Walking and Climbing

No long sleeved base layers then? That's a dissapointment for us long armed freaks

I'm not surprised that not many stocked the slipstream over winter. Its got a really agressive tall/thin cut without much room underneath. Great for appropriately shaped folk in warmer weather but it did make me wonder why they launched it in Autumn

(actually it was precisely what I was after so a nice surprise. Those lovely long sleeves they often do too....).

Once again, the new RAB gear looks nice. I am pleased to see that they still haven't compromised their technical products with "high street fashion" influences which in my view preserves the integrity of RAB as a company.

 I am not sure about the new vapour rise although I already have one, as I have not tested it as yet, but I have yet to find any technical RAB clothing product that I am unhappy with - and cannot wait to get my hands of the new kit.

To be fair these are all from their lightweight/active etc range so are designed to be carried as much as anything else. They do longer things with storm flaps etc elsewhere

Their website does say that the current drillium and the latok alpine have internal storm flaps so I guess that the momentum probably does too. The slipstream just has a recessed zip (so some protection on the front) with a small storm flap behind it which might be slightly vunerable in truly awful weather.

There's maybe that and the breathability which I'm interested to experience - plenty of chances this summer I'd expect The rest seems very nice, especially the 'proper' hood rather than the cut away things found on many waterproofs round this weight/price.

I really don't get this thing which a lot of people seem to have about long jackets though - what ever is wrong with wearing overtrousers when required? Even these 'short' cuts have plenty of overlap. I just don't see why I'd want anything much longer except for walking round town or something. Certainly not in a waterproof designed to be carried.....

I really don't get this thing which a lot of people seem to have about long jackets though - what ever is wrong with wearing overtrousers when required?

Because O/Ts are a Work Of Stan that rustle with every step and need to be put on over footwear which is a PITA even with full zips.  Since they're typically not stretchy they have to be relatively baggy which means adding drag pullingg them over your thighs with every step, and they catch the wind so much better.

But you're right about the "designed to be carried" aspect, which is why, despite my loathing for O/Ts, I use short rain jackets.

Pete.

I've actually always got on well enough with overtrousers. Oh well

I have to agree about pockets though. PTC seems to have this very right - whats the point on having lots of pockets on all your layers if you're changing them all the time/they're sitting in your rucksack? So stick them on stuff you're wearing all the time and save the weight/weakness etc of the (frighteningly heavy in context!) zips on the layers.....

In the UK summer that means rucksack hip belt pockets, chest pouches etc as ideal and I guess trouser pockets - I can still get at these easily enough with overtrousers on the way I wear them.

I think I'd have to forgive the slipstream its side pockets/full length zip - they double as vents and the fabric probably needs the help.  It does all add weight of course. I guess the world is still waiting for a superlight Oz style smock in Event

Are you reading my e-mails Martin?

I actually e-mailed Montane this afternoon asking them to bring out an Oz style e-Vent smock! Minus that stupid wee pocket, and plain colour only. No lurid coloured trim.

Just mindreading I think

We may as well add a really good hood - none of this cut away nonsense - into the mix while we're at it! Not planning on holding my breath waiting.....

I guess that only a few factories have the tech needed to make the one piece construction from the Oz and the related thing from TNF work properly so it'd have to come from a big brand.  They just don't seem interested

Not going to have any casual appeal I suppose or I guess sell that well. Quite a few of the superlight TNF smocks on sale round Manchester this Autumn. Dreadful fit on me or I might have got one. Yet to see an Oz.

Anyone who thinks they need a map pocket in a summer weight waterproof should ask themselves where they're going to put their map when walking in their base layer

I hope they've sorted out the stitching and general poor quality control with the new vapourise lite, the current model is poor to say the least (certainly the one I bought and several others I tried on).

For one reason or another I spent an elongated time deciding whether or not to buy a vapourise so managed to see a variety of sizes and colours in different retailers around the north of england.  Many of the jackets I looked at had poor finishing where material had not been cut cleanly and stitching was coming loose especially on the sleeves (on both sleeves in more than location on the one I eventually purchased).

The poor stitching seems to be quite common issue, a couple of people on the forums here have also commented on it. This is exaserbated by the fact that vapour rise jackets and smocks use single stitching throughout, which I think is a very poor design choice (not limited to Rab) on a jacket such as this.

When I returned the jacket to Cotswold I was told that (in their opinion) the quality of Rab gear had dipped considerably since they moved production to China a couple of years ago, this I find is also a common problem, and not the first time I have returned Chinese produced goods (from leading manufacturers) for faulty stitching.

It's a real shame as the materials were of good quality and fit wise the jacket was perfect for me, I have broad shoulders and find many jackets fit nicely on the body but sleeves are too short.  If they improved the quality control and used double stitching without increasing the price, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another one.

Going back to the theme of Longer Length Jackets Rab used to make one called the Loften, it even had pockets at the bottom that sat below a rucksack hip belt however for some reason they stopped making them about two years ago.  Now the best they have is the Bergen.

If like me you try to avoid overtrousers wherever possible the best alternative is a pair of decent soft shell trousers and gaitors with a longer length Shell.  

The Drillium, I owned then sold, its not really an all-rounder, and two annoying features for cycling:

• it tight around the hips  which makes it ride-up when cycling so no rain protection at a very forward-facing area which catches all the rain falling off the torso. You have to combine with leggings to not make that whole crotch and upper-thigh area get soaked. A longer cut with a two-way zip which means you can split the lower will provide better protection.
• the sleeves, huge long large, makes sense for when wearing large gloves but I found they caught easily on the bike handlebars, not safe.

Martin Carpenter wrote (see)

I really don't get this thing which a lot of people seem to have about long jackets though - what ever is wrong with wearing overtrousers when required?

Well you're ideally looking for a jacket long enough to drip onto the thigh below shorts for warm+wet conditions. Ideally also a two-way zip so you can unzip the lower few inches to cover the thighs then cycling or scrambling (high leg gape), and without pockets down there which chaff the thigh.

Basically the Drillium but much longer.

A jacket which sheds so well but you're forced to wear waterproof trousers is a missed opportunity in jacket design. If you're thinking an expensive jacket for all-rounder.

Interesting about the Rab quality. I bought a pair of their event gaiters and I reckon the stitching is not that good. I also have issues with the elastic top cord not keeping them up. They tend to look like Nora Batty gaiters. I have also stripped the outer sheath on the elastic shock cords somehow trying to get them to stay up. It now means I need to somehow un pick the tops and replace the drawstrings / shock cord. All in all I would say great fabric the eVent, poor product. I reckon the eVent fabric is not stiff enough to hold them up or I should have got a longer length so they go to the top of my lower leg and hold in place, but I am not sure they come in an XXL length.

I do like the 3M scotchlite reflective bits on it though. But I absolutely hate them now. I only wear the gaiters when I have to wear overtrousers, which is not very often. I prefer to rely on my walking trousers drying quickly when wet through.

It is also interesting peoples' comments about length of clothing. I used to like Montane for the tall / long / thin sizing. I had the original Montane Dynamo jacket and absolutely love it for fit, performance and versatility. I loved it so much that when I saw the new, updated dynamo jacket going for half price I got one. However they have tinkered with the fit. I have exactly the same size and the arms seem marginally shorter, not a problem as the old jacket was marginally long. However the body of the jacket is now no longer close fitting it bellows out too much on me, despite my extended central dimensions these days. Why change the close fit of a jacket whose fabric relies on it to perform. Pertex Equilibruim is a thin, directional wicking fabric, however to work at its best it needs to contact the layer underneath. The old one (bought for £100 many years ago when it came out) was perfect for this, the new is not. Why tinker with an almost perfect jacket? I mean the dynamo was only really for the biking / fast moving, aerobic type of outdoors type, who generally seem to be more athletic. Still I still like it and at £32 I can;t complain.

Has anyone else spotted any re-vamped item that has actually produced an inferior product for its application?

Montane just seem obsessed with tinkering with things! Look at the average lifespan of their top end event shells or them canning the kinetic for instance Sounds like the dynamo I got last year has the old cut.... 

Montane certainly seem to do all sorts of different cuts. Some of them are more mainstream, others are a bit more athletic.

Their micropile stuff shows this a lot - the Krypton was cut very differently than the Duality and the Scarab is very different again. Just aimed at different uses I guess - the duality is cut as a super technical next to skin smock (and lovely with it) but the scarab for a mainstream jacket. I know which I prefer but probably in a minority

Actually RAB aren't perfectly consistent either - as well as the usual tall/thin with long arms they seem to do some stuff in a more mainstream cut (fleeces etc) and a few bits in an even longer/thinner cut..... (Slipstream, VR stretch top etc).