UKC

There's a coat 'on sale' in GoOutdoors reportedly reduced from 240 pounds to 99pounds.
Can anyone tell me anything about the brand. I cannot find any information online, the Dewdrop+ fabric I similarly can find no information about.
I am curious as to whether this coat is a bargain, what hydrostatic head the fabric is etc.
My instincts are telling me it is a legal scam whereby the coat is manufactured fro GoOutdoors, an inflated rrp is applied and then discounted.
Does anyone know anything about this because if it is any good I want to snap one up, if it's not what it purports to be (i.e. £240 worth of coat) I would rather wait a bit longer and buy better froma reputable brand.
Thanks in advance for any response. Oh yes and I asked in teh shop but it became clear they knew nothing nor could advise me.

In reply to puppythedog:

North Ridge is Go Outdoors' own brand, according to one of their shop assistants.

Can't comment on any of the rest of their ranged, but I have a pair of their shoes which I have been very impressed with. Gore-tex lined and vibram soled and they were £40. I've had them for ~4 months now and they're wearing better than most the Merrells I've had previously.

In reply to puppythedog: Looks ok, a bit like a ME copy really. As the previous poster mentioned it is a brand of Go Outdoors, and from what I have seen - items within that brand are of good spec.

At that price it looks a good deal, and I would guess that their dewpoint fabric will be similar to a 2.5 goretex shell.

Alternatively do have a look around at places that have older stock of good jackets on offer. I bought a decent waterproof ME jacket from www.hillanddaleoutdoors.co.uk, at a little over £100, and very pleased with it.

In reply to puppythedog: Thank you for your feedback. I think I will get it on Friday if it turn out my pay can spare 100. Unless others have horror stories of the brand.
On a separate issue I'm annoyed that several members of staff from various departments including a couple of their shops told me it wasn't own brand. One even spun me a yarn about other shops that sell it. I'm sure such lies are illegal. Any who. thanks hugely again.

In reply to puppythedog: Oooh, I'm glad it got good feedback. My other half emailed me the pic and spec earlier today and I told him to go for it! I'll now be backing up my advice with this thread...

In reply to puppythedog:

They might be, but then they are probably not lies.

In reply to puppythedog:

Epicentre have Patagonia Storm Jackets for £95.

The 2 layer fabric might not appeal to everyone, but they're certainly a very good deal (I just bought one for skiing).

In reply to puppythedog: i've a pair of north ridge softshell salopettes. they're fleece lined and are brilliant for winter as they are cheap, but have a good cut, repell snow and the odd light bit of rain and are great for what i want.

i've not tried the jackets though so can't comment on them.

In reply to puppythedog:
>if it's not what it purports to be (i.e. £240 worth of coat)

Don't fall into the trap of thinking this, the only way the coat would be 'worth £240.00' was if the majority of owners of the coat actually paid £240 for it and they are happy enough with it to say they thought it worth that price. Then you'd have a bargain.
One suspects it is devious marketing and the coat never has been or never will be sold at the RRP so the consumer is mis-lead from the outset. It may be morally wrong to do this but like the 'unlimited texts and internet' deals that mobile providers advertise, it is in fact limited and somehow its legal to advertise this way!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to put you off at all. The coat is probably a clone of something else using similar fabrics and cut. The original maker would have to fund their R&D and extensive testing and that would be reflected in the price, clone stuff is the same virtually and if similar fabrics and quality of stitching is used they should behave in a similar way to the original. We have a 'Mountain Warehouse' near us and I got a really smart soft shell bomber type jacket for £56.00. I wear it taking kids footy and general messing about and it performs really really well. I'd say it would be just as good as stuff at 3 times the price in fact when its been drenched, my body heat dries it faster than my RAB Balorto Guide coat <more fabric on the RAB granted>
I'd say go for it and keep the recipt safe, if you wear it for a month and it doesn't perform, take it back and use the 'fit for purpose' argument to make your point.

In reply to blanchie14c: This is what I thought was going on, I guess it comes down to if the coat is worth 99 pounds or not an dto be honest it looks it. I have to decide between a berghaus paclite and this one and I think this one may win. thanks for responses. Any further comments about the quality/longevity of the products would be grand.

In reply to puppythedog: One of my friends has just taken a gamble on one of these jackets. He's going to keep the receipt just in case but was quite impressed with the spec. The guy in the shop said it was designed by the guy from Rab who designed the Latok Alpine... and that it was as breathable as eVent on paper. It would be nice to believe the spiel, let's see how it performs, eh?! I'm sure my friend Dave will be happy to hear of how you've got on so far?! C-:

In reply to CarolineMc: I bought it. It feels fine, been in showers, hail wind, on the side of Yat rock when ahelicopter buzzed past me. Only time will tell on the longevity but so far love it.

In reply to puppythedog: I bought this jacket and must say it feels quality and the design is very good, much better than the RAB latok I was considering. Taking it around Snowdon and surrounding peaks next week, Iwill also keep this forum updated with the longevity of the product, hopefully I won't feel a fool.