SWAZI TAHR on ebay

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Nonsuch

Life Member
Sep 19, 2008
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Scotland, looking at mountains
On a related subject the Ridgeline Monsoon Mk II has been released in NZ and is on its way here. It is a Tahr clone for about £100. New hood and cuff design on the new model.

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As a big fan of the Roar jacket, I can't wait to try the Monsoon II when the stock gets to the UK.

http://www.madmikes.co.nz/Products/79-ridgeline-monsoon-ii-jacket.aspx
 
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Bushcraft Apprentice

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Aug 15, 2010
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Shewie

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What's the story with the Monsoon then, are they making it on license from Swazi or something, it's far too similar for them to just let it be copied like that.

Anybody had any experience of RL-TEX ?
 

johnboy

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Oct 2, 2003
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What's the story with the Monsoon then, are they making it on license from Swazi or something, it's far too similar for them to just let it be copied like that.

Anybody had any experience of RL-TEX ?

Rich,

That style of over the head 'anorak' is a pretty common style of outdoor garment here in NZ. The Thar it'self owes a nod to say the Swanndri Mosgiel. So I'm not sure it's a Swazi design infringement if Ridgeline use it TBH. Plus there seem to be a heap of Thar clones over here of one sort or another. Having seen the a Swazi Thar and Ridgeline, Hunting & Fishing and Hunters Element clones the Swazi by far and away has the better CMT of them which is reflected in the price. But then it's made down in Levin not Guangzhou or Shenzhen...

For a bit of 'bushcraft' the Ridgeline is fine.

Cheers

John
 

Shewie

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Dec 15, 2005
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Rich,

That style of over the head 'anorak' is a pretty common style of outdoor garment here in NZ. The Thar it'self owes a nod to say the Swanndri Mosgiel. So I'm not sure it's a Swazi design infringement if Ridgeline use it TBH. Plus there seem to be a heap of Thar clones over here of one sort or another. Having seen the a Swazi Thar and Ridgeline, Hunting & Fishing and Hunters Element clones the Swazi by far and away has the better CMT of them which is reflected in the price. But then it's made down in Levin not Guangzhou or Shenzhen...

For a bit of 'bushcraft' the Ridgeline is fine.

Cheers

John

Yeah good point

I asked my folks to keep an eye out for a cheap Tahr when they went to NZ a few years ago, my dad rang me up one day to say they'd found some Stoney Creek gear which was very similar. He wasn't wrong either but I decided to stick it out for a Swazi ...

http://www.stoneycreekshop.co.nz/stoney-creek-hunting-gear/jackets.html
 

johnboy

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Oct 2, 2003
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Yeah good point

I asked my folks to keep an eye out for a cheap Tahr when they went to NZ a few years ago, my dad rang me up one day to say they'd found some Stoney Creek gear which was very similar. He wasn't wrong either but I decided to stick it out for a Swazi ...

http://www.stoneycreekshop.co.nz/stoney-creek-hunting-gear/jackets.html

Aye,

Stoney Creek is another 'hunting' clothing brand over here.

You'd be hard pressed to find a Tahr anywhere cheap here TBH Maybe on trademe but they fetch a good price on there also.

They are very well regarded here mainly by the guys doing a lot of Open tops hunting in the Alpine environment.

Swazi have only a few physical retail outlets. Mainly RD1 which is a Rural / Farming type store, farmers are not short of a Dollar and want stuff that works and lasts. I think Swazi have a couple of outlet shops also there is definately one in Levin at the factory as I've popped into it a couple of times, and the odd retailer which are very few and far between.

I think they pulled out of all of the mainstream hunting retailers here as they all have the cheaper Ridgelines, Stoney Creek type kit... All that was allegedly happening was the retailers were using the Swazi Kit to sell against. "You could have the $700 Tahr but this $200 Ridgeline is almost the same".....

If I get anything from Swazi It's generally via the Web and the Clansman set up...

Personally I wouldn't buy a Ridgeline Waterproof I looked at a lot of waterproofs last year when I was looking to replace my old Berghaus and I wasn't overly impressed TBH, Ridgelines fleece kit is fine and I they have some really nice lightweight trousers and shirts which I have a set of and they are ok.

Cheers

John
 

Scipio

Member
May 1, 2011
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No doubt some idiot will pay over the odds for it. It's already at £300 ! Fools and there money are easily parted.

I have a piece of toilet paper which is the same toilet paper as Ray Mears uses. If I put a roll of it on E-Bay do you think someone will give me a couple of hundred pounds for it seeing as it`s the toilet paper that Ray Mears chooses to use? lol.
 

johnboy

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Oct 2, 2003
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I have a piece of toilet paper which is the same toilet paper as Ray Mears uses. If I put a roll of it on E-Bay do you think someone will give me a couple of hundred pounds for it seeing as it`s the toilet paper that Ray Mears chooses to use? lol.

Aye maybe.. but if you crunch the numbers...

A new Woodlore Swazi Tahr is GBP 395.00
A regular Swazi Tahr is NZ$ 634 which is GBP 320 ish. But doesnt cover postage to the UK and any import duty you might get hit for....

The one on Ebay sold for GBP 330.56 and was 'allegedly' BNWT..

So if it was BNWT it sold for about the right amount for what it is...
 

Nonsuch

Life Member
Sep 19, 2008
1,862
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Scotland, looking at mountains
I looked into the breathability stats, whatever that means in real life, on the Ridgeline Monsoon (RL Tex ?) material vs the Gore-tex on the Tahr. I reckon it's about a third to a half. I have the Roar (same material) and it definitely gets wetter from condensation on the inside faster than a comparable Gore-tex product, and both get wetter inside than a non-membrane garment. The stitching and taping on the Ridgeline products is also not as good as on the Swazi products and the little details like drawcords etc are not as nice.

EDIT - got some hard breathability stats : Ridgeline RL Tex is 1,008 g/m/24 hours, Goretex Proshell is 27,000 g/m/24hrs, so ....err....the Ridgeline stuff hardly breathes at all compared to Gore Tex.

But - hey - it's a great garment for the money if you aren't going to be moving around much, it will keep you dry and breathe a bit. It is probably up to hanging around in the rain, shooting, general outdoor living, and you could buy 3 for the price of the Tahr.

I have the Roar version of the Mk1 Monsoon and I find the hood design a real pig - you can't stuff it away in the collar because it is so thick and it feels like wearing a neck brace, and if you have it loose it is only attached at the back and flaps around all over the place. I ended up stitching the front "arms" of the hood to the sides of the collar so that it sits in the right place and am now very happy with it. It looks like they have solved this with the new hood design on the Monsoon II (a copy of the Swazi design I think). That's what got me interested.
 
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Nonsuch

Life Member
Sep 19, 2008
1,862
1
Scotland, looking at mountains
Just an update on the Ridgeline "Roar" Mk2 jacket, the full zip version of the Monsoon, which has now been released as well (= clone of the Swazi Wapiti). They've got the new very much improved hood and cuffs, and it comes in the new "teak" colour, which is great, BUT they have decided to make the bottom "cartridge" pockets non-bellows and quite a bit smaller, which is a bit dumb if this coat is targeted, as I believe it is, at shotgun shooters. They're still useable, but not as useable as the huge bellows pockets on the Mk1. Oops. Just in case anyone is interested...
 

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