pile jacket.. help needed!!

[jack5319]

im in the market for a pile jacket/smock; i have been looking at buffalo special 6, montane extreme and snugpak. if anyone has experience with these please can they share your review.. i have a friend who speaks very highly of the montane. also if there are anymore brands out the which may be better value/quality for the money. any info will be appreciated!

cheers jack

 

[Mike8472]

The montane extremes i found were funny in their fitting; the sleaves were short and the body fit was very much on the small side. Im normally a large and had to go for an extra large to get one to fit.

i own a buffalo mountain shirt which is almost the same as special 6 shirt, the 6 has a longer scooped back and is made of a better pertex outer shell. Im a 42 chest and 5'11 and a size 42 shirt fits me perfectly. I only wear a wicking t-shirt under it. It is extremely warm and only comes out in winter as its too warm to wear any other time of year. Ive owned my mountain shirt for nine years now and its still going strong

i also own a snugpak pile shirt, it is a larger fit than the buffalo tops. I have a size medium in that and there is bags of room left in it. Very warm but the pile lining isnt in the same league as the buffalo shirts.
the biggest piece of advice would be to avaid the elite pile shirts as they use a horrible pile inside those which i found really itchy and annoying. It is alot cheaper than the standard pile shirt but the itchyness is too much of a trade off.

snugpak= gets used most as its not as warm as the buffalo
buffalo= my favourite! Only used in coldest months, very comfortable! More expensive than the snugpak.

 

[MikeLA]

Buffalo 100% great also try Helly Hansen Pile jacket Penrith survival still sell

 

[snozz]

Seconded on the Helly Hansen - if you're small enough ... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Helly-Han..._Men_s_Coats_Jackets&var=&hash=item7dbe7018d6

Or these are great knockabout fleeces. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/North-Cap..._Men_s_Coats_Jackets&var=&hash=item7b68eea041

I've got one of the Montane over the head pile fleeces and it's been fantastic. Had it about 10 years and still going strong.

Snozz

 

[jack5319]

cheers guys great info! really appreciated!

 

[woof]

As Mike84 said the buffalo is king !. Like Mike, i also have the snugpak & its not as warm & they come up on the big side. My buff(special 6) is a 46 though now threadbare through use, & i can wear the snugpak large over the top of it, the snugpaks are cheaper, & this type of garment does'nt pack down that well.


Rob

 

[Uilleachan]

Have to say IMO the Double Helly field jacket is great buy, helly are still making them in small numbers, they're still doing singles too, although only in navy blue. As mentioned above a brief search turns up "penrith survival" with a reasonable stock across the size range there are a few other stockiest too;

http://www.penrithsurvival.com/buy/...-jacket-hard-wearing-pile-field-jacket_67.htm

This is made from one of the earliest types of fiber material, one of several that were on the market way back when this type of thing first came out around 35 or 40 years ago. However the helly hansen fiber weave was different to all the others and has proven to be the hardest wearing, by a long long way. This early stuff was constructed by tucking the individual fiber through a light mesh substrate layer. Helly hansen's process was different in that each fiber was individually tied to the mesh layer, they still do both a single and double version, single means the fiber is present on one side of the mesh layer, the double both sides. The only one I've ever heard of being worn out was the result of a motor bike crash and contact with the road.

The up shot of the double pile weave was that it created a material combination thats seemingly indestructible, the harder you use it, the tougher it gets. It starts off light and supple and gradually the outer layer of weave matts up like dreadlocks retaining good insulation whilst creating an incredibly hard wearing almost protective layer, whilst not stab proof certainly slash proof

Doesn't like flames as with any synthetic but thats about it. A pal of mine still has and wears his double helly field jacket (and salopettes, anyone remember these?) that he bought second hand in 1983. I've been through a couple simply because I sold one in the mid 80's when I ran out of money and I lost another I was using for work when the work van was reepo'ed due to the company going bust in 2000.

I've got two these days, one of early 90's vintage thats been worked and climbed in and another almost brand new at 6 or 7 years old. I'd highly recommend one, it'll last a generation +

 

[Chris the Cat]

Kev ( Endicotts ) has some of the Norwegian 80/20 Helly fleeces in I think!?
( thats 80% wool outer )

da C.

 

[bearbait]

I've been using assorted Buffalo gear for many many years and rate it highly. But, as an earlier responder says, the Mountain Shirt is very warm - despite the venting options - if you are at all active. I wear a merino base layer under mine, a Special 6.

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