PHD - Wow prices have gone up...

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 FreeloaderJoe 25 Jan 2023

Inquired today about getting a new zip put onto a Wafer Jacket. Was quoted £85 + £12 postage and packing...seemed a lot...the jacket only weighs a couple hundred g.

But...then i went on their website and found that the jacket now retails for £445!

Now I've got a few PHD bits and pieces that i've bought over the years. Quality kit and I always liked how utilitarian and simple it was... but who can afford these prices?  I mean sure it's made in the UK and i get it that there's a premium for that...but it's just a simple really lightweight duvet jacket.

I think i might just fundamentally misunderstand how much more money people earn than me. The maths just doesn't make sense. 

Post edited at 17:51
 Root1 25 Jan 2023
In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

Always thought they were overpriced, before these price rises.

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 ScraggyGoat 25 Jan 2023

Yes they are catering to two niche markets, the very rich who go on fancy bragging holidays, and the non standard body shape desperate for quality kit that fits.

A few hardcore will saver up for particular kit.  I have a few items, but couldn’t possibly replace or justify others at the current prices.

But their costs will have gone up as the pound has been massively devalued as a result of quantitative easing, and Brexit import paperwork. The materials being down and fancy fabrics are both imported and thus at the mercy of exchange rates.  Then they will be relatively power and heat hungry in the factory thus facing high energy costs and thier staff are skilled and loyal; no doubt in need of cost of living pay rises.

While they are now out of my price bracket, I still wish them well.

 felt 25 Jan 2023
In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

> Inquired today about getting a new zip put onto a Wafer Jacket. Was quoted £85 + £12 postage and packing...seemed a lot...the jacket only weighs a couple hundred g.

A woman in Kendal replaced a zip on an ME synthetic fill jacket for me for £25 last year. Nice chunky zip too, better than the original. PM me if you want her details.

 gravy 25 Jan 2023
In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

FWIW I just replaced a zip in a down jacket for £6 and a borrow of a sewing machine - dead simple

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 Derry 25 Jan 2023
In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

There I was thinking you were going to be Dr Freeloader. 

Post edited at 20:19
 mbh 25 Jan 2023
In reply to gravy:

>FWIW I just replaced a zip in a down jacket for £6 and a borrow of a sewing machine

Getting and knowing how to use a sewing machine have been actions on my life To Do list for some time. I must get around to it. So useful.

In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

Prices for outdoor gear have been crazy and highly variable, for many years. Case in point: about 12 years ago, I saw a really good North Face winter jacket, plus inner, for about 900 Canadian dollars in the ridiculously over-priced Monod Sports in Banff, Canada. A few weeks later, I saw exactly the same jacket in Outside in Hathersage for about 400 pounds. Still too expensive. Then, to my amazement, I saw the same jacket in Katy Mills mall in Texas for 150 dollars, reduced (in a sale) to about 70 dollars. I bought it on the spot.

ps. At around the same time, one could buy standard Levi jeans in Switzerland for about three and a half times the price as in Texas, if one felt so inclined (all made in the same factories in the Far East)!

Post edited at 20:34
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 gethin_allen 25 Jan 2023
In reply to felt:

> A woman in Kendal replaced a zip on an ME synthetic fill jacket for me for £25 last year. Nice chunky zip too, better than the original. PM me if you want her details.

I had a woman at the local dry cleaners replace a zip on an insulated jacket for me for £15 iic.

I Had repair done on a suit jacket I was getting cleaned and thought I'd ask what other alteration and repair services she could do. She said she'd never done such a job but considering the tidy job she did on my suit I thought it was worth a go and with a bit of direction as to what I was after she did a good job.

Worth trying these things if you're not proficient with a sewing machine and don't want to send things off and pay a fortune.

 mike123 25 Jan 2023
In reply to mbh: a mate of mine used to own and run various activity companies and had one of these  :

https://singeroutlet.co.uk/products/singer-heavy-duty-4411-sewing-machine?v...

He could pretty much fix any outdoor kit with it . Maybe over kill for just one’s own kit but very tempting . 

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 olddirtydoggy 25 Jan 2023
In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

I've got a couple of bits from them but as prices got out of control I stopped looking on their site. I wonder if sales have taken a hit.

 MisterPiggy 25 Jan 2023
In reply to mike123:

Thanks for the tip... Got me thinking...

 PaulJepson 26 Jan 2023
In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

Try Mulch Repairs. They will put a new zip on for you without you having to put it against the house. 

 deepsoup 26 Jan 2023
In reply to PaulJepson:

> Try Mulch Repairs.

^Link: https://www.mulchandthebrokenthing.com/galleryandpricelist
(Sheffield based, you can drop off/collect yourself if it's handy to save the postage.)

 Flinticus 26 Jan 2023
In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

Got a zip replaced on a Patagonia softshell which I had for about a decade, cost £zilch under their repair programme (aside from posting).

Speaking of expensive kit, on my last time at the airport I spotted a guy wearing Arc'teryx trousers, shoes, top, jacket and bag! 

Post edited at 08:10
 shuffle 26 Jan 2023
In reply to deepsoup:

She did a great and very neat patching job on some softshell trousers for me. Quick and inexpensive, even with the postage costs. I would recommend! 

 bouldery bits 26 Jan 2023
In reply to Flinticus:

> Speaking of expensive kit, on my last time at the airport I spotted a guy wearing Arc'teryx trousers, shoes, top, jacket and bag! 

Ah! Special forces.

Or possibly a wally.

Who knows?

 Philb1950 26 Jan 2023
In reply to Flinticus:

Arcteryx wearer may have been a guide as UK guides are sponsored by Arcteryx and also buy kit at trade. Having said that, although ridiculously expensive I find their kit is the best designed. Patagucci and North Face as well as A., now mass fashion labels in the North America market which dwarfs European demand.

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In reply to bouldery bits:

> Ah! Special forces.

> Or possibly a wally.

> Who knows?

Or both? Not mutually exclusive.

 Tom the tall 26 Jan 2023
In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

Alpkit do repairs in their shops (at least the one here in Keswick does). We’ve had jacket zips and a wetsuit repaired very nicely at very reasonable cost.

 jethro kiernan 26 Jan 2023
In reply to pancakeandchips:

Or a Walt

 e.ms355 26 Jan 2023
In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

https://alpkit.com/pages/repair-station 

not a huge amount cheaper than you have quoted but might depend on what you actually need plus you can drop into a shop if you're fairly local

few different options here too: https://www.thebmc.co.uk/where-can-I-reuse-repair-recycle-my-outdoor-climbi...

 StuDoig 26 Jan 2023
In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

If you're near a cotswold store they do a repair service.  I had a zip repaired for c.£50.00.  Drop off and pickup in store so no postage.  

Cheers,

Stu

 abarro81 26 Jan 2023
In reply to deepsoup:

> (Sheffield based, you can drop off/collect yourself if it's handy to save the postage.)

I'd second this recommendation - did a great job fixing various things on bags and even some kneepad straps for me.

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 Twiggy Diablo 28 Jan 2023

Sport Pursuit used to have a lot of Arcteryx stuff. I was just never patient enough to put up with the wait.

 wbo2 28 Jan 2023
In reply to FreeloaderJoe: that jacket sits at a sort of apex  where effort required to make it, for a pretty small product,  combined with materials a nd British manufacturing costs combine to create what appears poor value.  Their heavier jackets seem better for that as you get physically more for your money. 

And yes,  I think you're underestimating the effect of high inflation and what it means for what you earn.  Freeloading has pros and cons 


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