 I used to be a user of the Rohan bags, them and the winter bags, but that was a long time ago. I see they are still operating, and I know the founder has gone. What I would like to know, is their gear as good as it was, and is it good enough for UK hiking ?
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i think it doesnt last and alot of it is overdesigned. and its expensive. but apart from that its fine.
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 The only stuff i've got is their undies! Silver x-static treatment to reduce pong on long trips. Very comfy. I think they are more a 'travellers' clothing brand now. They have just released new bags made from Epic treated fabric that look interesting though.
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 Rohan went seriously downhill when Paul & Sara Howcroft sold the business. Some odd decent items, but more travel wear than serious outdoors kit these days. Hardly cutting edge stuff anymore. Shame really. I think that the same happened to Brasher. I used to wander around the hills in Bags, Dunova shirt, Pampas jacket, & Brasher Boots. Not anymore.
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 Rohan went seriously downhill when Paul & Sara Howcroft sold the business. Actually, it was a bit more complex than that. The Howcrofts split up and Paul bought Sara's half of the company, but Paul was killed in a road accident soon afterwards, which was the real start of the company's problems. I used to pop into their shop/office at Long Preston when it was 'really' Rohan. I remember one of the staff used to rip items quite brutally off their hangers, presumably to show you how tough the clothing was, or maybe show you how tough he was too! My biggest dealings with them came when Rohan was actually owned by Clarks, the shoe people. I couldn't honestly tell you who owns the outfit now, and while they still have some 'own brand' gear, they also buy stuff from around the world, so if you want to find the quality items, you have to be prepared to search the store for them. Every so often they have discount clear-outs and they're very keen to get you on their mailing list. OK... the bag is packed... and the hills beckon... I'm outta here!
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 Agreed, they're not the innivative outdoor brand they were when they started, and a lot of the gear is now travel-oriented, and a bit over-designed. But they still have a few gems hidden in the range. I certainly wouldn't kit out with much from their range, but my lightest walking/travel trousers came from them (well, until Haglofs this year...), and this summer I did get a t-shirt that weighs only 55g in a large size - suitable as a summer baselayer and certainly great for carrying as spare clothes on a trip.
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 I have a pair of fleece lined Rohans which I have had for years although I probably don't use them that much in the winter months unless it is really cold. They are hard wearing as they are still in good condition but as others say things have changed at Rohan and I suspect there are other if not better options out there. I doubt if I will be buying from them again, not because of the quality of the gear but just because there are other options and I have enough bits and pieces at the moment.
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 Is their stuff as good as it was? Well, bags and Bags Shiorts are still the same as they used to be, so they're as good as they ever were, though the rest of the world has moved on, of course. I'm wearing a pair of Bags now, I love 'em for work, but I've never seethem as particularly good hillwalking trousers TBH. They do dry fast, but when they're wet they're pretty 'orrible compared to Tracksters and quite why I want 6 pockets when I'm hillwalking is a mystery. I've always liked their smart shirts, but again for work rather than walk. I very much like their polo shirts for bumming around in, IMHO considerably more comfy than "standard" ones. Their current walking trousers don't really work for me as I don't like the cut (far too baggy in the lower leg for my liking), but they're built okay in pretty good fabrics and if the cut agrees with you then I don't see why you wouldn't get on with them, at least if you pick them up in their sales. Like Mike I think their undies are pretty good and I have a few pairs. Since Lowe ruined Dryflo briefs so completely and thoroughly by making them into uncomfortable trunks the Rohans have been my most used technical undies. My only acquaintance with the footwear is deciding it's not quite the right fit for me. I imagine it is for others. They are now primarily a travel wear company, but there's nothing wrong with that. I usually work in their clothes, and the smart stuff is good enough for serious smart occasions but is lighter and easier to care for than "standard" items. Their waterproofs have never really impressed, except for a brief period a few years ago when they put out a couple of really good no-nonsense technical waterproofs at a sensible weight. Discontinued the following year in favour of a thing with zip-in fleece though, hey ho. The Epic Bags might well be worth a punt though, especially if they make it into the sale! Pete.
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Their old Superstriders were great (if you liked breeks) - that is the fabric (stretch Helenca) was great. The Spyders certainly looked interesting. The first Softshell?
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I recently sold my old Superstriders on eBay: 99p! The only reason I stopped using them was I'd bought the ful-leg salopette version, which I still use as my weapon of choice for resort skiing, and until I found some Powershield salopettes I used them for touring too. The only thing wrong with them is they're a bit heavy. I think the detail design is good as well the material. The front pockets are the most effective handwarmers I've ever come across on anything, and the vertical rear pocket zip meant you could get at one of the backside pockets with a pack on. Aside from that, a minimum of fuss. In fact, a shame they didn't use the basic design for the new ones, but just make the legs longer... Pete.
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 Aye, Rohan is dead on its arse. They had some killer pants though, Base Camp Bags with they map pocket on the leg, Super Uplanders with kevlar knees, Upland Trekkers with the stretch panels.
Try them on now and I think "What are these high waisted restrictive horrors". How times change.
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 You still can get the occassional bit of good stuff. I got some very fine 100% merino baselayers in the sale reduced from £80 to £40, very light, very warm and very well made. Also some thick merino socks, which keep my wet feet warm when I'm using my terrocs in the wet. Again well made. The sales are always worth a look IMO.
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A lot of other outdoor companies seem to be getting the message that simple is usually best and cutting useless "extras" out of their designs, but Rohan seem to have gone the other way. They used to do various pretty simple trousers that used good fabrics and were well cut, but they all seem to be very fussy and complicated now. Pity really, cos they did come up with some good stuff at one time.
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 I only look round in the sale - they still make indestructible troos. Their ladies' range can be a bit odd; often in lurid colours. Base tops have a weird cut - if they fit round the boobs, the waist flaps. Even the Decathlon 8 euro (£5-ish) base layer fits much, much better than that. Maybe they only make their ladies' things for flat-chested women? I do have a pair of their Thai pants - had them 10 years and they refuse to wear out even though they look thin and flimsy. Invaluable for travel to-from-in hot places and I even wore them in the Sahara Desert and they performed brilliantly.
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You still can get the occassional bit of good stuff. I got some very fine 100% merino baselayers in the sale reduced from £80 to £40, very light, very warm and very well made.
Yes, I have two of their light weight tops and one slighly heavier one which feels like silk, all very, very good and all half price in the sales. but one thing that Rohan are very good at, unfortunately, is discontinuing or "improving" their really good stuff! So my default slumming-around trews are the original Goas, which they ruined, then replaced with "Essentials" which I don't like, and then brought back a Mk 3 Goa which has enough fabric in the lower leg to make sails with. Bah! While the "too fussy" label is fair on some of their kit, certainly not the case across the range. Their base layers are straightforward and unfussy, as are the fleece entries. Their down jacket is a no-frills down jacket, the Primaloft jacket I use for resort skiing I got from their bargain bin is entirley straightforward (drop tail, two hand pockets and an inside pocket, don't see any of that as excessive). In conclusion. check out the sale, and if you see anything you like that isn't a pair of bags don't assume they won't have buggered it up complketely with a weird fit or just discontinued it the next time you go back! Pete.
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 One other nice thing about the bags/epic bags is that they still do some of them in an unfinished 36" inside leg (as well as 30 & 33 iirc) together with a full range of waist sizes (down to 30 for men). Very rare to find this kind of flexibility in sizing. That led to me eyeing some of the ones in the sales for potential casual wear. Sadly, because I was trying to actually put them round my waist (for a change!), they really weren't comfortable - my IL is 37 and they're cut for ~35 (34-36 is the IL range.). Still might be a useful option for slightly less tall people. The epic bags got quite a good review in TGO a few months back.
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The Uplanders were tough as you can get. I tore an inch long hole in mine and couldn't find it when I got home!! It self repaired. Couldn't believe it. I don't wear them now because for some reason I woke up to the fact that they were actuall 2" too short. Ok in boots but not trainers like I wear now. I think uplanders aren't made any more and they don't do longer legs lengths in anything but unfinished bags. X-static grundies are supposed to be as good as ever. Wouldn't get owt from them now, but do pop in to Long Preston occasionally while passing.
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Use to use them all the time in the 80s when for serious travelling they were simply the best.Tough,lite,easily washed dryed and nice deep pockets.When in some of the dodgier markets in Africa such as in Bangui I use to wear there zipped shorts under the bags and keep my valuables in the short pockets. On return from a 9 month trip through africa I took the pair of bags I had worn,they were the only long trousers I took and were preatty knackered back to the shop. The talcum powder sand of the sahara had buggered some of the zips up, much to my surprise they gave me a new pair of bags. When they started they were desighned for serious travel not solely outdoor mountain use.I still have a pair of bags but things move on and there are cheaper alternatives.
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 The Uplanders were tough as you can get. I tore an inch long hole in mine and couldn't find it when I got home!! It self repaired. Couldn't believe it.............
Magic trousers? 
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