Recommendations on a Ventile Jacket

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iamasmith

Forager
Aug 12, 2009
128
1
London
Hi folks, my first posting here.

Apologies if 1st posts asking about Ventile is like going into a guitar shop and playing Stairway to Heaven :)

I try to get out and about quite a lot and am interested in Bushcraft, particularly in learning to forage better in my surroundings.

My experience to date has been camping in various locations, simply out under the stars in quite a lot in national parks in the states and in the UK I attended one of the Life Support Training Services short expedition skills courses up in the lake district where we had a lot of fun rigging bashas, making fire's with magnesium blocks, filtering our water with Millbank bags and then it got energetic on our simulation with one of our rather heavy instructors playing casualty and we had to carry him over a lot of rough ground and through rivers.. my knees took a couple of weeks to recover from that :p

I have also done a LOT of hillwalking and when I was younger I was a keen climber which has given me some additional experience and caution.

Anyway, I digress. I'm also a Geocacher and it's a great way of getting me to go to locations that I wouldn't have thought of. I'm happiest when I'm really pushing through thorns and twigs and generally getting the scent of the woods on me. I find that green smell that sticks to you after a long walk with a lot of this kind of activity to be fantastic and it all adds to the sense of calm and satisfaction later.

So, I love being out in the woods and the thicker the woods the better which brings me back to the jacket.

I ruin jackets in no time. I wore out a North Face HiVent jacket in about 2 months.. even after treating it with TX Direct (or whatever the Granger reproofing stuff is) it's basically a sponge again after a couple of my outings.

Somebody mentioned that Ventile was a great material and I sense there are a few fans around here? I'm guessing some of you probably know the pros and cons of the garments that seem to be available in the UK so I would really appreciate some pointers.

You see the usage profile that I'm talking about and I guess that a single layer Ventile jacket is probably adequate for me in most cases.

I do get a little more demanding in the winter when we go to Scotland because I don't get a chance to walk until the kids go to bed. This often means nighttime walks on the hills and moors in snowy conditions in the dark.

Maybe I'm looking for a totally different set of clothes but with the right jacket perhaps just layers are the answer.

So, I was pointed straight at the West Winds Tempest by one of the Park Rangers from the Peak District National Park over on the Live for the Outdoors site. He loves his Ventile gear and I believe this is what they issue to their folks.

I notice that Snowsled have a Wilderness Jacket that looks the same.. perhaps a few extra options to pick from in configuration of cuffs (and P9 or Ventile for the inner layer - would definitely go with Ventile if I went with that).

Those were the contenders for the two layer that I was looking at. Now the single layer ones that I'm guessing are actually more appropriate.

The West Winds Cairngorm? Nasty meshy lining but you can't have everything.

The West Winds Airedale? More of the same?

It looks like BCUK did a jacket (with West Winds?) that looks better and has a nice wired hood and none of that horrible elastic stuff.. is this still available??

One last thing, have a little concession towards being articulate would be great. I don't shy away from reasonably serious scrambling and it would be great if the jacket doesn't ride around.

So, that's as far as I've got and I'm still a little undecided. It would be nice to hear from happy customers or otherwise that own and know these garments warts and all. Other garments suggestions would be great too but I would say my preference at present is pro jacket and anti smock. Perhaps this is unjustified but I like to have the freedom to have the thing open from time to time.

Any comments folks?

Kind regards,

Andy Smith
 

topknot

Maker
Jun 26, 2006
1,825
2
59
bristol
Hi, got two ventile tops one smock and one jacket and they are good. The Bushcraft one is good, look in the shop bit at the top of page or Neil1 makes them up.
Cheers Topknot.
 

iamasmith

Forager
Aug 12, 2009
128
1
London
Thanks for the responses folks.

The link seems just to take me to the forums main page speedstar. Do you have the title of the posting? I could try searching for that specifically.

Topknot, the store looks a little empty and doesn't mention the Jacket. I found some old articles by searching which is why I was asking if it was still available.

Stretch3144, thanks I'll take a look at the Keela stuff too ^^
 

Silverclaws

Forager
Jul 23, 2009
249
1
Plymouth, Devon
I had a Survival Aids double ventile artic ranger jacket for years, it was my mountaineering / camping jacket and the only thing useful in really wet weather, I loved it, but it had it's faults. The biggest thing about it that used to annoy, was in severe wet weather, the damp came through where rucksack staps went over the shoulders, also when it got soaked, it took on an effect that one could stand it up in the corner of a room, it was so stiff. When wet, aye, it is windproof, but it felt so clammy and cold. Crawling into backpacking tents, the coat stayed in the porch when it was wet, and there stayed wet until the next morning. Putting that coat on in the morning is yukky, but it soon dried when the weather was good. Maybe I should have reprrofed it now and again, but at the time, I did'nt like the stink of silicone, still don't and I was a natural fibre man, only cotton, silk and wool were worn.

I don't have it now, my mum chucked it out, she never did like my utilitarian (scruffy) looks and the ventile got it.

Ventile, is has a big following, but be aware, it has it's faults.
 

coln18

Native
Aug 10, 2009
1,125
3
Loch Lomond, Scotland
you could try a company up in based up in scotland called hillrek, there site is www.hilltrek.co.uk. I bought a single ventile smock and a double ventile jacket and never have them off when im out and about, i was told about these ventile smocks by the woodlore (ray mears) school of bushcraft staff who all wore these smocks...hope this helps
 

AndySabol

New Member
Dec 16, 2008
2
0
39
Slovakia
I´ve been wearing a Braemar smock from Hilltrek for almost a year now. The smock is very well made, material is softer than on my West Winds Safari shirt, there are no seams on shoulders and the cut is long enough. But the hood design is really bad. The hood is not large enough for me, it´s so small I can´t use it. But I like the Braemar smock so much that I asked Bill and Dave to make me a single layer Ventile Braemar (jacket) with full lenght zip, two handwarmer pockets, one inner pocket and with much larger hood than the original. I don´t want a double layer. I think single layer of Ventile is much more versatile. I live in eastern Slovakia and we don´t have so much rain here.
I can really recommend Hilltrek.
 

tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
4,494
556
54
Rossendale, Lancashire
Before I larded up I wore a Snowsled Wilderness and it's the muts, far better than the WestWinds I currently use, which is still a good jacket but it's let down by the detailing, especially around the cuffs.

What I'm mainly using is a Snowsled Classic Smock, which I love to bits although I now wish I had coughed to have a couple of hand warmer pockets put on it. Ok its not a jacket but since I'm a fan of pertex and pile tops for winter use I will be using it over them when needed and thats as weather proof as I'll need. If I remember right its the only material the designer of the Buffalo shirt would countance going over the top, everything else compromised the breathability of the shirt.

Now to lose enough weight to get back into my Wilderness!

ATB

Tom
 

tedw

Settler
Sep 3, 2003
513
3
67
Cambridgeshire, UK
'Nother recommendation for the lovely single-layer Hilltrek smock. Love mine, and the company was happy to tailor in a few extra's for me.

Ted W
 

Mikey P

Full Member
Nov 22, 2003
2,257
12
52
Glasgow, Scotland
If you look at the BCUK jacket, it's made by Westwinds and is very similar to the Airedale (some differences with internal linings/pockets).

I use a single layer BCUK jacket nearly everyday and it's very breathable and robust. It has an excellent cut if you get the right size and the large pockets are very useful and well located. They are NOT waterproof, they are water resistant and will wet out in heavy rain.

As mentioned above, as long as you understand the limitations of Ventile, they are excellent jackets; however, if rain is forecast, I will still carry a lightweight Goretex mountaineering jacket so I can be sure of staying dry. Depending on what I'm actually doing, I often wear the Goretex under the Ventile.
 

susi

Nomad
Jul 23, 2008
421
0
Finland
Can recommend the SASS Kit "ventile" Smock. Had one delivered to me here in Finland and it seems to breathe slightly better than my G-1000 jacket (fjäll räven).
 

Nonsuch

Life Member
Sep 19, 2008
1,862
1
Scotland, looking at mountains
OK here we go by a Ventile nut who's spent far too much money in search of the perfect Ventile jacket and finally found there isn't one ! :

Off the shelf :

Westwinds Tempest 2-3 layer : *. Very waterproof and well made but weird lower pockets and hood design. Sold it on.
Westwinds single layer smock : ****. Really well made, will leak eventually though as it's only single layer. Light and fast-drying.
Hilltrek single layer smock : *** : Same as above. Cheaper, hood too small so ask for a larger size. Really great people and service.
Hilltrek Glencoe jacket double layer ** : good jacket, very waterproof, more for shooting than walking, hood too small so ask for a larger size. Great service
SAS Ventile-type Smock (basic) : **** Excellent design and workmanship although quite a fussy design if used just as a walking jacket and sized HUGE. Double-layered over hood and shoulders so keeps rain out well and dries quite fast. Great service. Despite the name, a "jacket" design which will suit you

Made to order :

Hiltrek own design double layer smock : ****. Bigger hood specified and chest-level hand-warmer pockets
SAS Force 8 smock in real Ventile with lower handwarmer pockets specified : ***** Just about perfect but a fussy design for hillwalking. Jacket design

For bushcraft, I now wear the Westwinds single layer smock, over thermals, as a kind of shirt, and then pull the Ventile SAS Force 8 smock on over the top if the weather's horrible. Something to note - Ventile rips easily on barbed wire and takes on a scruffy stone-washed look pretty quickly. It also goes thread-bare at the cuffs and folds but doesn't fray. These last points may not bother you.

I used to subscribe to the idea of pulling a goretex over the top of Ventile when the weather came down very hard but found that everything underneath the goretex got soaked from condensation.

For mountains I wear Paramo. No contest.

Just my personal opinions - don't mean to tread on anyone's toes

Nonsuch
 

Tiley

Life Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,364
374
60
Gloucestershire
I'll put in a plug for the Keela Falkland. It doesn't look too military, it does pretty well at keeping out the mucky weather, it's good value for what you get and you get a really good selection of usable pockets. But, as has been mentioned earlier in this thread, it is Ventile which, like every other outdoor jacket currently available, does have its drawbacks. When I'm in the woods, I wear my Keela (sometimes - not very often - the Bison SAS-type jacket thing); when I'm out on the hills, I wear my Paramo.
 

steven andrews

Settler
Mar 27, 2004
528
2
50
Jersey
I have been very impressed by the quality and customer care from Snowsled.
I have two Classic hooded smocks, though will be selling one of them as I have recently bought this Stormshirt with pockets of my own design, which Snowsled added for a very reasonable fee (faces of my long-suffering family removed to protect the innocent!):



I love my Merino Possum hat. When the Missus felt it she asked me to get her one too!
 

Grayfox

Tenderfoot
Dec 6, 2009
55
0
North West Lancashire
FWIW I have a Country innovations Double Ventile Rover Jacket. This is superb but expensive.
I also have the Stealth Gear Photographers jacket and trousers. This is also superb and has almost replaced the DV jacket. It is tough, warm, and except for a few minor niggles a brilliant piece of kit if you are an outdoors photographer.
 

tetra_neon

Forager
Oct 1, 2005
113
0
E Mids
Is ventile particularly difficult to work with? I have an Aunt who is a wicked seamstress - she makes bespoke upholstery for VW Campers.

Does anyone know if the swelling-action of Ventile would need some special sort of stitching techniques?
 

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