UKC

Looking for some advice.

I want a nice, tight fitting downs coat (a la Ran Alpine Microliter style) and have noticed a massive fluctuation in prices.

I had had my heart set on the Rab, but since I've popped into a few local outdoor shops and found an equivalent to it for as little as 40!

So, am I paying more for a better coat, or is the higher cost just paying for the name?

Any help would be grately received.

In reply to Gaijin:

If the outer fabrics, down fill and down quality are the same then yes, you are just paying for the name. If so, please let us know which brand they are for £40!

In reply to Martin1978:

I will check. Like I said, complete novice to even what to check with this style of coat. I did a 'feel' test and the cheap one and a north face one felt the same (material and thickness wise anyway)

In reply to Gaijin:

Hi mate i think you would be hard pushed to find a quality down jacket for 40 quid,if price is more important to you maybe look on ebay,but you will find that the nice close fitting ones are even more expensive.

In reply to Gaijin:

In contrast, I recently picked up a cheap decathlon down vest. Obviously not as warm or as high quality as the rab microlight range but as it was a third of the price I am happy enough. I live in it now.
Buying a monster thick down jacket I'd always buy a high fill rating, quality jacket as I see it as a long term (20+ years) investment but a with a micro layer I don't think it matters so much.

In reply to Gaijin:

down quality and fabrics vary, as do features like quality zips, cuff fastenings, fit etc. Hoods are especially tricky to get a good one.
Also bear in mind that the sections of the jacjet have to stop down moving about and there should be no thin spots (stiched through areas eg)

For a thin down jacket, i'd get a quality one as there's less material to do the job so it's got to be good. A big jacket I'd say it was less important, unless you were going on an expedition (i had an M&S one that was great and have a ME one that's too warm for almost everything! )

In reply to angry pirate:


20 years? Are you serious?!

In reply to knighty:

My ME lightline has now been demoted to wood chopping / gardening coat and replaced after 20 years of use. It's still going strong but just looks tatty enough that I could justify a new one.
My down bag is similarly old and still is in great nick. Reckon both items are good for another 20 at least

In reply to angry pirate:

I've never even considered that a coat could last anywhere near that long with the hard wear and tear! I realise that I haven't bought a 'premium' product in my £100 berghaus down jacket, but after the wear of a year, I've come to terms with the fact that I'll be lucky if I get 5 out of it..

In reply to knighty:

I've still got down jackets bought in 1970, they are dirty and the zips are nazz but the ripstop nylon and the duvet is ok, still warm. It depends on the use they get obviously - mine did three expeditions, many alpine holidays and then years of motorbiking in winter. Mountain Equipment made them. It's a pity that zips are so hard to repair.

In reply to Bruce Hooker:

My 'easy'(ish) way to repair a zip is to leave the old one attached, cut off the teeth and sew a new zip directly onto the fabric of the old zip, making it as neat as possible and trimming off excess fabric afterwards.

In reply to Gaijin:

I've a down vest bought in a sale in 1978 or so for £7. It's had the odd tear repairs but it still gets used in winter. Made by Caravan, a Swedish company.

In reply to knighty:

Wow! What have you done to it? I would have classed a Berghaus jacket as a premium product. Admittedly, most stuff is made in the Far East now so that may not compare well to my old ME that was made in the UK, but it should last longer than a few years. Mine has been used as a camping coat / pre-belay jacket winter climbing insulation layer / pub coat for twenty years. I haven't actually climbed in it which would have worn the face fabric but the down is still lofting like it was new(ish)

I've never actually had a zip fail on a jacket. I've replaced waterproofs as the membrane has failed, fleeces when the fabric has worn thin and rucsacs when the cordura had holed but the only time I've had a zip go was on the side pocket on a Berghaus pack and they repaired it under guarantee no bother. Have I just been lucky?

In reply to Gaijin:

You are paying for the name.but you are getting quality at the same time

I tried on a Rab on Saturday ,but was not taken with it ,or the fit.

Don't have much love for Rab.

Went for the Mammut Broad Peak 2 instead ,which felt instantly more superior.

Well chuffed with it.