UKC

Is this stuff much use in typical UK winter conditions? It seems to have been on the go for a couple of years now so would be interested to hear any experiences of using it for real, particularly fairly lightweight jackets/vests that could be an alternative to primaloft, and are exposed to spindrift/sleat/sweat. I do have an old rab duvet which has been great in the alps etc but frankly pubwear only at home, so not wanting to shell out for what is just a shinier version of the same thing.

In reply to DH3631:

Personally I don't think the hydrophobic down holds a candle to primaloft in the wet.

I have a Rab Summit down jacket with the hydrophobic down, and the Rab Generator Alpine primaloft jacket. Despite its smaller size and less actual volume of insulation, I'd always choose the Generator Alpine in soggy conditions.

I'm sure the hydrophobic stuff is better than plain down, but I'd choose primaloft in the wet.

In reply to DH3631:

The Rab stuff is just basically down dumped in nikwax, which effectively increases the number of washes it will withstand and make it dry slightly quicker; where as some other brands have properly hydrophobic down, which is obviously more expensive; but it still isn't really great for bad UK winter conditions.

So if you don't have a large budget a synthetic one (primaloft probably) would be the best all round jacket for uk winter use.

In reply to rich432:

What's proper hydrophobic down if not down sprayed with some kind of silicon based liquid/mist? (Not challenging, just genuinely interested)

In reply to Bluebird:

I was told that Berghaus version uses a non environmentally friendly but much more effective treatment method.
Since their web site is very coy about what it is then this sounds like it maybe true!