UKC

Jottnar Vanir salopettes review

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
 Mr Fuller 13 Jan 2014

A few people have asked questions about Jottnar products and seeing as I have used and abused a pair of their Vanir salopettes recently I thought I'd stick a review up online. Here it is: http://gearandmountains.wordpress.com/2014/01/13/jottnar-vanir-salopettes-r...

In short, I'm impressed.
Post edited at 21:57
 Damo 13 Jan 2014
In reply to Mr Fuller:

Interesting, thanks.

"...a hand-written note, postcards, an awesome catalogue, and all in a custom delivery bag."
So - the Apple iPhone of outdoor gear? Steve Jobs was fanatical about getting that open-the-box experience just right and nice tactile little bits that are not the product were key to that. All that fancy stuff adds on to the price. If people are willing to pay for it, fine...

I was more put off by the naff line 'Conquering Giants' and no XL sizing.
 jezb1 13 Jan 2014
In reply to Mr Fuller:

Good review.

I personally just can't quite justify the pricing compared to some other brands.
In reply to Damo:

Put off a brand by a two word strap line? Reall? If people are willing to do that, fine...
 martinph78 13 Jan 2014
In reply to Damo:

> All that fancy stuff adds on to the price. If people are willing to pay for it, fine...

Yeah, it'll never work, I mean what happened to Apple? You don't hear of them anymore...

I think they're going to do very well as it happens. They've hit the market at the top end and seem to be doing an impressive job of it. Obviously time will tell, but I wish them well (even if I'll never be able to afford their kit!).

 mux 14 Jan 2014
In reply to Mr Fuller: My take on the kit. I have since used it in Scotland and it continues to impress

http://davegarry.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/north-wales-winter-kit-test.html#!/...
 BnB 14 Jan 2014
In reply to mux:

You describe yourself as being an unusual fit and then congratulate the manufacturer for making some clothes which fit you perfectly. Does that therefore mean they won't fit most others?
 Damo 14 Jan 2014
In reply to Martin1978:

> Yeah, it'll never work, I mean what happened to Apple? You don't hear of them anymore…

Where did I say it'll never work? I'm typing this on an Apple.

> ...Obviously time will tell, but I wish them well (even if I'll never be able to afford their kit!).

Yes it will, and I do too.
 TobyA 14 Jan 2014
In reply to BnB:

I suspect Dave isn't THAT weird a shape!

In reply to Mr Fuller:

I'm also impressed so far - all very no fuss. Not flashy in any way but all very functional and sensible allied to great quality. Like you write I've never been a fan of "waterproofs" either, but happily hiked up to Grib Goch summit a couple of weeks back from the Cromlech boulders in cool but sunny, still weather in the Vanir. That must be the best part of 900 mtrs ascent over a rather short distance. Sweaty on my top half, but the salopettes seemed fine - not sure I even need to vent on the side zips. Then wore them in more windy, snow and cold weather over the tops, and rain on the walk out. Seemed fine for all. Then last Sunday wore them mixed climbing when it -10, stiff wind. Just wooly long johns under and warm legs all day. So they do seem to work well in diverse conditions.
OP Mr Fuller 14 Jan 2014
In reply to Damo:

I have never owned anything made by Apple but it does give you a good first impression, though as I said, if they'd screwed the product up it would have been a disaster. Patagonia moved the game on in this area with their unbelievable advertising shots giving you a feel that 'the brand' was something you wanted to buy.
 bettypastie 14 Jan 2014
In reply to Mr Fuller:

Thanks for the reviews.. interesting to see what everyone thinks about the Jottnar stuff. Every time I go in my local outdoor shop in Cardiff (up and under) I try their stuff on but haven't been brave enough to buy a piece yet. I'm definitely going to have to get an Alfar and maybe a Fjorm too but was just wondering if any ladies out there have tried the Jottnar stuff out yet first?
 BnB 14 Jan 2014
At £350 I think my worry would be feeling too precious about them. My new Lynx crampons have spikes sharper than a scalpel!! It's never on the ankle patches that these holes appear, rather high on the inner thigh when standing up awkwardly, or putting harness on over crampons (yes, I know....)
 TobyA 14 Jan 2014
In reply to bettypastie:

I take it you've seen this?

http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=6044

I've submitted my review of the Alfar too - although I'm a bloke so it might be of less interest to you!

The Fjörm is an outstanding bit of clothing I think - they really aren't cheap but no good down jacket is, and the thought and engineering that's gone into it is impressive. -17.7 when I left the house this morning, nice just to pull the Fjörm over my t-shirt to run the kids to school! Takes a bit of time for the car to warm up on such days! But also used it for much of Sunday whilst belaying between routes. -10 and a stiff wind, fine climbing in the other Jöttnar stuff, warm once belayed in the Fjörm.

I'm not going to say that you couldn't find an equally good combo from other brands, I'm sure you could, but Jöttnar are definitely designing with UK mountain weather and climbers in mind, and the stuff all seems top quality. The guys who started company clearly want to, and are trying to, make as good as gear as possible, so I think we can expect high standards from them!
 TobyA 14 Jan 2014
In reply to BnB:

I was thinking a bit about he pricing the other day, not sure about the salopettes, but the jacket is priced very much in line with top end Gore Pro stuff. Interestingly ME do a more expensive shell jacket now (I always used to think of ME as slightly less pricey than Arcteryx for example). Are the salopettes noticeably more expensive than competitors?
 BnB 14 Jan 2014
In reply to TobyA:

I think they are at a price point not dissimilar to the high end Arcteryx etc. I just fear for their integrity in the vicinity of sharp points, more than I would for a jacket!!
 bettypastie 14 Jan 2014
In reply to TobyA:

Yes thanks, I'd seen the Alfar review. I'm pretty much decided on that one though !
Thanks for the info on the Fjorm too. I might have to save up for a month or two but it's definitely on the cards and it's nice to know that people think the standards of the Jottnar stuff are as high as people's expectations of it. Also.. -17.7! I can't see myself waking up to that any time soon but it's good to know that if Cardiff does freeze over one morning then the Fjorm could handle it.
 TobyA 14 Jan 2014
In reply to bettypastie:

The Alfar is a very warm midlayer - whether you want a 'very warm midlayer' is of course rather dependent on you and how much you feel the cold, how much you wear such a thing on its own or under a shell etc.

At a guess I think Jöttnar would find a decent sized market if they made a very good just fleece (of some sort) hooded midlayer, for those who might find the Alfar a bit too warm under a shell when on the move.
 bettypastie 14 Jan 2014
In reply to TobyA:

I definitely feel the cold which is partly why I fancied an Alfar so much. Plus the fit and the features seem brilliant. I'm psyched to get one now .
 DanielJ 14 Jan 2014
In reply to Mr Fuller:

Had a quick look. Seems like a nice bib with a hefty price tag.
One question comes to mind; how do you do nr 2 with them?
 TobyA 14 Jan 2014
In reply to DanielJ:

I asked them about that, simple answer, you need to take them down like normal troos. They decided after prototypes and feed back from their testers that it was better to have absolute comfort of not having a zip rub under a harness leg loops (hence where the zip stops) than full zips and something like a pull aside method for no.2 missions!

I think they were sceptical about how practical existing designs for that are anyway and how many people actually go no.2 without taking their harness off. Things like half moon zips add complexity, weight, potential leak points etc. The best system I've used was on Buffalo sallies, a straight zip from waist to waist under the crotch. It does work, but it also looks unbelievably weird and kinky when you're not on the hill!
 DanielJ 14 Jan 2014
In reply to TobyA:
Fair enough but unfortunately Im one of those few people who on the rare occasion got that urgent need. But often so without harness, this solution even makes such a situation somewhat fiddly and cold.
Or is it easy to take off the suspenders with gloves? Cause taking off the jacket to take off the suspenders isnt really a decent option for a serious all-weather bib.

I prefer full side zips and "pull aside method" as a compromise. Had that on a TNF bib and didnt really thought about the zip rub. I would probably buy the Vanir bib with full zips cause Im to hot for all GTX-like membranes.
 TobyA 15 Jan 2014
In reply to DanielJ:
I sympathize, having a likewise, errr... 'regular' metabolism.

I also have never found that zips rubbing under a harness were a problem - but I've actually discussed this in some detail with Tommy at Jöttnar and they had clearly either found this themselves or had feedback on it from their design team/partners - Mike Peascod for example must spend longer in a harness each winter than most of us, so I guess he has plenty of time to notice such things!

On the shoulder strap question - umm, not sure. I can now see I'm going to have to do a doodoo in the woods for the edification of the UKC-massive. It's was -18.6 when I got up this morning so I hope you lot appreciate the risks I'm taking for your review-reading amusement!

Matt - do you have thoughts on the zip arrangement?
Post edited at 11:29
OP Mr Fuller 15 Jan 2014
In reply to TobyA:

I've got to say I'd never considered having a dump while wearing them: I have never needed a crap on a Scottish route so I don't envisage it being a problem for me. However, if I were to use them in the Alps then altitude, dehydration and the cheese-heavy French diet may well mean I would find a drop-seat a useful feature...

The only thing I'd thought about regarding zips was reducing the length of their length so they came to only mid-thigh, rather than all the way down to the bottom leg. That way you've still got good venting, but it saves a lot of weight and presumably cost. You lose the ability to get the salopettes over your boots easily but that's nothing something I'd envisage myself doing regularly. As it is they're very flexible as 'superovertrousers' too, though, and so I probably wouldn't change the zips at all.

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...