UKC

Anyone had one of these. I am thinking of getting one. Are they heavy. Can the hood fit over a helmet. Wind/Water resistance any good. Help please.

In reply to Aigen:
As you will see from Tony's photo the hood doesn't really go over a lid. It is a fairly snug fit over a bare head.
For the price I think that it is unbeatable. I have worn mine on a warmish summer day in heavy rain for about 3 hrs and nothing came through. At the same time it moved the sweat I was generating with no problems. I mostly use it when climbing. It doesn't suffer too much from abrasion. I am a little chunky and the fit is snug. Because of its stretch it isn't a problem.
The only downside is the cut of the face guard which when unzipped with the hood down, looks a little odd. Not really a problem on the hill but the style police might point it out on the high street.

In reply to Aigen: I got one this year after being seriously impressed with the soft shell pants that I've been using for ski touring. I haven't got any complaints to make about it which is rare for me* when it comes to kit. It's kept me dry in torrential rain where I expected it to give up as the rain was so damn heavy. I can get the hood over a helmet easily too, I found the sizing to be a bit small like a lot of their kit so try on a few.

*except the colour, I could only get it in black in the UK but if I'd got it in France there was a choice including orange. I prefer bright colours as they look better in photos and regularly tell my ski partners off for having dull clothes, now I'm another man in black.

In reply to Aigen:

Is this the same as their belay jacket? (it looks similar in Tony's picture) If so, I have one and can't fault it apart from that mine's a men's one as they don't (or didn't) seem to do them for women, so it's a little snug around the hips. Other than that, it's as good as any of my 'big brand' kit, and dirt cheap too!

In reply to Aigen:
Yes, I picked up an orange one in Spain on the way back from a Pyrennes trip this summer. [I fully agree with Swirly about the colour choice - I'm not a fan of black jackets.]

Pretty much the same as the others I looked at previously

No.
However I would much prefer to it wear it under my helmet in any case. Helmet compatible hoods, even ones with a 3-way adjust are just useless if you ever wear them without a helmet and if the weather ever gets truely dreadful I've got either a hardshell or down jacket with hoods that will fits over the top.

Yeap. Excellent wind resistance and I haven't got wet yet although can't comment definatively as I've only worn it in showers.

I bought one after one of the Guides I worked with this Summer highly recommend the previous model of Quechua softshell he was wearing. He said it was pretty much the only thing he wore in the Alps for weeks at a time.

The sizing (Small in my case) works really well for me. There is sufficient arm length without being too large in the body due to a technical cut plus effective thumb loops. That isn't the case with other makes I've tried, so I'd recommend you try one for size rather than gamble and buy online.

Good kit, great price.

In reply to The Ex-Engineer: Thanks everyone. I ordered one online. My mate is the same size and he is going to pick it up for me in Germany. I am in Ireland. Thanks all.

In reply to Aigen: I got the jacket on Friday and climbed all weekend with it in the freezing wind and showers. Its very good. Windproof and no prob in 20 mins of rain. Very very good for the price 50 Euro. The pit zips could be a bit longer but so what. Thanks all for the help.

In reply to Aigen: i've got one.

i think its the pre bionassay model as mine doesnt have the word bionassay on it anywhere, although i could be wrong.

its great, pit zips, thumb loops, chest pocket for phone, two 'hand warming' pockets also has two zips so you can throw it on over a harness for windy / drizzly summer days and still belay / go for a slash. its waterproof for a good while - although i did get soacked through in a walk in to Corrie an-t Sneachda on a wet day when it was only just snowing when we went over the ridge into the corrie propper. that day we did end up getting to the bottom of the route and turning back and spent the rest of the day in the cafe waiting for a mate who was skiing so it was a wet day!

the downsides: the 'hand warming' pockets are covered when wearing a harness so are unusable, the hood doesnt fit over a helmet (positive and negative point), the collar comes up over your mouth when fully zipped up (positive and negative point, the colour is black if bought in the uk.


all in all a great jacket and is still going strong after the second half of last season winter use and occaisional summer use as well as round town use.