Rohan Sale - great deals on Winter Softshell Trousers

Peter Clinch wrote (see

I must admit I'm struggling against the "but I already have something to do that" voices...

they have certainly come out with a few winners in the past few years, if you can spot them amongst the travel/leisure stuff.

I know what you mean, but I've been pleasantly surprised with some of that other stuff too.  Why would you get a T or a polo from Rohan when even if it's in the sale it's 3 times as much as you can get them elsewhere?  Well, it turned out that by my standards they're much more comfortable and versatile and last better than the alternatives.  So they're my default slumming around shirts these days, and have been for a few years now.  I don't wear them up hills etc., but just for day to day.  But they'll do hills too if you want.

Pete.

I still have 3 late 80s Safari shirts in general rotation as work shirts.  They just refuse to wear out and are light, practical and comfortable.

Pete.

I agree Pete, I've also got a fine collection of Rohan polo plus shirts, a couple of which are 20 years old now and still look good with hardly any wear (and they've never seen an iron).  So at £30 in the sale they're a bargain, although I wasn't tempted this year.

However the last time I went into a Rohan shop, in Manchester, the Striders were nowhere to be seen (ok it was spring), the merino t-shirts were hidden away at the back behind some other more conventional t-shirts and the ultra t-shirts and underpants were in small plastic containers hanging off hooks on the wall.  If you wanted a look, you had to reach over another display to knock them  off their hook and catch them as they fell.  No sign whatsoever they were suitable for ultralightweight backing.

No wonder some people think of Rohan like this.....

Bedouin wrote (see)

Jonny, couldn't agree more.... it appears to me that they target affluent older people who want outdoor style clothing but are never going to do more than walk along the Thames path for Sunday afternoon cream tea OR go on 5 Star everything included tours of foreign cultural sites like the Taj Mahal i.e. very dapper and quintessentially English!

Striders seem really well made so bought a pair.Thanks again for the info.

As for Safari shirts circa 1988 i use to weigh 11 stone then,not any more!

it appears to me that they target affluent older people who want outdoor style clothing but are never going to do more than walk along the Thames path for Sunday afternoon cream tea

I would say that probably describes some of their customers, but that doesn't mean that the clothes they take their cream tea in wouldn't be out of place in far more challenging places.

If you don't take that into account it would be like saying that Rab and North Face target schemies who want outdoor style clothing but are never going to do more than hang around town.

And to be fair I think a great deal of the gear junkies on OM, certainly the one typing this, have gear that will do far higher spec stuff than it ever gets used for.  Mostly I know this because I've done the same stuff in less fancy gear, and still done it and had fun.

You could also drop "Berghaus"(amongst others) into the description above, of course.

Stuff like their Ts and business suits are differently technical, rather than not technical but with an outdoors brand name sewn on.  But rather than paying for stuff which will breathe well climbing a mountain with a pack on, it's stuff that you can take out of a bag at an airport hotel and turn up at a meeting not looking like a Crumple Zone.  Obviously we don't all have use of that sort of stuff (I don't for their suits, I don't own or use suits), but they're not trying to sell the idea that an Envoy suit is Just The Thing for the smart mountaineer on top of the Ben (or indeed for a dander along the Thames path for a cream tea).  I use their stuff more for day to day than up hills, but there are increasing numbers of good technical items in their range again.

Pete.

I still associate Rohan with travel clothing not so much tech hill walking clothing.When I use to travel a lot for months at a time i use to take 1 bags,1 shorts 1 tropical top one safari shirt plus other essentials and have a tiny hand luggage type bag.Wash in the evening ready to wear next day.

So packed size,quick drying and secure pockets were great for adventourous 3rd world travel.

LoveSupreme, thanks for the heads up.  How do you find the fit of your Striders?

I nipped into the Cardiff shop at lunch to try on a pair:  I'm a 32" waist, but the 32" trousers were too big, in fact measured against the trousers I was wearing I would say they'd fit a 34" ok.  Unfortunately they didn't have any 30" ones to compare.

Yes, the leg length was fine.   Just wondered if you found the waist sizing a bit on the generous side?

In most other brands (eg. ME, Rab, Montane), a 32"/Medium fits me perfectly.  The 32" Striders were definitely an inch or two larger than those, so am wondering if the 30" waist would fit nicely or be slightly too small.

There are obviously a few here who use Rohan gear, so I was just wondering if any of you have one of the simple caps they used to do -- blue-grey colour, with an elestic cord fitted with a cord lock at the back. I bought one about 10 years ago or so, in size m, and wore it a lot until my son commandeered it when he was about five years old. Problem is he's now lost it, and he really liked it. I can't seem to find anything quite like it -- the cap Rohan do now is a bloody abomination, and very expensive. If any of you do have the old model and no longer use it, I'd be happs to buy it off you.

Cheers all.

I has a pair of Superstrider breeches when I did the Pennine Way...vgwelrfvhel years ago; way too many zips

But the Elite troos at 200g for a 'travel' pair were too good a deal to miss at 05:00 this morning; must have been sleep deprivation...not keen on 'patch' pockets.