Paramo insect repellant?  Isn't that too hot for summer use?

Never mind, I'll get my coat......

Hi Parky, the various Nikwax travel solutions are in the store. as you walk in if you look half left and on top of the first gondola stand they should be there.

The two guys you are talking about are Brett (Goatee ex F&T and now resedent Páramo expert) and Szymon from the Polish/Czech border who is also very good with the Páramo kit and climbing and photography and...

If your passing by some time Brett has been rather poorly and I'm sure he would appreciate some abuse (I mean contructive critacism)

lol skippy. thanks. had a nice chat about cameras and stuff with szymon saturday before last. could have sworn he was dutch with the accent.....he still spoke better english than i can!

sorry to hear brett has been poorly. a nice knowledgeable chap with a wicked sense of humour.

<erm..did i put that techwash in or not...erm...perhaps i shouldn't have put yet more in...pretty, pretty bubbles...>

If I can be serious for a moment, difficult, but I'll try, is the insect repellent any good?

I've got a bottle of quite high strength DEET that I use at the moment, but I always worry it will disolve me or my clothes.  It certainly seems to do the job on insects, but boy does it hurt when mixed with sun cream and sweat it drips into the eyes.

Should you be posting on this thread Parky?  Skippy will be upset when he reads another thread.

Mike you tease

Paul, I've not really had time to use it properly yet. The most scientific test I've had was on a trip to Namibia. The only night I didn't have it on (forgot to put it back on after a shower) I got bitten. so based on that it seemed to work for me?

Oh come on Mike... 

Is that to avoid further debate Mike?

There's been SO much comment on garment colours.........

Oh come on, nudge nudge you know you want to...

You'd be suprised what might turn up?

ah, while you're here..

the velcors on the long sleeved shirts. what is it supposed to do?

The reason we have used hook and loop on the wrists was three fold. feedback (mainly internaly and from gear testers was that if people lost button it was invariably the one about belly height and the wrist ones.  So Velcro fixed the wrist issue and the first two generations of shirts had a plaquet that covered the buttons. People didn't like the plaquet any longer so it was removed.

A more important reason was wrist size. what ever width placement we have with buttons or poppers (check out the trail shirt) we get battered for having got it wrong, Velcro alows you to micro adjust to any wrist size (incluing with huge washing machine sizesd watches on like Trasers or the mighty Suunto's which most of us use on the hill).

The main reason was that damn Scotish Midge! By having a velcro closeure you can avoid that useless gap in the cuff area that lets all the biting horrors in (especially around a nice damp sweaty watch area) and be able to close the cuff very securely around nearly all wrist sizes but very importantly still be able to roll the sleeves up.

 I have a couple of the original Katmai shirts in the Ink colour from when we first launched Parameta A. I wear them most weeks for work, do presentations in it, travel etc etc and it all still works and looks smart. I agree it looks a little different but hopefully for the right reason?

 I have some very critical friends (and customers) and no one has ever commented on the cuffs which it won't be them being nice as it doesn't usually stop them!

Found out the reason for Paramo's strange sizing... 

> if people lost button it was invariably the one about belly height

Aha! my pie-eating theory is confirmed... pie-belly causes button popping...

;-)

thanks skippy. there is an awful lot of velcro that doesn't actually do anything though. when closed at full velcro length the wrist size would be suitable for an eight year old, or mr potatohead above. due to its positioning it secures around my wrist very close to the beginning of the loop velcro and i have thin wrists (waits for comments ).  by moving the velcro strip a bit it would perform the very usual function of being able to use the velcro to secure the sleeve above elbow height.

I'm not a pie eater, nor a potato head (I hope!).  However Paramo clothing seems to fit me quite well (at least the waterproof stuff does, I have my reservations about the flapping-in-the-wind Fuera trousers).

I like to think I'm fairly average (chest size 10 inches bigger than waist size).  Okay, maybe slightly heavier built than average, but nothing too weird.  I never was and never will be a racing snake, so for me, it's a refreshing change to find clothing that fits me without the sleeves and/or trouser bottoms hanging in the wind or dragging along the ground.

I've lost count of the number of pairs of trousers I've needed taken up, just because I have a slightly short inside leg. 

One thing I think we can all agree on is that Paramo should be congratulated for making trousers in different leg lengths as well as different waist sizes.  Even if it is a bit weird that the large short is the same length as the medium regular etc etc.

The only change I would make would be to look at tightening up the cut of the trousers below the knee, where even my medium cascadas (in black ) are a little flappy and the fuera trousers I tried were incredibly flappy.  But then I like a close fitting trouser bottom rather than a potentially more practical wide fitting one (in terms of getting trousers on / off with boots on, if not for the extra mud and other debris it attracts).

Hi Paul, So perhaps in a perfect world what you need is a different trouser (black of course)? The room in the bottom of the leg of the cascadas is to allow a boot with the voume of say the Scarapa SL/Manta plus a Páramo gaiter that go under the trousers to get the best drainage.

Ideally you would have stretch, but that is harder than you think, especially with a lifetime guarantee and especially when you have it covered in mud for most of it's life.

Hmmmm a new trouser....

The Fuera trousers were cut to allow a pair of stretch pants to go under but have become a stand alone garment these days. They are being re-looked at.

Parky - I'd like to get a look at the shirt something isn't right. I have several to hand here and they seem different to what you describe?

Capt P - you have absolouty no tummy at all? wheres the fun in that?

The tummy height button issue is more down to ruck sack waist belts and bum bag waist belts going on and off but i'm sure a little bit of 'natural' insulation may have something to do with it (sometimes).

Toxic Sherlock - come on now equal opportunities, how about the girls? That hat isn't Directional so it can't be one of ours! And define strange from a person who keeps images of Mr potato head! Any Directional clothing would surely dry him out, now that just wouldn't be right! Or smash, or would it? So thats how they make smash!

<grabs tape measure> 

the loop velcro strip is 12cm long situated 8cm from the default hook pad position.

the hook pad attached to the very end of the loop strip makes a circle 5cm in diameter.

the hook pad attached to the closest end of the loop strip makes a circle of approx 8 - 9cm in diameter. which caters for large wrists indeed but just isn't quite there for attaching it above the elbow on my puny frame.

Skippy, now your starting to get me excited.  I'm always in the market for a good pair of trousers (in black).  Something stretchy, fairly close fitting (not Trackster close - I want people to see me on the hill, not me have to hide whenever anyone passes).  Preferably made of Shoeller Dynamic for summer use or Dryskin for winter use, both with the Extreme treatment of course.  With thigh pockets, not the cargo trousers type giant things, but something to keep a A4 folded map in, or maybe a mobile when off the hill.  Paramo gaiters of course would fit over these.

I can feel my credit card itching as I write this, so better not make them as I'm feeling poor at the moment.  I nearly bought the ME Corbins are they ticked nearly every box, except a bit flappy around the calves, but a summer trouser should be closer fitting.  Who wears a gaiter underneath?  Only under waterproofs.

If you're up in London again, I can bring some ideal trousers over to show you.  I bought them in El Corte Ingles in Spain, but they are my favourite trouser for fitting.  They were also very cheap.  The funny thing is, lots of people have asked me about them on the hill, so I think it would be a winner sales wise.  Many people like the practicality of something like the Tracksters, but won't wear them on the hill for ascetic reasons.

Paul Cummings wrote (see) but a summer trouser should be closer fitting. 

Now I disagree here. I like winter troos to be closer-fitting so they don't pick up mud and snow. Summer ones - when I'm not wearing shorts - need to be looser to keep me cool. I  wear Cascadas in winter and so unfortunately they get blathered.

Paul Cummings wrote (see)

 Many people like the practicality of something like the Tracksters, but won't wear them on the hill for ascetic reasons.

You probably mean aesthetic reasons

I had to look up ascetic and it said:

"a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification"

Actually, thinking about Tracksters, that's probably correct