J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ise

RossF wrote:
I think Lowe Alpine came out with a fabric that was better than goretex, claimed more w'proof and b'able, but it did not sell well at all due to the fact it was not "goretex".

Triplepoint? They still do that :

http://www.lowealpine.com/technology/triplepoint.asp

I'd not worry about make or model, you're not climbing a north face :D Anything that's easy to get on is going to be good enough, we've got some when it gets icey around here, they're whatever the local shop had on the day.

Ian Wickham wrote:
ise you got me going again, have been on to the NFace web site for this.....

http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/sc-brand/hyvent-technologies.html

What recommendation would you make for this jacket, as to me it sounds ok for a light weight jacket ??? 8)

Most of this stuff is pretty good nowadays, it's just some of the claims for Goretex are overdone and it's my opinion the presence of Gore in the market has distorted the market and stifled innovation. I heard a couple of guys in North Wales last year buying a jacket, one fancied himself the expert and was sagely telling his friend not to get the eVent garment and to get proper Goretex as though eVent was some sort of cheap knock off. Gore seem to have done some really quite dodgy deals at times, some manufacturers had perfectly good garments in other fabrics which mysteriously got dropped as soon as they started using Goretex in the range.

If the claims for Goretex are overdone then what's also overblown is just how much people need breathable clothes in cold weather, personally I take my shell layer off when I'm working hard. I'd not want to go back to the impermeable membranes of years ago but I'll sacrifice some breathability for waterproof or windproof any day.

Mrs Ise has just got a really nice Patagonia Element jacket, it's not Goretex either but it's pretty nice and just way cheaper than Goretex, it's light as well, about 500g which is pretty much as low as it gets. And I know people with the TNF Razor which seems pretty good.

I'd be more focussed on quality of seams, fit and features than the fabric personally.

Ian Wickham wrote:

According to this it's waterproof and breathable.

It's hyvent which is the North Face fabric, really most claims for waterproof and breathable are overblown, at the very least it never lasts more than a few days, so some manufacturers have lines using non-Goretex fabrics which often work as well and work out cheaper.

Tapps wrote:wow thanks for the website its has the same sorts of things i have been looking at from snow and rock, to you think they will have some of them in resort ot try?

depends where you're going, some smaller places don't have the range.

maybe if you rented something you liked it might be available in the end of season sales?

I've not heard that word before, we call it a shovel-up normally. It's used where there's not enough snow to dig in for snow cave. Igloos generally need good hard snow like deep wind slab. So there's a number of methods to get a shelter depending on the snow types.

AJ wrote:Molly is 6 and a half and Harrison is 9 and a half years old, I get told off if i forget the half bit. :roll:

I see, that's the sort of age I was guessing would be interested. We were thinking of doing some sort of activity thing for around those ages, snow shoe a little way, build an igloo or something which is why I was messing around with them, but I'm not sure we can do a build quick enough without them getting cold. Time for a drink and a think :lol:

AJ wrote:Thats it ise no more photo`s my kids have just gone bloody nuts looking at your igloo.I was more drawn to the fancy little snow shoe`s or are they ?.

AJ Adele

interesting, how old are your kids if I might ask?

they're my snow shoes, I was tramping round the garden in them, it's easier with so much snow, I dropped them by the door and then though it'd make a photo :lol: