The £90 I spent in Cotswolds in Betws 15 years ago was well spent, but only barely qualifies as functional any more so I’m looking for another hardshell.

I will use it all the time, for walking, riding, hiking in the mountains, in all the sodden rain – so quality is way more important than cost for me.

However, it’s not just a “spunk this cash for no reason” – if I can do the same for less, will consider.

Anyone got any recommendations from personal experience? Any reason why I’d want two to do different jobs rather than one? 🙂

Money no object? Arc’teryx Alpha.

Mine did 5 years of use for dog walking, hiking and some mtb use before I replaced it with a UF Pro Monsoon which wouldn’t be great for cycling due to the cut but is awesome for pretty much everything else.

No recommendations for the jacket. Buy what fits you the best.
Carry a vented umbrella to use when it is raining and the umbrella is able to be used.
Wear a fully waterproof non breathable poncho over your waterproof when you can’t use the umbrella.

How much riding compared to everything else? I ask this as a few years ago I got a top of the line Goretex pro jacket, and I’ve never regretted dropping that big chunk of cash as that jacket has done a lot of good work. But it’s not great as a riding jacket, I still use a couple of older jackets for riding in the rain.

The best I have had are Berghaus . Not the most expensive and not the highest rated but I have had the best results from them

I have two – a shorter lighter one for cycling and summer and a longer heavier one for winter

The wife and I just have Berghaus mountain Gore Tex jackets, I use mine for both mountaineering and biking (GoreTex Pro) while the wife’s riding Jacket is Goretex Active which is a bit more breathable. And before you ask, no they’re not his n hers matching. They were just what was cheap at the time that didn’t look stupid.

Thanks all:

@mattbee I’ve been looking at the Arc’teryx Beta rather than the Alpha as the pockets seem better tbh (Alpha is more climbing focussed so they’re higher up). Nowt on the black fridays – the Beta SV is £600 everywhere.

@retrorick – I don’t think either an umberella or poncho are good for hiking in the mountains or riding a bike tbh. More getting off the train whilst walking to work or sitting on a damp beach in the pouring rain 🙂

GoreTex Pro does seem to be the way to go. I’m thinking more walking than riding (I’ll rinse the last life out of my current before dual-using the new one) but the ratio will change over time.

Money no object? Arc’teryx Alpha.

+1

I bought the wife one from Sports Pursuit half price…

Whichever Showers Pass jacket takes your fancy or fits your pocket. I have an Elements and it’s great. Bike specific cut but fine for hiking, etc too.

Living on the Hebrides, waterproofs are almost ‘daily’ wear. I have jackets in GoreTex Active, Paclite, Shakedry and Pro from Haglofs, Berghaus, Gore and Montane. The Paclite has started wetting through after a few years and will soon be binned – apparently it’s only intended for occasional, not everyday use. Whilst Pro is bombproof in the rain but it’s a bit too stiff and rustly to wear all the time. Shakedry is great for cycling, but the bike-specific cut and fabric fragility makes it less suited for anything else. I have a Haglofs Active jacket which is nice and light and very comfortable to wear – probably the best for everyday use. I’ve also got a Montane Pertex Pro smock for running, very light and flexible. The hardest wearing waterproof I’ve got is a 10-year old Marmot – don’t know the fabric, but the DWR still works, still keeps the rain out and has an almost soft shell feel. A lot does come down to the cut and features of the jacket – for anything above moderate cycling intensity, ventilation become important, and whether you want a hood or not.

I think you’re better off buying a cheaper top for each sport rather than one expensive top for all, each sport has different requirements.

+1 on having two jackets.

IME, biking means mud so clogging up breathability, plus one crash = rip, plus big mountain hoods.

I would buy cheaper bike jacket and a more expensive hill jacket.

Hill jacket – is this UK and typical hills, or alpine and winter? I find many jackets are cut for helmet under hood and fit climbing, not walking. With that in mind, it’s hard to see past an ME Rupal.

Hill jacket is for (mainly) Snowdonia – I live there. It’s currently unseasonably warm but it hasn’t really stopped raining since September.

MTB jacket will be my old one until it does get buggered beyond repair – but I’ve had many crashes and it’s not properly ripped (Haglofs) – which is amazing considering how rocky it is round here. Guess I’ve just been lucky. Or I’m so p00p and slow that I can’t challenge the material.

Will definitely be heading up Carnedd Llewelyn or Y Garn the first weekend of January, come what may. Last year it was -20 with the wind chill, blowy as hell. Will always try to do as much of that as possible.

But at the same time, from my paltry 600ft into town, still need a decent jacket for every day and I lean heavily towards quality over quantity.

@colournoise – those Showers Pass jackets do look good tho don’t they 🙂

Yeah deffo separate walking and riding jackets. Cheaper and better outcomes.

There’s a video somewhere from Arcteryx which goes thro’ the differences for Alpha, Beta, and the people who should be using what. Also depends on what’s on sale. Mountain Equipment are nicer I think, Berghaus is nice, I have a Norrona Trollveggen, but with GotexPro they’re all much of an expensive muchness.

7Mesh Revelation or Skypilot. I have the older version of the Skypilot and it’s awesome!

My partner’s experience of Showerpass is such that she wouldn’t buy another. With a jacket which had been hung up in the house for most of its life it resulted in a thorough soaking on a wet ride in Scotland and subsequent washing and reproofing has not improved it.
My Endura jacket was quite crap as well.

I’d not generally wear a mountain walking / mountaineering shell on the bike, too long, too many pockets, superfluous hood etc, I’m another who’d suggest a cheaper, more bike-focussed shell for riding.

Gore-Tex Pro is a good fabric, but noisy in a crisp-packety sort of way, which you’ll either tolerate or not. I’d also think about fit rather than just brand when it comes to shells. For me, both Mountain Equipment and the more techy Berghaus ‘Extrem’ shells fit better than Arc’teryx – ME has a really nice, close-fitting athletic cut that’s also unrestrictive without being flappy. If you’re really broad in the shoulders, Arc’teryx might fit better and is beautifully made and designed, but personally I fit ME’s Alpine cut better, they also do a more generous Mountain cut on some jackets.

Pro also tends to be used mostly in top-end technical jackets rather than all-round hill-walking shells and that means GTX Pro jackets designed for helmet and harness use aren’t always ideal for just going for a wander on Kinder / Dartmoor / in the Dales etc. These days own-brand fabrics are generally very good. Not as breathable as the top-end Gore-Tex / Polartec etc fabrics, but not far off and folk like ME use the same basic cut and design.

No-one’s mentioned Paramo yet, but it works well in a lot of cold, damp UK environments, is quiet in use, very breathable and comfortable to wear, plus because it’s not reliant on a waterproof membrane or coating, is inherently less fragile. On the down side, it’s relatively heavy and warm, which won’t suit everyone and it’s aesthetically less ‘I’m a hardcore mountaineer’ than most brands. Unfortunately it tends to be a bit of a love-hate brand and it’s hard to know where you stand without actually using the stuff. I like it, but only when it’s proper cold.

Mountain Equipment Lhotse is good if the fit works for you would be my very short answer, but I wouldn’t wear one on a bike.

I have a Rapha City waterproof that I use for road and MTB, and a bit of walking.

Very waterproof and more breathable than any other hardshell jacket I’ve owned.

I’d absolutely wear it hiking for some of the year, but I’d want my proper hiking jacket as described by BWD above for walking Snowdonia in January. Mainly for the extra length.

I suppose a shorter jacket could work with hardshell trews and sufficient under-layers though.

as above for separate biking and walking / mountain shell. for biking i tend to buy whatever lighter weight gortex or gortex paclite jacket i can find on a deal. it then lives in the pack as an emergency if the weather turns properly filthy and he rest of the time i ride in a softshell. can normally pick something up for c £70/80, anything more than that for biking jackets isn’t worth it imho as biking kills them

for walking / mountain shell – having tried most of the big mountain brands at one time or another, i keep coming back to Mountain Equipment as their stuff tends to be very well made and pretty bomber in use. current mountain shell is the ME Shivling – the goretex pro works well (if not a littlie crinkly / rustley) but has done me proud in some truly awful weather

you can normally find some good deals on ME jackets on line at e-outdoors or outdoorkit

Today I leaned that a ‘vented umbrella’ is a thing.

I can heartily recommend mine – Gore C5. I use it for running, biking and sometimes walking. It’s 4 years old and I’m amazed that it’s still waterproof (I’ve never reproofed it). I use it mainly for running because I prefer a softshell for biking and it’s breathable enough without any vents or pit zips. I’ve tried all sorts over the years, Event shells were very good but didn’t last long enough, nothing else has come close. I’d be willing to give a Galabier jacket a try however, because their stuff is good quality and fairly priced.

I’ve just looked and Gore don’t appear to make the C5 any more except in ‘Shakedry’, which looks a wee bit delicate (and bloody expensive).

The hardest wearing waterproof I’ve got is a 10-year old Marmot – don’t know the fabric, but the DWR still works,

I have quite an old Goretex Pro shell (TNF Point Five jacket) which has the old style super toxic DWR (long-chain (C8) fluorocarbon-based treatment), which still works really, really well – just won’t wet out at all. Can’t buy anything as good now as they no longer use that coating.

These days own-brand fabrics are generally very good. Not as breathable as the top-end Gore-Tex / Polartec etc fabrics, but not far off and folk like ME use the same basic cut and design.

I agree – my old Berghaus Light Trek in their own Hydroshell Elite was mega waterproof and durable for such a light jacket – and really, really well suited to UK hillwalking. Probably the best waterproof I have ever had next to a Mountain Equipment ProJacket (Gore Proshell designed for outdoor instructor use…)

Yeah deffo separate walking and riding jackets. Cheaper and better outcomes.

I have a few walking jackets eg my Gore Tex Pro only comes out in winter – it’s just not needed in mild conditions when I carry a much lighter and thinner GTX shell or Rab’s Kinetic jacket.

https://www.cotic.co.uk/news/2019/sodaMAXgone

Lol, posted that in the wrong thread! 😀

Definitely not a jacket.

No-one’s mentioned Paramo yet, but it works well in a lot of cold, damp UK environments, is quiet in use, very breathable and comfortable to wear, plus because it’s not reliant on a waterproof membrane or coating, is inherently less fragile. On the down side, it’s relatively heavy and warm, which won’t suit everyone and it’s aesthetically less ‘I’m a hardcore mountaineer’ than most brands. Unfortunately it tends to be a bit of a love-hate brand and it’s hard to know where you stand without actually using the stuff. I like it, but only when it’s proper cold.

I know many don’t (I can imagine Scotroutes thinking ‘here they go again’ 😉 but… I like Paramo too. All wet weather gear is a compromise so it does have its downsides; a bit hot at times and it can leak under rucksack straps, but on the whole it works best for me. No other jacket has ever kept me dry. I have had loads of Goretex jackets (and similar) and have got wet in every single one. It is also repairable, does not use PTFE or other fluorocarbon surface treatments and, as far as I know, is made in a fair trade employee owned company.

+1 on Paramo, mine is over 25 yr old, still going strong. Not a bike jacket tho, too heavy/ bulky. It has and does keep out the foulest of bad weather. If you run hot, maybe not for you. I love how you can have a conversation with the hood up and hear what’s going on.