UKH

Has anyone had experience using Lowe Alpine original triplepoint Ceramic waterproof  clothing? 

Seen a new overtrousers on fleabay  and features seem decent  for the  price- but how breathable is Triplepoint ?

and what is durability like   compared to market leaders?

It has full length zips and drop seat braces but the zip has a material flap like the front of a jacket, Did this tend to bunch up and why manufacturers switched to normal sealing zips?

Was the fit generally accurate or big if created by USA climbers?

Any recommendations would be appreciated. Since lowe Alpine do not seem to do clothing anymore was this because it wasn't  as good as the competition?

I had one 20 years ago, went to wash it this year and it fell apart. So beware of older stuff.

I bought a pair of triple point trousers which I never wore - keeping them for best.

When I did get around to using them about ten years later the waterproof lining fell to pieces rendering them useless as waterproofs.

How long they’d have lasted if I’d used them I don’t know.

Thanks guys think that answers it. As a three ply material  I had hoped  it might have been ok  but guess not. wonder how Rohan 2 ply will last then.

I have a triplepoint ceramic jacket, bought it some 20 years ago & used it for several years. It was OK but often felt a bit 'damp' inside although there was never any sign of condenstation. I kept wearing it as the design was good. But after several years the coating started to wear off, especially on the shoulders (rucksac related I guess). I still have it, & it mostly lives in the boot of my car for emergencies & for something to wear when putting on/taking off snow chains (something I do less often since getting snow tyres).

But any stock on ebay or elsewhere will likely be at least 15 years old, unless the price is really good I'd suggest looking elsewhere

What Doug says! Anything on being sold on ebay, might be unusued but it will be very far from being "new".

As I recall Triplepoint Ceramic was highly regarded back in the day and was shot into the fabric itself rather than being a membranous layer. That made it durable but, as noted above, garments weren't tested over 30 years!

My brother in law uses one he found recently which still works well. 

There were different types of the material though - I had a lightweight running/biking type smock which was good for its weight but sweaty, and then I had the full on alpine shell - great hood, proper winter shell protection for ice climbing and the like, that was a lot more breathable as I remember it, the main zip didn't last super long though. But I must have bought the lightweight one in 99 and the winter one in 01, so that's the sort of era we're talking.

As I recall the ceramic version was the posh one, as used in the mountain shells, whereas just 'Triplepoint' was a standard coating like so many others. 

I got a lowe alpine triple point ceramic jacket in around 2000,  and well designed and my recollection is it may have been slightly more breathable than Gtex of that era. Think it was technically 2 ply  as it didn't have a lining fabric covering the white membrane stuff. However after maybe 7/8 years of good use (tbf not a bad innings) it gradually became less and less waterproof, to the extent that it worked ok in winter as an extra layer over a buffalo or similar to keep out wind and snow, but was eventually totally porous. By contrast, my heavy duty sprayway Gtex jacket from the early 90s is still going strongish and gets used for gardening and outdoor work. So I reckon possibly a good buy if the price is right, but don't expect it to last too long.

I got a Lowe triplepoint ceramic jacket about 6 years ago on fleabay. 

I only wear it in winter as it's heavy, but the material is so stiff it shrugs off storm force winds without the 'flapping about' you get from lighter jackets. 

Wearing it in February during storm Dennis, my pal commented on the water beading nicely off the hood and asked if I'd recently reproofed it, I've never reproofed it or even washed it come to think of it (that's what the rain is for!)

Having my said that my shoulders were wet by the end of the day, but to be fair, we were dealing with sideways rain and 80 mile gusts. 

I'd say worth a punt as winter trousers if the price is right. 

My 2 layer triplepoint ceramic eventually saw the inner skin turn into tiny pieces. but so did a different brand 2 layer jacket I had.  So I'd say to simply avoid 2-layer articles without an inner face fabric because they don't last very long.

Hi Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences. Much appreciated. Having found out about the quality of Lowe Alpine technical clothing  range , due to  the design features and it been a 3 ply fabric so hopefully more durable, think I will make an offer on the item i have in mind.