quid.

My take on this having largely replaced cycling with walking over the past few years is to buy a jacket that you can stuff in a rucksack for 80% of the time. I live in an area where people come to walk, and I watch them arrive each weekend, step out of (nice warm) car and put full walking kit and hardshells on. From the car park the only way is up, and so these same people walk up for 15 minutes and start sweating. By the time they get up on the hills they are wet from the inside and then, on the hill tops, get cold…

I stuff my hardshell into my bag, walk up in a baselayer and sometimes a pertex shell, then only use the hardshell if it rains too much.

Too many £300 jackets are sold for looking good wandering around Keswick rather than used in an intelligent way as a last resort when the weather is bad.

The best jacket is a Mothership jacket; the kind of thing you wear over everything else when the shit has hit the fan, then taken off when the weather has passed.

Currently using a Sprayway Taku in a size large enough to accomodate a big down jacket underneath, £70-£90. Good enough for Scottish winter silliness.

https://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/articles/view/the_truth_about_breathable_waterproofs

I really like Paramo for hiking and hillwalking, but with the caveat that they’re really not lightweight/packable shell type garments.

IMO as a layer you wear all day they’re bang on. Very breathable, quite warm, very comfortable, keep you dry, keep the wind off. I have a Velez Adventure smock and I can wear it most of the year around with a baselayer underneath, and just augment it with hat/buff/gloves as required, or a Primaloft jacket if stopped in winter time.

However, if you’re looking for something to put in a pack and pull on if it starts raining then they start to look bulky and heavy. Horses for courses as ever!

Wise words crikey.

On a similar topic a bit ago someone mentioned Sprayway. Bit of a blast from the past, but I looked at the recommended article and filed it under “seriously consider when my current jacket completes its current process of falling to bits”.

Ah yes, Mrs. Slow has a gorgeous (though ageing) Sprayway jacket which I’m quite jealous of.

I normally walk in a Pertex or equiv windproof shell and only dig out the waterproof shell if it really starts raining. In summer my shell is a Rab Kinetic Alpine Jacket (their own fabric). In winter it’s a proper GTX Pro shell, which can take anything thrown at it (North Face Point Five Jacket). Both weigh under 400g and pack pretty small, so hardly notice them in the pack.

In winter I’ll probably also have a Belay Jacket (Arc’teryx Nuclei AR) to go over the top of the waterproof in case I have to stop for any duration.

If you want to stay dry, and get value for money then don’t go any further than a ME jacket.

Decathlon!

Check the spec on this £150:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/mens-alpi-jacket-red-id_8495180.html

I just got this 3 layer jacket for £50! amazing for the price.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/mh900-w-p-jacket-red-id_8502093.html

They quote proper testing of the fabrics in terms of breathability and waterproofness.

Thanks for the replies.
Tried a Mountain Equipment Rupal on and really like it – pit zips and great hood.
Also Rab Kangri – very similar to the Rupal. Berghaus Extrem 5000 gets good write ups too so tempted by that. Anyone used sportpursuit.com apart from Mr Flaps? Wondered what the returns are like on their flash sale items.

Any ‘good’ brand is fine these days. Buy on cut and fit, not latest wunder fabric. Buy one with few pockets, good hood and thigh length.

+1 on don’t wear it too much.

Buy a cheaper hardshell jacket and spend the difference on a good baselayer and a pertex jacket. Then wear the pertex thing as much as possible.

I’m a fan of ME and Montane build quality these days, my work Berghaus Trek Lite surprised me how good it is despite a couple of daft design details to make it look good.

My personal jacket at the moment is a £40 sale Sherpa. It’s brilliant for the cost.

(That said, for a couple of winter Munro trips this year I dug out my ancient ME Ogre as it’s longer, better hood and all-round bomber)

Anyone used sportpursuit.com apart from Mr Flaps? Wondered what the returns are like on their flash sale items.

Pretty easy to return, sometime free or you pay a nominal £2.99 (which is deducted off the refund). Refund processed in a few days. Use it loads, always order a selection of sizes and just return those which don’t fit.

Pretty much all my Arcteryx kit comes from SP, pointless paying twice the price for the same thing in the shops.

. Anyone used sportpursuit.com apart from Mr Flaps? Wondered what the returns are like on their flash sale items.

I’ve found them good to deal with. The missus sent some shoes back, hassle-free process.

As per lots of other posters here, I mostly use wind-resistant stuff – Rab VR Alpine, Polartec Alpha stuff in winter – and sling a waterproof on if things get proper wet. The holy grail is a waterproof that breathes / has the comfort level of something like that and no-one’s got there yet, though NeoShell and possibly the new TNF Future Light fabric, get close.

As to whether you ‘need’ an expensive, full-on mountaineering shell, it depends on what you’re doing. It’s when the proverbial hits the fan that they make a real difference, but if you’re mostly out in moderate conditions, it’s less of an issue.