UKC

Hello.

I have been looking for a new hardshell mostly to be used for winter climbing and have come around to thinking I might buy a ME Tupliak jacket, having also considered the Arc'teryx Alpha FL and Patagonia Refugitive jacket.  

Any pros or cons of the Tupliak for use as a winter hardshell jacket that anybody can tell me, or recommendations for any other similarly priced and specced jacket for that matter?

Cheers all,

Tom

I've had a tupilak for a couple of seasons (this is no 3) and it's tough and well designed.  Not showing much signs of wear despite being consistently battered, scraped and exploited for friction.  Hood adjustment is a bit fiddly with gloves, but what one isn't? Pockets are capacious and in the right place.  They are goretex lined however and have been known to fill up in torrential rain. 

Thanks metrorat, that's good to know.

Depends on your build, the cut was much too slim for me. The Changabang is quite a bit wider and would have fit comfortably (important if your want to put a fleece or similar underneath). In the end I went with an even wider Klattermusen jacket, but the Changabang would have been second choice (the colour available in the shop was a bit too ugly, brown and camo green).

CB

I have the full Tupilak 'suit' and have been thoroughly impressed with the jacket. 

As said above, it is absolutely bomb proof and the cut is without a shadow of a doubt miles ahead of Arcteryx, at least it is for me with a reasonably athletic build. Mine is showing very little sign of wear (none that i can see!) and has been skied in, climbed in and spent all day in torrential rain on several occasions. 

The pants less so great, still bomb proof but the absence of a pocket or belt loops are a bit of a disappointment and i feel it lacks that 'finished' article feel when you compare it to other top end offerings. 

Mines soaks out pretty quickly if I don't reproof it around once a month and didn't do too well with Gabbro or Granite which it hasn't been exposed to all that often, got a variety of patches on it but still entirely functional and does an alright job. On my second one now and it's just over a year old and might get another season and a bit out of it before it gets retired to less serious use, but I do freelance work over the summer as well which it is also used for so as an out and out winter jacket it might do you well.

I also managed to pull one of the drawcords out of the hood adjustment but M.E. were great and replaced the jacket straight away. 

Thanks everyone for your help with this one.