Lots of talk of Pile/pertex going on in the forum these days, and brands such as Montane and (the original) Buffalo are being brought up.

I have the Rab Berber Tech Smock from the end of the 90s and think it's great - if heavy. Am I the only person who bought one (in which case I can see why Rab stopped doing them) or are there others out there who think it was shame that they are no longer available?

Perhaps they just wanted to focus on other things at Rab - and the competition is pretty fierce? Any inside story?

John

they still do lightweight options,

vapor rise  thin lining and the climb jkt had 100 weight lining

the heavy one probably didnt do the numbers it was thicker than any of the others mentioned

its not the fact that competition is fierce its that the market is small for that product

the majority buy fleece and waterproof hence the expansion of waterproofs and insulation from rab and montane

thats my thought on it any ways

And I guess manufacturing costs are lower on a single skin garment than on one that requires outer and inner to be machined and then sewn together.

I suspect this is one of the reasons why ME dropped the Microtherm; replaced by PowerShield?

You do have to factor total fabric cost into the equation, of course.

Rab have stuck with the VR whilst also producing PowerShield offerings.

Ive got one !

Wish i could get another

I think you are spot on in that respect.

Perhaps some people just think it hasnt got enough bling factor.

Which is a shame.

Funny that...

it was precisely because it was a 'real mountain jacket' and not some high-street posing gear that drew me to it!

Jon,

did this come up in conversation with Rab?