UKC

I'm trying to decide whether a jacket I have purchased is either under performing or my expectations are too high.

Won't name the manufacturer yet as it could just be a bad example of the jacket.

I purchased a soft shell jacket a few weeks ago costing approx £100 and made by one of the big names in the outdoor clothing scene. I also have a general soft shell (about 1 year old) from a more budget outdoor manufacturer (not karrimor) that cost me £20 . The £20 jacket has been worn up and down many mountains, on the bike, walking in the country, canoeing, in the summer, in the winter etc etc and still showing no signs of wear and tear, performs well in the wind and damp weather etc

Now the overall cut and fit of the £100 version is nicer, it looks smarter etc but does that really equate to that price difference?.

Performance wise I simply can't call it. I expected the £100 jacket to noticeably out perform the £20 budget version but it doesn't, its better in the damp weather for longer, I grant that and it also fits better (not much in it fit wise), but the cheaper version in my opinion out performs it in the wind and has more than adequate overall protection. In real heavy rains and snows I wear it under an outer shell. The new jacket will only get the same use as the £20 version so feel like I have over paid as I am already questioning whether it is an improvement on the budget jacket, bearing in mind the expensive jacket has only been worn in summer so far!!

Anyone fancy taking a stab at what should be expected performance wise between the two jackets?

In reply to Alan M:

Softshells are very hard to compare as there are a million different materials they could use. For example Polartec Powershield O2 is designed to be very breathable, but won't as a result offer anywhere near the level of wind and water resistance that Gore Windstopper softshell would do.

What you should find the difference between a cheap manufacturer and a more top end manufacturer are the durability, and the warranty. I'm impressed that your £20 softshell is still in good condition after a year, but I guess you got a very good value one. The £100 softshell given the same use should easily last 3-4 time longer though, and perform better at it's intended use.

There is however a law of diminishing returns whereby the more you spend, the smaller the improvements you get. Personally I think for a top end manufacturer £100 represents a fairly low price point for a soft shell, but if you bought a £200 softshell you would see even less improvements than you should do between the two you already have. Look at one at £350 and the improvements over the £200 softshell would be even smaller still.

In reply to Alan M:

I like the budget (Regatta) soft shells for climbing - cheap(£20-25 in sales), durable (took 5 years to kill first one - replacement waited 3 years to be called into action), heavier fabrics work well in cooler temperatures with lower levels of activity/repel showers well.
I would never subject a £100 item of clothing to the grit - abuse that my kit is required for, but even I know that I am tight!

In reply to Ysgo:


Good point I didn't factor that in I will take a look at the materials used in the construction.




That's a fair point £100 is around the intro models for the big brand manufacturer but on performance does that £100 really stack up against the £20 version? I don't think it does (Saying that the £20 jacket may have just been heavily discounted and could have a substantially higher RRP, the £100 jacket was discounted). I'm just disappointed in that £100 hasn't given any real noticeable improvement in the performance. Apart from it being a bit more stylish and a more activity based cut I'm still more inclined to keep wearing the cheap jacket until it fails on me. I expected the £100 jacket to instantly take the place of the cheap jacket however after wearing the new jacket a few times I have gone back to the cheap one.

In reply to buxtoncoffeelover:



Regatta is the manufacturer I am talking about for the cheap jacket. It is a great jacket and will buy another one when this one fails me.

In reply to Alan M:

All soft shells are a compromise between protection and breathability; there's no single 'soft shell', but a huge variety of basic types, and flavours within each type.

The difficulty is picking the compromise that best suits your needs of physiology, activity and weather. It sounds like the Regatta fabric suits you well, and the other one not so well. Price has little to do with how well something will suit you; fabric and design are paramount.

I don't like Regatta or Trespass items, because their armscyes/sleeves aren't tailored for active use like climbing, so I find they have terrible cuff pull/hem lift when you lift your arms over your head. Great if you're walking or skiing, not so great if you're climbing. It's features like this that mark out the more expensive items targetted at climbing and mountaineering.

In reply to Alan M:
As with Ysgo, there's a point where you are paying more for smaller improvements. Generally I expect basic materials and the minimum in performance in budget items; waterproofs should keep me dry but I may find breathability to be less, the absence of some features I find desirable or more important to me and I may find the fit doesn't quite suit me or my requirements and so on. Sure, you can pay over the odds for stuff and find a cheaper version that does the job just fine but there's always going to be a trade off somewhere I find and I guess some of that comes down to the individual.

For example my brother is more tolerant of the cold then I am but he doesn't have Reynaud's syndrome which I do and that affects the circulation in my hands. Basically if I get cold or my hands get a bit chilly the blood vessels go into spasm, restricts the blood flow and my fingers go very cold and white and when the attack is over my fingers can be sore as they warm up again with the blood flow restored. Where it could cause a problem is when outdoors walking in the winter as I'm more prone to cold injury and I don't want that! He can get away with cheaper thinner gloves and not give it much thought, I have to really consider what I need so I find that getting gloves that will keep my hands really warm but not be really thick (I don't like having my dexterity reduced too much) will probably cost me. It can also mean me having to opt for warmer layers as I have found keeping my core body warm helps greatly in reducing the likelihood of an attack. By the end of it, my winter kit bill will probably be more expensive than my brother's as I need to be sure I have the insulation and warmth I need and sometimes that only comes by buying more expensive items with the materials that I know will keep me warm and comfortable.

In reply to Alan M:

I think the previous posters have covered most of the relevant points and from my experience the differences between a £100 something and a £20 something isn't five fold. Fit as someone has said is often better, the materials sometimes better. But you've bought a soft shell jacket not a 100% waterproof or necessarily totally windproof.

Much stuff in the outdoor world is overpriced because of the brand image anf it is quite obvious that clothing and other stuff goes through phases of fashion over function and adding new additional functions that you pay for even though you don't use them.

I recently discovered some extra buttons + loops on the bottom of my nice new expensive Rohan shirt (a present) and after some googling discovered it was for clipping onto rope or a washing line so you didn't have to pack clothes pegs. God knows how much that added to the cost.