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Need some inspiration. I need a new winter jacket. Ideally synthetic insulation, water resistant or water proof. I was going to get an Alpkit OHiro, but can't get excited about it. For all-round use - going to the pub, weekend's away, post swim/SUP/bike warmth. Ideally sub £200. Thoughts?
Snugpak Torrent?
Got an Alpkit Katabatic… brilliant jacket for everyday use.
Katabatic looks good, but I should have said I want a warmer jacket. I’ve got a couple of Patagonia jackets (bought off here) about that weight.
Montane Prism?
Well under budget if they have your size/colour. Not mega warm but plenty for me in 5-10c of with a base and under a shell of it's colder.
You must run colder than me then. For everyday use the Katabatic weight suits me for winter. The big coats come out when it’s really cold, but most of the time it’s not cold enough for that.
Cheers guys. Torrent looks interesting. I found a nice Arctyrex jacket but it’s mega bucks!!
Keela do a couple of primaloft jackets
I've got an Alpkit Ohiro.
It's very very warm so wouldn't be my choice as an everyday jacket.
Had a mountain equipment Arete which I preferred over my Montane padded one which hasnt worn well.
Patagonia Micro Puff hoody/jacket/pullover for the win. Had mine for a decade, everything from snowboarding to dog walking, after kitesurfing and on bikepacking trips. Can get them for less than £200. Gets used every day from about October to April.
I’ve got a Rab Xenair Alpine Light - fab bit of kit. Packs small, great warmth-to-weight, reasonably weather resistant and doesn’t look out of place for everyday wear.
By the way, the newer synthetic materials that mimic the way down lofts are much warmer than the traditional sheets of laminar insulation
I've got a Marmot featherless gilet and it's very good
Decathlon MT100 jacket, I live in mine this time of year. Hoodless version seems to have disappeared from their website but the hooded one comes in a few different colours, £35, absolute bargain.
Houdini Heavenly off Sport Pursuit for £109 brilliant jacket and branding not that visible
But what do you wear October to April - that covers winter which is what the OP atually asked about 🙂 And 60g primaloft isn't going to warm standing around in 5-10C , and that isn't winter either.
I have a Norrona Trollveggen Primaloft - that was well under 200 on sale. what's here ? https://www.outside.co.uk/mens-clothing/mens-jackets/mens-insulated-jackets.html?p=2
Houdini Heavenly off Sport Pursuit for £109 brilliant jacket and branding not that visible
Quite hard to get out of I heard.
Patagonia Micro Puff hoody/jacket/pullover for the win. Had mine for a decade, everything from snowboarding to dog walking, after kitesurfing and on bikepacking trips. Can get them for less than £200. Gets used every day from about October to April.
Already got one of these, its ace. But I want something warmer.
Look at e-outdoor website
WARMTH22 discount code this weekend on insulated jackets
I have the Alpkit Katabatic. Tried an O'Hiro but the cuffs didn't work for me. I have an Arcteryx Nuclei AR as a belay jacket I can shove over the Katabatic for stops in artic conditions.
If you're a Large...
Paramo Torres is a nice warm jacket too.
I used to buy HH ski jackets for the winter, but I've been feeling the cold more as I get older; last year I bought a Jack Wolfskin Troposphere jacket... comfy, very warm, half decent pockets in the right place, pit zips for when it's too warm, generally near perfect to me - I'd like the internal pocket to be zipped under the storm flap rather than right inside, so you could get to it without unzipping the main zip - but that's nit-picking a bit.
Bad news and good news, it seems to be discontinued but the ones still around are heavily discounted (and it was worth the full price to me) if you can find your size. Here's a couple to get you started:
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/jack-wolfskin-troposphere-waterproof-jacket
https://www.outdoorgear.co.uk/Jack-Wolfskin-Jack-Wolfskin-Troposphere-Jacket-sku41184100.asp
Lots to look at! Thanks for all the links.
I hate threads like this as I have a coat fetish and find myself looking at all the suggestions and wanting many of them. However I'll just say I'm a firm fan of layering and the great many 3 in 1 type coats, where a fleece or a puffs zips and buttons inside a waterproof give huge flexibility.
Mostly I wear an ex-US military CWU45P flying jacket, or ‘bomber jacket’ as they’re often called. I’ve walked home from town on a really, really cold, windy day with just a tee shirt underneath, carrying some shopping, and had to change my tee shirt when I got in because it was soaked! I got mine from Rockit in London, cost about £80. Either that, or I wear my Buffalo Special 6 with a Helly Lifa. I’ve got various other ex-army jackets, a Danish Army M85 field jacket which is windproof, but has no hood, and a Desert Storm issue Night Camo desert parka with button-in quilted liner, which is great to layer over other stuff, none of which cost close to £200! It’s all cheap because it’s not got a fancy name attached, and was made for issue in huge numbers. Before anyone say’s something about wearing a jacket with a camo pattern, s****y fashion clothing with knock-off US Army camo sells for a hell of a lot more, from someone like Urban Outfitters, and is nowhere as well made.
Having said that, I do have a NF Nuptse that I’ve had for years, but is mostly too warm, and a Decathlon ultralight down jacket, which leaks down all over everything I wear underneath, plus a Jottnar Fenrir I bought in an end of season sale, for £170, but that’s too much for an everyday beater jacket; I can’t afford or justify spending £200 or so on a jacket that’s going to get really knocked around, screwed up and shoved into a bag, chucked into the back of a car, etc.
I dog-walk in am Alkpkit Jura:
https://alpkit.com/products/jura-smock-mens
It's a wannabe Buffalo but not as warm (by a long way).
For just being outside in crap weather during the winter it is most excellent.
I have no end of jackets for all weathers, but the one jacket that I keep going back to is the Montane Prism.
https://rab.equipment/uk/nebula-pro-jacket-aw20
£190 new, mine was a lot closer to £100
I wear mine loads autumn to spring. It feels total overkill for wandering about, until it gets chilly and then it feels like the best jacket in the world😃
Any large puffa jacket would probably be the same.
I bought a synthetic jacket after getting caught in the rain in a down jacket, which stunk of ponds every time it gets wet.
Vapour-Rise Summit. I live in it throughout the winter, dog walking, commuting etc.
If it gets a little cooler then I'll break out a Montane Prism - but it has to be pretty nippy for that.
I do seem to have quite an extensive collection of jackets, mostly because I misplace one, look for 3months - replace it and then find the original - typically within hours...