I am thinking of buying a Rab Latok Alpine Jacket. Do you think this a good buy for use in the UK? I will be using it over soft shell kit. Rab VR Trail Smock, or Macpac, Nemesis with either H&H Dynamic Crew or Patagonia Capilene base layer.

You're obviously a Rab fan. They make very good down products, and the Vapour Rise is apparently good and versatile.

Latok, though, be a bit choosy. ME has better hoods, brilliantly designed clothing, great customer service.

Try lots of different jackets on - we're all different shapes. I'm shaped like an Orang-Utan on stilts, so ME products suit me as I find they design the jackets with long arms. I can't wear Berghaus, but others would, no doubt, say that they are v. good too. Marmot make good clothing too.

Dear Simon, thank you. I changed direction slightly. I have just brought the same kit, the function is the same that is, but I think its better. I have gone for a Rab photon and a Montane Superfly. Got them from www.outdoorco-op.co.uk/ with a real saving. Stewart

With there being so little difference in the quality of the kit, the fact that RAB still make their stuff in the uk, sheffield even, is what swings it for me - environmental costs, sweatshopshop ethics and all that. still trying to chose between the 'Corrie' and 'Latok alpine' though.
outdoorco-op is a gem i'd not come across before. hey outdoorsmagic people, put them on your links. nie one.

Kevin - Rab dont make their goods in Sheffield no more, its made abroad (and thats proabably regardless of what it says on the label), i have a Latok Alpine, so far its doing okay, although i wish i had bought the longer version the Latok. And from what i have read (on here) about the Corrie i'm glad i dint wait to get one of those!

Yeah, I bought two Rab Neutrino Endurance jackets this week, and lo and behold "Made in China" adorns the label...

rab stuff carries the label 'made in sheffield' on many of thier products. however i have heard several people claim that they are in fact made elsewhere and merely assembled in sheffield. i do not know for certain, as i heard this information from several of thier competitors, but one day i will get round to finding out for sure

on rab question,
some stuff is still in sheffield, they have a factory and repair centre their, other stuff is overseas made, as it says on the label, you will find some sheffield stuff and some china stuff, possibly of the same product, this has been discussed on here as a rab thread somewhere, asides that it would be breaking the law i think,

as too alpine jkt i found it quite short and preferred the latok as it was longer and not too much heavier

hmmm. i've just wandered around trying various threads looking for who makes what and where esp Rab. Result - getting increasingly confused by the minute.
Just how do we go about finding info on these companies, what their policies are on manufacturing their goods, how accurate are their claims...
Or do we just say sod it, and buy the best quality we can for what we need. no matter who produces it and where. Perhaps this ought to have a thread all to itself. questions , questions, i'm off out to clear my head.

Don't worry Kevin, most of the stuff I've tried on that is now made in China (eg, Rab, Macpac, etc) is of an excellent quality.

But since I'm a kiwi living in the UK, I would've liked to see both companies doing good for their respective economies... Maybe they are, but I know that about 250 New Zealanders lost their jobs when Macpac moved their ops. To scale the relative populations, that's the equivalent of 3750 people in the UK losing their jobs...

Interesting to get everyones thoughts - I've been looking for a lightweight shell. I've been a big ME fan but thought packlite was very thin and the matrix jacket with XCR too roomy + expensive. So I went for the Alpine Latok. It is minimalist but appears rugged (yet to test).

One thing I've noticed (as others) is the short length. Is this a feature of an Alpine cut? I was thinking about getting the equivalent Rab trousers but wondered due to the jacket length if I shouldn't go for some salopettes with braces?

Can anyone advise on the Alpine Latok trousers or recommend a good match with a salopette style?

I am pretty sure that the Rab Latok jacket, which I have just returned for the second time, was Made in China. The jacket has had mixed reviews. It makes me wonder whether there is a bad batch out there somewhere. Anyway I just can't recommend it as it has to be the wettest waterproof I've ever owned. I now need to find a replacement. Any fruther recommendations? I wonder if the writer of the last review worked in sales for Rab?
I think the sleeping bags are still made in Sheffield, which would also inflence my choice.

Hi All
FWIW my Rab dealer reckons the Corrie is made in Venezuela!

[wow - able to edit a day after posting!]

I also work in an outdoors store and as much as I regeret to say it, the quality of the Rab stuff made in china is rather poor. i can only tell of what I have seen on shopfloor as i dont deal with returns. the stiches are messy, also lots of loose threads all around. the products may work, but I doubt they will work for long. I have seen other makes made in china and they are much better. this remainds me of Blacks own brand products (Technicals and Blacks). They were often quite well designed material wise etc, but the QC was very bad and although they were claimed to be made in the same factories as other brands(eg. THF and MH) you could tell the difference. I doubt it has changed but can`t tell for sure. I hope people from Rab read this and improve their QC.