UKC

Can anyone recommend a down jacket for UK cragging and general use. I've been looking at the Rab Neutrino Endurance, anyone have experience with this jacket?

Cheers guys.

In reply to Ross88: Haglofs Maggi down is quality.

In reply to Ross88:

Joe Brown's have got Mountain Equipment Omega jackets on sale for £175 instead of £280.

http://www.joe-brown.com/outdoor-equipment/mountain_equipment_omega_jacket_...

Trumps the Rab Neutrino Endurance IMO.

Great ME quality.

Box wall construction instead of sewn through - means warmer.

Dri Lite Outer - wind proof and water resistant.

ME website here: http://www.mountain-equipment.co.uk/the_gear/clothing/insulation/omega_jack...

Hope that might help.

In reply to Ross88:

Alpkit Filo is toasty warm, well made (mine has survived three years of cragging and still going strong) and only £120... out of stock at the moment though.

In reply to Ross88:

I tried on every down jacket I could get my hands on last weekend (and the Neutrino Endurance was actually one of my favourites).

Ended up buying the Montane North Star though, which just seemed a cut above the others for me.

Lightweight, great fit (didn't feel bulky at all), super high quality down, has its own dry bag, longer than most, awesome hood...and really warm obviously!

As it happens, I have a nice PHD Minimus hooded jacket in grey drishell that I was considering selling. Might not be quite as toasty as the Neutrino Endurance, but does have a reasonably robust and water resistant outer and is very lightweight and packable.

Lightly used, excellent condition, medium, etc. Chuck me a PM if you're interested

In reply to Ross88:

I spent several months researching and trying on down jackets, and as someone else was paying, money was no object.
I chose the Rab Neutrino Endurance Plus.

Might be a little too warm for British cragging though. If its just for that I'd go for a synthetic one, not down.

In reply to Ross88:

Mountain equipment classic lightline

I've had mine for a couple of months, mainly use it belaying my kids. Wore it yesterday on an impromptu 16km walk up a 3,000 ft hill. . -1 at sea level and 25 + mph winds and -5 (not inc wind chill) at the top. Toasty warm with only a long sleve t shirt underneath.

Stuffs away small as well. Love it.

In reply to Daysleeper:

The hoods on classic lightlines are garbage.

In reply to neuromancer:

That's really constructive...

In reply to Ciro:

Wow!Mine was £85 (I think) last year. Excellent value for money, as good as any

In reply to Ross88: try sports direct they are selling karrimorr down jackets for £25

In reply to Ross88:

Second the Alpkit - bought my midget on for Crimbo last year and it is spot on for the money.

then trash it. cover it in gaffa tape and look gnarly, like me in my Mountin Equipment jacket - although JonC told me I look like I work on the motorways in it.

In reply to Ross88:

Important though, my last duvet was very good but had a totally useless hood... you can always wear a balaclava, it's true, but if you're spending a lot of money why not choose one that has a decent hood? We got ours very cheap at the time so we weren't complaining.

In reply to Ross88: Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer. Very cool!

In reply to Ross88:

They are garbage enough that I don't really need to tell you what is garbage about them because they are so garbage that there can be no redeeming factor beyond getting the jacket for less than £50.

They are too small, they do not move with your face well, the poppers undo themselves, the velcro at the front doesn't match up well and scratches your chin, the peak comes down too far so you have no visibility, same with the sides (generally trying to do anything in them is an exercise in futility).

This is not to mention that they a-priori don't even claim to fit a helmet, unlike the competition.

In reply to Ross88: H18ORR are a new company, who's gear I really rate. It is designed for Mountain Marathons so is light at 320g, about half the weight of the Rab Neutrino, and it is really warm.

http://www.h18orr.com/products/down-jacket

Also looks about £40 cheaper than the Rab. Alpkit look like they have sold out.

In reply to Ross88:

I've had a few Rab Neutrinos as I used to live near the factory shop and they were cheap. For the life of me, I can't fathom why Rab bother with a waterproof zip for a down jacket. The zip just doesn't last as long as a standard zip. Zips and Rab kit seems to be a recurring issue for me since they outsourced their production.

In reply to neuromancer:


Are you saying that you're annoyed that ME said it doesn't fit a helmet and it didn't? Bonkers.

If you want a helmet compatible hood, they do plenty of other jackets that have one........

In reply to galpinos:

Are you saying you didn't actually read my post?

In reply to Ross88:

Had a Neutrino Endurance for about 6 or 7 years, still seems like new apart from a few bits of tape here and there, despite heavy use. One of the best things I've had from Rab.

In reply to Ross88: I've had a ME lightline which i thought was good until i replaced it with the rab neutrino endurance. Best and warmest piece of warm kit i have ever owned. Hood is cracking. It would probably be to warm to do any sort of activity in(even walking in the hills for me). I've even worn it to sleep in inside a bivi bag up the cheviots in winter. I have a berghaus mount asgard hybrid now. It's nowhere near as warm but more useble for what i need. Hydrophobic down on the torso and primaloft in the arms and hood. Packs small too.

In reply to Ross88:

Hi Ross,

I can strongly recommend the Mountain Equipment Vega Jacket: http://www.mountain-equipment.co.uk/the_gear/clothing/insulation/vega_jacke...

The Vega is a lightweight down jacket with a stitch through construction, helmet compatible hood and water resistant outer. It is very similar to the Rab Neutrino Endurance.

Mountain Equipment gave me the Vega to take Alaska last May. Initially I was very skeptical that such a light jacket would be warm enough for such a cold place. Thankfully my fears were unfounded and it kept me warm as I stood on the summit of Denali at 11pm having just climbed the Cassin Ridge.

The hood on the Vega is especially good. The baffles are elasticated, which means it is nice cozy around your head if you are just wearing a hat. Yet it will also stretch over a helmet with out feeling restrictive.

After wearing the jacket every day for a month it still looks like new, though my girlfriend thinks it smells a bit, which is good because it stops her stealing it!

I'm pretty critical of my gear and there are very few bit of kit I would describe as perfect, but I can't think of a single way to improve the Vega.

ME did give me this jacket free, however if I didn't like it I wouldn't recommend it.

I hope you find the helpful.

Tom

In reply to Ross88:

The Alpkit jackets always come up in these threads and while they may be excellent value, they are nowhere near as good as some of the more expensive down jackets imo.

Depends what you're after, I managed to get a Montane Black Ice for £135 and I'd take that over an Alpkit filo any day of the week

In reply to geordiepie:

I think for most people the problem with the Filo seems to be the removable hood, which is fine if you only intend to use the jacket bouldering/around town and don't intend to wear a helmet. I would say that from most reviews I've read removable hoods get a bad press across the board.

So ideally I'm looking for something with a attached hood that's not going to be too warm for the uk.

I've been looking at the neutrino as I've seen some good reviews for it, it has a pretty tough outer fabric (I already own a light synthetic with an endurance outer) and seems to only have the features a jacket requires without too many bells and whistles.

In reply to neuromancer:

Perhaps I should have been more constructive myself.

What I meant to say is that it simply isn't helpful to label something as being "garbage" without giving some explanation (as you now have) as to why you think this is so. Have you owned or used one of these jackets yourself?

Also Daysleeper may have paid a lot of money for that jacket and it is somewhat rude to lambast it without giving a good reason.

In reply to Ross88:

Thanks for all the adivce/recommendations

I think the next step is to get out and try a few on this weekend, but please keep the recommendations coming.

In reply to Ross88:

Owned a lightline, sold a lightline (about two weeks later).

I mean, sure, they're as warm as any other 675 90/10 jacket, and they pack down as small as any other 90/10.

I think the only redeeming factor was the reinforcement on the shoulders and the sides of the arms (to prevent snags). I'd look for that in a new jacket.

In reply to neuromancer:

I don't think you are descibing the hood on a current Lightline. You should probably qualifiy this in your post?

How old was the Lightline you owned?

It didn't look like this did it? http://www.mountain-equipment.co.uk/the_gear/clothing/insulation/lightline_...

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Pretty much tom.

In reply to neuromancer:


Fill weight is quite important when considering warmth and pack size. Probably more so than fill power or down/feather mix...