west winds/snowsled

[Graham_S]

i'm looking into getting a ventile smock. i've found these two manufacturers make pretty much what i'm looking for.
does anyone have a smock by either of these companies?
the snowsled smock is a bit more expensive, is it worth paying a bit more for it?
"G"

 

[greg2935]

I bought the west winds ventile smock some 8-ish years ago, it was reasonably well made, and very proffesional, not all the seams were properly cleaned up though and I found the niggling bits of cotton annoying until I cut them off myself. The quality of ventile they used was first class and the jacket has been used on avarage 2x per week for the last 8 years so I think I have had plenty of wear out of it. The cotton used to sew the seams started to rot about 4 years ago so repairs have had to be made since then. I also had to "proof" it for the first time last year as the water proof qualities has deteriorated through constant rubbing of the fibres: some bits have got a little thin!

 

[steven andrews]

i'm looking into getting a ventile smock. i've found these two manufacturers make pretty much what i'm looking for.
does anyone have a smock by either of these companies?
the snowsled smock is a bit more expensive, is it worth paying a bit more for it?
"G"

I have a Snowsled Classic and a West Winds Antarctic.
The Snowsled is much better and completely worth the extra cost.
I wish I'd bought another Snowsled instead of the West Winds.

 

[addyb]

Westwinds has been around for 8 years? Wow. I only discovered the website in March. Fancy that!

 

[marshall4771]

I'm very impressed with my Bison ventile smock from Bison Bushcraft AKA Roger H.
Good hood, full length zip and four good pockets, there are also attachment loops in the top left pocket for tying kit to.

Shaun

 

[falcon]

I notice Country Innovation do one as well at similar price.

 

[Stuart]

I have a bespoke snowsled jacket, its superb

 

[innocent bystander]

I have the west winds windshirt thing and an antarctic smock. The shirt is great, but i admit i would like to mod the antarctic - lose the velcro, mod the inner flap for better venting -that sort of thing. It'd be quite good with some changes..

 

[leon-1]

I have a west winds short parka (sadly no longer available), a windshirt, two shirts and a pair of trousers, they all are pretty respectable bits of kit.

 

[steven andrews]

The shirt is great, but i admit i would like to mod the antarctic - lose the velcro, mod the inner flap for better venting -that sort of thing. It'd be quite good with some changes..

My thoughts exactly!
The pockets of the Antarctic smock are awful. I would like lose the velcro and get buttons attached. I agree on the inner baffle too. I really can't understand why they designed it like that.
Also, when the zip is done up it grates on your throat/chin because there is no material behind it at the top, where it matters!

A big let down. Wearing the Antarctic puts me in a bad mood - mainly because of the throat-grater.

The Snowsled is vastly superior - if only I hadn't tried to save the £30 difference in cost between the two smocks when I bought my second!

 

[innocent bystander]

I would imagine that the "intended " use would entail wearing a jumper etc that covers the neck etc. of course in the uk, there aint much need to wear 15 layers under the smock...

 

[Ogden]

I wanted to buy a Snowsled smock last year. They didn´t reply on 2 e-mails, so I called them and they said they would answer my request as soon as possible.
Now - ten months later - I am fed up with this company. Several e-mails - no answer. That is my experience with the beloved Lorraine from Snowsled.

 

[innocent bystander]

I was originally going to go for a snowsled, but the website for the ventile gear disappeared so i went with the west winds...

 

[rjbaal]

I have a snowsled osprey parka which is an excellent bit of kit, although I did have a QC problem with mine. The pocket stiching on the two lower pockets pulled loose. I sent it back for a repair and on my suggestion they triple reinforced the area where the stiching pulled out. They also sent me a free pair of ventile mits for my trouble.

The parka itself is very water resistant and well designed without unnecessary bells and whitles.