Don't fancy my chances here, but did anyone buy one of the 'special' minimus jackets in the last sale with the longer cut in an XL, and now fancies selling it?
As an even longer shot, did anyone fancy the above and fancy trading for a Ultra vest in XL?!
Planting trees in Scottish Highlands keeps me out for hours on end in all weathers. Always bending down and kneeling. My backside gets wet, even though I wear waterproofs andtwo weeks ago I became quite ill with kidney pains. Better now and desperately looking for waterproofs that allow me to move but also keep me dry. Any suggestion?
Not quite the same, but I've just finished 3 years of field work on St Kilda doing ecological surveying.... constant bending over and kneeling, quite a lot of walking and scrambling followed by hours of standing about getting cold, for up to 8 hours a day in all weather up to and including force 9 rainstorms. Tried out various waterproofs and the best by far in the colder months was my Paramo Halcon. Loose fitting so no problems with movement, long enough to keep my arse dry (I'm 6'3"), warm in the cold but with enough venting options for when you're on the move and tough enough to take some abuse.
I know Paramo divides people on here, but I honestly can't recommend it enough for actually doing stuff outside in Scottish rain.
Did you try on any of their Proof fabric jackets? I was all set on getting a Cirque until I tried one on... while it felt like a great jacket I couldn't get on with how 'crisp-packety' the Pro Shell fabric felt.
Ended up getting a Haglofs Zenith (basically a Spitz made of Proof), which feels much nicer and has a certain amount of stretch to it (and was half price in Cotswold to boot).
Still have to see how it performs long-term, but have worn it out in some pretty heavy rain and hail storms in the western isles and very happy so far (do miss having proper hand warmer pockets though).
My Rab Bergen (2009? model) too a couple of years of regular abuse and not much care before it began wetting through on the arms, so I'd say there's definitely something not right with yours.
After a reasonably priced bivi for occasional summer use in Scotland (thinking Rab Survival Zone, Alpkit Hunka XL, army surplus, something like that), which has a decent length as I'm 6'3 and use a long bag.
Tom Black
