NEW REVIEW: Mountain Hard Shells

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 UKC Gear 05 Apr 2013
Mammut Nordwand - a superb all round alpine shell, 3 kbIn this review we outline the important things to look for in a hard shell, then compare eight offerings we've had on test.

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=5244
 Max factor 06 Apr 2013
In reply to UKC Gear:

i'm sorry but 500 pounds on a jacket? do people ever buy this stuff at RRP, and if so who are they?
matejn 07 Apr 2013
In reply to UKC Gear:Now, one might get an impression, that this is also an advertisement for Gore- tex.
 Flashy 07 Apr 2013
In reply to Max factor: People with more money than time. They need a new windproof for the weekend at their chalet in Cham, so pop into whatever Cotswold is nearest the City at lunchtime and drop £500 on whatever.

Us lucky few who have more time than we know what to do with and can either wait around until we see one at TK Maxx for £5.99 or experiment outdoors until we discover that bin bags do the job well enough that we can spend all that cash on a new set of cams that we don't need.
 redscotti 07 Apr 2013
In reply to Flashy: **like**
 Bob578 08 Apr 2013
In reply to UKC Gear:

And which is the best?
 Puppythedog 09 Apr 2013
In reply to UKC Gear: There are a variety of mountain shells for much cheaper such as a NorthRidge one I got for £99 in a sale or the Sherpa one for £200 (but that I won). Plus others. It seems odd to me to only review those seriously expensive ones.
 xplorer 09 Apr 2013
In reply to puppythedog:

In most cases, you get what you pay for. There's a reason you don't see as many lower grade makes on the hills, because people trust a well known, tried and tested Gucci company
 martinph78 09 Apr 2013
In reply to xplorer: You don't need to spend £500 to get a tried and tested product from a well known, trusted brand. For example, the ME Firefox £200. Superb bit of kit!

 xplorer 09 Apr 2013
In reply to Martin1978:


Mountain equipment is a well know. Tried and tested brand isn't it

Yes I understand that Martin. 200 is still a lot more than a crappy no make. I could list loads of reason not to buy a budget jacket. But it all depends on how often your going to use it.

We don't need to argue about what makes are good and what are crap.

 Puppythedog 09 Apr 2013
In reply to xplorer: No but you are now missing the point that trusted brands provide cheaper products and Sherpa are a trusted brand by the way. There is no reason why such a review as this did not include cheaper products. one at £250 and then the next cheapest being £340 then to the £500 seems bloody ridiculous to me.
I wasn't talking about crappy no makes (although you may include North Ridge in that if you wish despite their positive comments on here over the last few years) but simply cheaper than within the review.
 martinph78 09 Apr 2013
In reply to xplorer: I agree.

I have mentioned it before though, I do think that a review of a range of products should include a range of budgets.

The review would have been far more useful if it had compared the different materials and offered a "best budget buy" and best "performance" sort of catagories.

The review offered nothing much more than walking into Cotswolds with £500 and trying on a couple of jackets.

Maybe I'm on a one-man crusade though!

 Rock Badger 09 Apr 2013
In reply to UKC Gear:
Do testers/reviewers get to keep jackets, are they free or heavily discounted.
If handed out free to testers or massively discounted, i would also be reviewing
stupidly expensive jackets. And then not even rate them????
 Catriona 09 Apr 2013
In reply to UKC Gear:

Thanks for the review. It would be even more useful if the "fit" section differentiated between fit for men and fit for women. Unless the fit is for a generic manwomanmountainperson? Seems to be getting harder to find a good mountain hardshell that fits women.
 xplorer 09 Apr 2013
In reply to puppythedog:

I'm sorry but give me examples of jackets that are one hundred pound and are equivilant to the jackets in the review.

All the jackets are technical well made thought out peices of kit.

I don't see the problem, there are plenty of reviews around on the Internet for every jacket you want.

These jackets are designed for extreme use, there not for ruff ramblers
 Denni 09 Apr 2013
In reply to Catriona:

Hi there,
if it helps, my wife has found that the Patagonia, RAB and Arcteryx hard shells or indeed most of the female specific jackets have a great fit for women.
Pricey, but she tries them on and then gets onto good old fleabay!
Hope this helps, Den
 Rock Badger 09 Apr 2013
In reply to xplorer:
Did heshe say that they new of equivalent jackets for £100 ?
 Catriona 09 Apr 2013
In reply to Denni:

Thanks Denni. The Rab Latok (not the Alpine) seems to have a good women's cut, but looks to be discontinued and impossible to get in many sizes.
 Rock Badger 09 Apr 2013
In reply to xplorer:
> (In reply to puppythedog)
>
> In most cases, you get what you pay for.

To a certain level; and then your just paying heaps extra for not alot more,, maybe a name,,

 xplorer 09 Apr 2013
In reply to count:

In most cases

To a certain level

= the same
 xplorer 09 Apr 2013
In reply to count:

You are always paying for the name when buying high standard branded equipment.

The company has built its name and credibility.

Would you trust a no brand peice of climbing protection
 Rock Badger 09 Apr 2013
In reply to xplorer:
Would rather not, but saying that i do have some hand me down hexes that appear to be brand less, still use them though (theyre pretty chunky). I do get your point though and that we are paying for a name because they make quality, its just that in the past couple of years prices have nearly doubled and they seem to be using pretty much the same materials just fancy colours and zips. Its a big jump from 200 to 500 quid for a jacket and for that extra 300 quid your not getting a whole lot more. But f*ck it if i could afford a 500 quid jacket with rad colours and contrasting zips i would,
 xplorer 09 Apr 2013
In reply to count:

Haha, I must admit I am abit of a gear junkie.

Consumerism does take its hold
 Rock Badger 09 Apr 2013
In reply to xplorer:
Outdoor shops are definitely dangerous places
 Denni 09 Apr 2013
In reply to Catriona:

Anna, my wife, has a Patagonia Triolet jacket that is a really good fit for her. Size large, she is a 12/14 and it fits her ridiculously good.

Before that she had an older North Face jacket, goretex xcr that she had for about 6 years. Again in a large and a womens cut. Fitted her perfectly as well and when she has tried jackets on in the shops, as I said she found the RAB, Arcteryx, Patagonia and even the North Face ones were really a good fit.

Only reason we bought the Patagonia one was because we were in Canada and it was so cheap it was ridiculous! Hope you find one.

Den
 Puppythedog 09 Apr 2013

>
> These jackets are designed for extreme use, there not for ruff ramblers

I gave the example of one coat which I got for £100 pounds in a sale but my point was not about coats being that cheap but simply cheaper than those reviewed. I would imagine that most people wouldn't need any extra performance from Coats at £550 pounds compared to the £200 range for example. Oh and by people I don't mean North face of the High Street use but those on this site who may go ice climbing, winter climbing Alpine Climbing and winter walking.

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