Wait, so my Rab jacket is rubbish now?

Meh, it used to be Berghaus when I were a student…
So, when am I to see a ned wearing a Paramo?

Well you could head west Matt, my mate Carl is never out of it and he’s a dirty Fifer.

I worked in Blacks for a while. Some folk would walk in and just ask to see the North Face jackets. They weren’t after fleece jackets, down jackets, waterproof jackets or softshell jackets. Just North Face jackets.

FWIW my brands of choice tend to be Montane and Mountain Equipment but I’ve various other stuff too from the big names to Decathlon.

I’m safe until the chavs start wearing Millet (that’s ‘mee-lay’, not Millets, you high street heathen)

https://www.millet-mountain.com/

Or are there French scumbags ruining my outdoorsy vibe?

I’ve got a TNF gore activeshell, decent apart from the activeshell not being that robust.

Had two TNF paclites, also decent although the messenger bag strap did for them after about a year and a half commmuting.

Got some TNF paclite trousers for years, not had the wear that the jackets have had but still going OK.

Got a TNF gore proshell jacket which has lasted years.

Seems to fit me better than other brands and Grangers 2-in-1 rejunvenates them pretty well.

The fashion market is bigger than the specialist outdoor market so I guess you have to expect the outdoor gear manufacturers who want to survive and/or make bigger profits to go after the fashion label market, hopefully without losing sight of their original intentions. Small specialist brands also get bought out and absorbed into high street brands.
Karrimor, Rab, TNF, Barbour, Vango – all brands that have changed one way or another over the years, I’m sure there are many others.
FWIW, Arcteryx will be the next big must-have brand; if a company get their brand on Countryfile they’ve made it, so it would seem!

Wait, so my Rab jacket is rubbish now?

The only Rab jacket I’ve had was rubbish from day one. Used to wet out when walking across the work car park in drizzle, tried reproofing multiple times but it never worked, waste of £100+!

Less than 1/2 mile away technical NF on sale in specialist shops. Can’proper’ outdoorsfolk walk that far?

The performance of the fabric is down to the fabric manufacturer, the jacket maker buys it in and then designs the cut and fit etc. So it’s not a Rab issue if the jacket can’t be reproofed.

The performance of the fabric is down to the fabric manufacturer, the jacket maker buys it in and then designs the cut and fit etc.

Yes and no, the brand should test and select which face fabrics they want to use e.g. Arteryx and always bringing out new fabrics to which GTX membrane is bonded to. So, if a jacket has a duff face fabric, it is the fault of the brand for choosing to use a duff fabric in the first place.

Arcteryx will be the next big must-have brand

The lovely Prof Alice Roberts has been rockin’ Arc’teryx’s gear for some time now – but despite it being pretty much ubiquitous in any British Columbian ski town, I can’t see it being a high street brand over here just yet …

I think TNF flooded the market with kit that people who aspire to an outdoor image wanted to buy … and they also suffered from cheap far east copies and heavily discounted items which from memory is why they bought a 5% share in Blacks to try and prevent the ‘brand’ from being further diluted.

Arc’teryx still make some of their premium range (such as the Alpha SV) in Canada – supposedly to maintain intellectual property rights and manufacturing techniques such as seam welding.

So it’s not a Rab issue if the jacket can’t be reproofed.

Of course it is they bought the material and produced the garment, that’s not material suppliers fault.

very little in the way of actual outdoor kit.

Should have gone to an actual outdoors clothing shop rather than an actual fashion clothing shop.

It’s not The North Face brands fault that you’re too stupid to know where to shop.

FWIW, Arcteryx will be the next big must-have brand; if a company get their brand on Countryfile they’ve made it, so it would seem!

I rarely see people wearing Arc’teryx gear, I guess they see people wearing it on the telly, google it, blanche when they see the prices, and go and buy NF and Rab kit instead.

Had an Arcteryx LEAF Alpha jacket a few years ago, retail somewhat north of £600.
The Goretex started to delaminate & I had a proper fight getting them to replace it under the ‘lifetime’ warranty as apparently that covered the construction not the actual fabric.
I sold the replacement unopened and will never buy from them again.
They were one of the Gucci brands to be seen in around the base in Poole, after North Face got a bit passé. Been replaced by a couple of niche micro brands based in mid Wales mostly now though.

Very few people think “I might climb everest next week, I”ll pop into millets and get some kit now”

which is odd when you consider how many people seem to think “perhaps i’ll climb everest on the way to little johnny’s swimming lesson”

They were one of the Gucci brands to be seen in around the base in Poole, after North Face got a bit passé. Been replaced by a couple of niche micro brands based in mid Wales mostly now though

Such as?

Paramo are one of the few UK companies I can think of but they are based in East Sussex.

Genuinely interested as I’m struggling to think of any outdoor clothing brand based in Wales who are targeting a similar demographic to the likes of Arc’teryx, Norrona, Patagonia, Sweet Protection and Haglofs etc … i.e. high end gortex clothing suitable for extreme conditions:- not just picking junior up from his therapist during a light ‘mizzle’.

This thread. They’re just cagoules, FFS. 😯 Anoraks indeed. 😆

I have an Arcteryx rain jacket which I bought because of the ones I was able to try on it fitted best. Is that allowed? Similarly I bought 2 of their hats at inordinate expense because their XL size fits my giant noggin.

I have mid-range TNF snowboarding gear from America (because you can’t buy xxl in Europe). It’s been been pretty good on its first outing.

Will see what it’s longevity is like in a couple of years…

They’re just cagoules, FFS

Even the trousers, fleeces, etc, etc?

I’m safe until the chavs start wearing Millet

Hmm, reminds of a comment from a Brit in Flaine:
“You must be English?”
“Eh?”
“Millets”
I gave a Gallic shrug and flounced.

As for Arcteryx I have a couple of their sacs and a pair of overtrousers. All bought second hand or in sales, all brilliant.

I’ve yet to see the neds buying acquiring Arcteryx.

Many big bike companies are the same though, they produce £8k – £10k bikes to show what they can do, but the bulk of their market is £500-£1500 bikes, it is the most technical and best quality stuff that is often the least profitable.

Like Boardman bikes, sell the core range via Halfords where you know a lot of people will see them and the Elite range through proper bike shops.

I have a proper down jacket from them that looks a bit scruffy now but has lasted 18 years and a plain black Hyvent jacket for work that gets worn every winter now for last 12 years. They are a business and selling stuff is the profit, not the technical stuff.

I wore my black Hyvent jacket for a night out in Sheffield visiting a mate, i was stone cold sober and the very first pub we got to, the bouncer wouldn’t let me in, i asked why and he said “no North Face allowed in mate”!

This reminds me of when the singer of my old band was complaining about the neo nazis in Germany going under cover in demos by wearing Northface stuff so he couldn’t tell who he was supposed to beat the living daylights out of 🙂

They’re just cagoules, FFS

But they’re not are they? If they were just cagoules there wouldn’t be endless threads on this forum discussing the holy trinity of waterproof-ness/breath-ability/durability in jackets.

My memory of cagoules in the 1970s was that they had none of the above properties …

the bouncer wouldn’t let me in, i asked why and he said “no North Face allowed in mate”!

Sheffield has higher than average participation rates in general ‘outdoor recreation’ especially climbing and they can be fiercely brand partisan – it wasn’t The Lescar was it? 😆

Ah the G&H Cagjac. Now there was a technical garment.

MrsT requires a warm jacket/coat. She has a few health issues and feels the cold i.e. anything under 10deg and the scarf goes on!!!! She has some of the “cheaper” models from Rab, Arcteryx and Berghuas. We bought a Paramo and some Rab base layers for the weekend past and she finds it even colder than her favoured Berhaus.
So, at what price point can we expect a decent warm jacket having just wasted £300!?!?!?
One problem is she cannot walk far or fast therefor cannot generate any body heat!

Hmm, reminds of a comment from a Brit in Flaine:
“You must be English?”
“Eh?”
“Millets”
I gave a Gallic shrug and flounced.

Mrs M used to wear a Marmot fleece. The logo lettering was somewhat run together, so she was asked a couple of times: Do you work at the Marriott? What do you do there?

The fleece went to a charity shop.

**********
Trekster: have a look at the long thick Lands End coats, which sell well in the US north-eastern states. Mrs M (again) rates them, after having a foot op last winter she also had problems generating wnough warmth. Tights under trousers help, too.

So, at what price point can we expect a decent warm jacket having just wasted £300!

Depends I guess – I picked up an Arc’teryx Thorium SV a couple of years ago from SportsPursuits – RRP is £300, but only paid £150. Has kept me toasty on Arctic Expeditions with temps down to -29 celcius, however I was wearing 5 layers in total (2x merino, 1x fleece, 1x synthetic 1x down).

If your missus really feels the cold that much then some nice thermal/merino underwear/base-layers might help.

If you are already cold a down jacket won’t heat you up much, but if you are already warm a down jacket will help keep the heat in!

Trekster have a look at jacket linked below

http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/Jack_Wolfskin_Womens_Troposphere_DF_Texapore_O2_Insulated_Jacket/?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=directory&utm_content=GBR&currency=GBP&country=GBR&SelectedBundle=183517&SelectedItem=722404&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjJ_51bKt2AIVCc0bCh1UMw4KEAkYASABEgKZA_D_BwE

I have the men’s version for standing around at rugby/photography sessions and it’s very warm and waterproof even when stationary

Such as?

Jottnar are based in Cardiff, good kit, cheaper than much of the better known gear. Other than Howies, I don’t know of any other Welsh brands for outdoor kit.
https://www.jottnar.com/uk

So, at what price point can we expect a decent warm jacket having just wasted £300!?!?!?

Well, there’s Canada Goose, which is highly regarded in its home country, but be prepared to have a bank account meltdown:
https://www.alpinetrek.co.uk/canada-goose-womens-expedition-parka-down-jacket/

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the more you spend the warmer it’ll be. Insulation is pretty cheap. More expensive jackets pack down smaller, or have better breathability, the designers have spent more time on design, or the jacket is more complex making it harder to make. And to be honest in most cases they cash in on brand image. Standing around waiting for busses or doing light walking doesn’t need these things generally.

If I were you I’d be looking at jackets aimed at fishermen or hunters. Loads of insulation.

On the subject of branding, today on a walk I realised I was dressed entirely in Mountain Warehouse and Trespass clothing. And it was pretty damn good. If I’m honest with myself I’ve been guilty of a bit of brand snobbery in the past, but fair play to the budget manufacturers these days they can make good kit.

I think my best investment was my Mountain Equipment jacket, it’s now in its early 30s and still going strong.
Just wish I had got the Patagonia fleece at the same time.
For some reason TNF never did it for me.

Have to admit that most of my layers nowadays come from Mountain Warehouse, can’t go wrong with the prices they charge.

Jottnar are based in Cardiff

Interesting – I’d always thought Jöttnar was Norwegian or Scandinavian at least (although I knew about the UK connection with the ex-Marine chappies).

Just shows the effect an ‘umlaut’ can have! 😉

BlindMelon – Member
Trekster have a look at jacket linked below

Cheers. Had a Wolfskin jacket/fleece combo for many years till the jacket fell apart!! Still got the fleece. Used to be a factory shop in Carlisle where we bought a lot of stuff for son(cubs/scouts/DofE)until it closed. There was then a drop in quality regards stitching which a lot of others came across so we stopped buying it, seems to be making a comeback with a local shop stocking some of the “fashion” wear.

Will have a look at the other suggestions + we/she has a collection of various base layers but having a skin condition dictates what can be worn!!!

I was dressed entirely in Mountain Warehouse and Trespass clothing

I bought some Trespass salopettes once – they were the worst thing I’ve ever worn – hateful. Would take a lot to get me to trust the brand again.

I thought that Canada Goose was THE label to be seen shopping in nowadays?

I bought some Trespass salopettes once

When? I think the increase in performance of budget kit is arelatively recent phenomenon. And to be fair, Mountain Warehouse is leading that. The Trespass trousers were meant to be £90 or something and for that, they wouldn’t have been so good. The materials and design are great but the stitching is wonky even though it’s holding up.

The Trespass trousers were meant to be £90 or something and for that, they wouldn’t have been so good.

It was a while ago, but the fusalp ones I replaced them with were similar money and vastly better.

On a budget Helly Hansen stuff is excellent, as long as it fits as their cuts seem to be funny sometimes. I have some HH salopettes that would have been similar money and they have been excellent, as has the jacket.