UKH

I'd like to make a few suggestions to the budding clothing reviewers here, in the hope of making them more consistent and useful.

Basically, reviews should fall into two parts; an objective statement of what the thing is, and what features it has. The second part should be a subjective comment on the item; how well it is designed and made, whether the features are appropriate and effective, and how well it performs.

Here are some things to think about for the first, objective part.

Garment type: base, mid, shell, insulation, etc.
Fabric: make, type, weight, stretch properties, material (e.g. nylon, polyester etc), construction (e.g. knit/weave/laminate if known)
Features: sleeves, hood, cuffs, hem, collar, zips, pockets
Cut: design, tailored, casual, hem type, gusset, no. of panels, etc.
Construction: tailoring, seam type (sewn, welded, glued), sealing
Zips: type, weight, location, no. of ends, placket, protection, 'garages'
Pockets: position, size, closure, depth, access, lining, venting?
Hood: type (fixed, detatchable, rollaway), peak, volume adjust, movement, visibility, cord adjust, degree of closure
Sleeves: design (cap, raglan, panels), ability to roll up, cuff pull
Cuffs: size, closure, internal finish
Seams: location (cf tendency to wear), type (sewn/glued), sealing and type, reinforcement
Collar: type (crew, stand, etc.) height, closure, internal finish, cinching
Adjustment: use and location of elastication, type of velcro used (snag-all or more recent less snaggy)
Reinforcement: location, tougher fabrics, double layers
Stretch: location (e.g. shoulders, elbows, hips, seat, knees, ankles) and orientation of stretch panels
Options: sizes, colours, price

Here are some things to think about for the second, subjective part.

Warmth: consider usage
Wind resistance: fairly hard to assess objectively, but the easiest way is probably the 'blow test'; simply see how easy it is to blow air through the air when 'kissing' the fabric...
Waterproofing: with modern fabrics, this will probably come down to the design, with openings and pockets
DWR: how well did it cope, how long did it last for (how 'D' was it?)
Breathability: again, very much dependent on personal physiology, activity and weather
Venting: effectiveness
Usage/testing: fit, function, performance, conditions
Design: subjective comments on the design, e.g. is the design elegant, using a small number of well-cut panels, or have a large number of panels been used to compensate for poor design (leading to lots of seams, more weight etc.)
Consider intended use: e.g. a climbing jacket should have pockets clear of a harness, and should have little cuff pull when arms are raised.
Good and bad points
Value for money: compared to other items on the market.

Subjective comments should be qualified with some justification, so that, even if a potential buyer disagrees with the reviewer, they know what the reviewer was thinking. For instance, I think a soft shell should have a hood, as it can't replace a hard shell otherwise, and I like to use a hood to help regulate my temperature.

Hope this helps. Comments and suggestions welcome.

In reply to captain paranoia:

you forgot the most important thing - colour!

In reply to Morgan Woods:

No I didn't...

In reply to captain paranoia:


Very much so.

Thanks Captain Paranoia.

Mick

In reply to captain paranoia:

Can i add another thing - "Care of"

If its a choice between - stick in the wash at 40 with everything else, or Hand wash in cold water, then dry flat I know which one i would rather buy (and which one would get worn once then lie at the bottom of my wash basket for 6 months). Even worse is the "dry clean only" although this doesn't happen much with outdoor clothes, thank god.

In reply to captain paranoia:
I'm having an odd sort of day today, and amongst the many things I'm unable to grasp, is the point of this thread.

Should I come back tommorrow after a rest?

Yours
Confused of Stockport

(aka Andy Hardy who cant log in because of some IT/firewall restriction which, frankly is getting right on my case.)

In reply to Anonymous:

Very possibly.

Some of the UKC users have volunteered to be gear testers for the site, CP is just giving them some pointers as to what he would like to see included in a review.

Seems fairly straightforward to me?

Si

In reply to SCC:

Thank you for that. Without that bit of info, the thread seems completely random, but once you *do* know the thread makes sense.

<memo to self: check this site more regularly>

AndyHardy

In reply to captain paranoia: Packability, not just weight is also an issue, does it come with a stuff sack? can itbe compressed?

then lastly after care.

In reply to captain paranoia:

d'oh!

Considering how often I've answered the question 'how should I wash my <whatever>?', yes, I should have included care.

I also forgot to type in the bit about weight, packed volume, does it come with stuff sack/pack pocket etc.

Thanks for the reminders.

I should stress that I wouldn't expect to see all the points addressed, but they're the sort of things I look at when making notes on kit I see in shops; things to look out for. I usually make short notes, covering the basics and any good or bad points I see.

For example, I recently looked at the Berghaus Musashi jacket in their 'Big Wall' range, to see what the hell they were playing at. The 'objective' bit is rather brief, as I only had a few minutes to look at it, and I'd expect a review to be more detailed, reflecting the time spent. The subjective notes are more complete, given the chance to think about it afterwards. Actual use would identify if some of the things I spotted were real problems:


Berghaus Musashi Jacket
£180, Cotswolds, Small, Red
Stretch nylon soft shell jacket with hood.

Schoeller Dryskin Extreme fabric with Nanosphere treatment
(a dual weave fabric with robust nylon outer, and wicking polyester inner face, in this case, with a rectangular grid pattern finish

2 moderate-sized, mesh-lined Napoleon pockets with external placket and water-resistant zips
5-piece articulated Raglan sleeve
fixed, fairly wide cuff, no closure
Full length, double-ended water-resistant coil zip
Stand collar incorporating zip-away, volume adjust Paclite(?) hood
Elasticated drop hem

I didn't have much time to play with the hood, but the hood peak was fairly soft, and the closure elastic cords pass through the body, appearing at about collar-bone level, to ease use. However, being untethered and quite long, they're likely to slap you in the face in wind. This sort of thing disappeared in the 80's...
I don't see the point of water-resistant zips on a jacket made from a non-waterproof fabric; it only makes them stiffer and more difficult to operate. A reversed zip would be perfectly good enough.
The cuffs pulled by 5cm when raised overhead. Combined with lack of closure, this is unacceptable in a climbing jacket.
The open cuff allowed the sleeve to be pulled up.
Not sure of the point of the grid pattern on the inner; presumably to save weight whilst retaining dead air space. Frankly, the size of the rectangles is big enough that they'll collapse, losing the dead air. And how much weight does this save over the jacket: 20g, perhaps?
The pockets are positioned where they won't provide much in the way of venting.
Fit (S) was fairly close, as might be expected of such a jacket.
Value for money: £180? Get out of here. For that sort of cash, I'd be looking for perfection, and wouldn't expect to see the sort of basic errors found here. It looks to me to be an aspirational marketing piece, and not a very good one at that, if it's trying to promote Berghaus' design skills.
Look at Berghaus' Element jacket (£80) or Lowe Alpine's Multipitch (£80), being much better value (if lacking the hood).