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I'm after a new waterproof jacket/shell for daughter 14, and am a bit outside of my comfort zone in terms of being able to help- I'd expected to keep it under £200 and not sure whether I am being oversold or not for her requirements. We've been to Cotswolds, GO, and our localish independent outdoor shop, and, discarding the cheap 3 in 1, the recommendations were a Rab Kangri and ME Saltoro and Rupal, with the Saltoro being her pick for fit and feel. Her current jacket, a cheapish Berghaus (Deluge?) is wearing in places, doesn't breathe too well, has a couple of features she doesn't like and needs reproofing.
Do I need to bite the bullet and start paying for highish end stuff? Are there any stand out recommendations for a women's jacket in this price bracket, considering her requirements? Do we really need Goretex to get durability and breathability?
For an idea of intended usage she's just back from Snowdonia, had a weekend scrambling, did Tryfan and the Glyders, is off to the Lakes next weekend orienteering with full packs for overnight camping, and is off to Scotland at Easter on an 'introduction to mountaineering' trip -she did the same trip earlier this year -a mix of day and overnight trips, some ropework, scrambling etc, bagged half a dozen Munros- felt that she was possibly a bit under-equipped for the time of year.
And then she has a week's hiking in Switzerland next summer.
Thanks.
yes you want goretex or event.
having just bought a pertex as a cheap everyday jacket coming from event its been a waste of money
Age 14 probably means still growing. Have a look at Keela jackets. They're a Scottish company and are pretty good plus not as pricey as Rab etc.
https://www.keela.co.uk/ladies-clothing/ladies-jackets/ladies-waterproof-jackets.html
Usually available on Amazon if you don't have a local stockist
Have a look onn eBay for Paramo Seconds. Plenty of women's fit waterproofs on there, plus all the base layer stuff that works so well with it. For example I just got an Alta jacket (original) which is brand new, but has had some name badges sewn on and then removed. So a few stitch marks has reduced the price from 225 quid to 98. She'll need a proper rucksack designed one with shoulder layers and foam inserts. Also search paramoextras
Our lads have Montane Atomic's and an Endura Singletrack. They are great, simple allround jackets for Munro's and bikes. A tad sweaty, but they just open the zip or don't wear them unless it's wet. They have all been £60-80 in sales.
We've had Salomon, Patagonia and Sprayway before - none match up to the simplicity and 'it just works' of the Atomic's.
I personally would go for Montane Atomic and a windshirt.
Edit: our lads have all done DofE, 30odd Munro's, rides and walks in Alps and High Tatra, ride all year round and being teens treat kit with total disrespect, get it filthy, fall off, sit in it and lose it regularly... The cheap Montanes fit the bill perfectly...
Thanks all, some food for thought here.
I know it's sports pursuit, and therefore any discount is advisory, but I've got a few items of fjern clothing, and it's very good. I'm tempted to get the [male] equivelent of this next https://www.sportpursuit.com/catalog/product/view/id/1468296 - eVent and all
https://mclovinmountains.com/2017/12/31/fjern-orkan-on-test/
or just look in Decathlon!
I'm not a fan of all their stuff, but I bought my wife a Alpkit Argonaut a few months ago.It was £89 and on close inspection as good as anything I seen for twice the money. Your daughter is still growing and personally wouldn't be spending much more than that on something she will have grown out of in a year or so.
Oh...Blacks ( yes they still exist!) have some pretty good sales on from time to time.
Just order a few GTX jackets from Sports Pursuit and send back the ones you don't like. Not worth paying full price in the shops when you can get the same thing half price online.
Have a look onn eBay for Paramo Seconds. Plenty of women’s fit waterproofs on there, plus all the base layer stuff that works so well with it.
because the waterproofing is washed in (and so you don’t loose waterproof ness over time) there’s a healthy second hand market for paramo, so stuff can be sold on later for a decent price if/when it’s grown out of.
The trouble with Paramo is that it's heavy and bulky for what it is, which is fine if you're just wearing it, but not so great if you need to carry it in a pack. Mountain Equipment's Gore-Tex Pro shells are really solid jackets, but super expensive. The fabric's light, tough breathable, but quite crackly and noisy in use.
They do own brand fabric equivalents as well though, made from DriLite, same cut, different, but decent enough material, more likely to be discounted. I'd get one of those rather than a Saltoro if she likes the cut.
Or SportPursuit - Fjern is their own brand I think, a bit like DHB is at Wiggle. The men's Orkan is a bit short cut in a climbing sort of way, but otherwise pretty good tbh. Don't know how the women's one would compare.
Alpkit has a size 8 women's Definition shell on their eBay outlet shop for £99 which is a bit of a bargain if it fits.
Secondhand keela, or new for the 200 budget. Really good jackets, we use the Munro at work and it’s really superb bit of kit
Pace 3×3 Event jacket – £99
It's not really a mountaineering jacket though, which I think is what the OP is looking for.
If it was my kid, doing the sort of stuff you describe, I’d get either the DriLite version of the same jacket if they have one, as it’ll give almost the same functionality for 2/3 the price, or get the GTX version if I was feeling flush. If it’s the jacket that fits her, that she feels comfortable in, then it’s the best one for her. Jackets with lighter face fabrics, like the Montane Atomic, simply won’t last, especially if they’re being worn under a heavy rucksack, or worn scrambling where they’re being abraded on rock. As a lightweight ‘just in case’ shell for occasional use, they’re great.
Keela suffers from the same problems as Paramo - great if you’re moving relatively slowly, or in very cold weather, but if you’re trying to move quickly when it’s above freezing, they’re too hot, and too bulky to live in a rucksack. Take any group of outdoors professionals, and you’ll get one or two who love Paramo and live in it - the rest will hate it with a passion, probably because, like me, they’ve spend a fortune on it and got soaked on multiple occasions. I’ve come to the conclusion that it works by sympathetic magic - if you believe in it enough, it’ll keep you dry 🙂