Swanndri Mosgiel

[Rowantk]

Hi guys, as you may notice Im new to this forum. Im here just to gather information as over the last 8 months Ive been more interested in 'living off the land'. I think its amazing the amount of free, healthy food just staring us in the face everyday! So as im feeling the need to spend more time outside in nature I feel I need some good clothing. Especially for when winter comes. Last winter was no fun with out a proper coat!
So here comes my question. I want to get my hands on a Swanndri Mosgiel. These look good and have all the zips, pockets and hood a boy should ever need. But Id like to know if anyone has one? If so how good is it? Does it keep the wind out? As I heard it doesn't unless you get the 'extreme' version (which I cant seem to find anywhere on the net). I have read that the production was moved to China in 2005. Has this affected the qaulity of the coat?
If anyone could give me their opinions and maybe a good place to get one it would be much appreciated.

Cheers
Rowan

 

[mayfly]

For cold, reasonably dry conditions they are excellent. They are warm, weather resistant except in heavy persistent rain, and breathe well. Also great round fires. Highly recommended. Mine is about 3 years old and says made in China to Swanndri standards, and I'd say it is good quality. The only problem I have had is the zip in the hood which broke, but was easily enough replaced. The best thing IMO is the natural fibre breath-ability which means it is a great winter work jacket. Much better in most conditions than fleece/goretex/windstopper, especially if you are working woodland/hedgerows/lighting fires, etc. Chris

 

[Ogri the trog]

I'll echo the above comment, they are brilliant at keeping you warm when the weather is occasionally wet and often cold; if it becomes long term wet the rain will eventually seep through - at which point the moisture will also conduct heat away from you and it will get noticeably colder.
For those conditions you'll need something to keep the coat dry so it can work effectively - indeed, the ability to dry the coat whenever it has been raining is quite important to offset the accumilative effect of repeated soakings.
Personally I find the pockets to be quite small, but if they were much larger, I'd only fill them with junk where the weight would most likely distort the shape of the garment over time.

HTH

Ogri the trog

 

[Rowantk]

Thanks for the information guys. But one more thing....Sizes! I know these are alot bigger than your normal sizes. Im a 38 inch chest and around 5'10/11' tall. Thats with no tops on. Normal clothing Im more of a large. With the swanndri I probably will only wear a t-shirt and a jumper underneth. According to the size chart from Swanndri there isn't alot of difference between the sizes. The chest at armhole, bottom width and shoulder to shoulder are all 62cm on the medium and 65 cm on the large. Sleeve lengths are the same at 55.5cm (does that seem abit short?)

 

[marshall4771]

I think you need to look at a medium .

regards

Shaun

 

[Rowantk]

I think you need to look at a medium .

regards

Shaun

Thanks will do! I actually found a site in the UK selling these for £104!!!! they had 1 left in medium. I ordered it but then got an email saying that it couldn't be found. Gutted!! Looks like 139 quid is the next cheapest.