Sailing Clothing Recommendations

[RJJ]

Go with what the sailing school offers, and think how you would like to improve it. Also think about your sailing ground.

Definitely. Ask the instructor, ask everyone else how they are getting on with theirs.

You may find the sailing school does a sell-off at end of season. Pick up a bargain that will be good for a couple more years while your sailing ambitions take shape. I am a meanie and I only have quite good kit because I am an all-weather all-season sailor. If you decide in fact you (reasonably) prefer sailing May to September in max F4 and seldom overnight, then seriously you don't need fancy gear.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We get around the cost issue on our gear by buying end of lines, outlet stuff, often in, er, unusual colours, and for mid layers, UV gear and summer lightweight stuff from Sportpursuit.com

 

[Rappey]

My personal favorite which I think outperforms everything else in winter is a fladen one piece flotation/immersion suit. Extremely light and comfortable but a little bulky, feels like silk on bare skin, is totally wind and waterproof plus the safety aspect of built in buoyancy and hugely extended survival time in cold water .
One guy told me he feels clammy when wearing the fladen but I've never had a problem with it.
Fladen 1 Piece Flotation Suit

 

[Rhylsailer99]

Be careful of some of the imax sailing jackets I wore one summer time commercial bass fishing and almost perished on the boat . I was soaked right through and freezing cold in July.

 

[pandos]

I am on my second set of Decathlon,/ Tribord, my first set lasted 15 years.

AFAIK it's their top of the line range very comfortable and seem well designed, haven't used the new set in anger yet but the first set got plenty of hard use racing in torrential rain and big waves on a smallish boat.

Full set cost about 450 euros I think it's something like 900 fabric...they do cheaper gear also, which my kids and wife had over the years, they never really went out in bad conditions.

 

[ylop]

My personal favorite which I think outperforms everything else in winter is a fladen one piece flotation/immersion suit.

on a foul day there is much to be said for a flotation suit but unlike layered waterproofs you have no easy option for a wet summer day like today - you’d cook in a float suit.
if you do go this route beware that a standard 150N Lifejacket will not work properly to turn you the right way up with a float suit on.

 

[ylop]

Decathlon stuff is good - as you are not in yacht country though they probably won’t stock it and you’ll have to order it in for click n collect.

I’d go with the school stuff though.

 

[Concerto]

keeping dry and warm is a major especially in west of Scotland wind chill can be a major factor
the difference in beating and running can be pronounced so layers help
a neck towel is not a fashion item

Also a good woolly hat to keep your head warm.

 

[MADRIGAL]

As a sailor with a large frame and a small budget, I have had to resort to army and navy surplus and my local agricultural supplier for my wet weather gear. They don't make yachting boots in size 15, but a good pair of farmer's wellingtons, a pair of tough, waterproof nylon overalls, a woollen jumper (NATO re-order number attached), and a re-proofed wax jacket seem to do fine. My most expensive purchase was the woollen long johns, and my wife knitted a woollen sailor's cap according to a wartime pattern published by the Red Cross in 1942. It's amazing what she finds on the internet ...

 

[colind3782]

Decathlon

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Decathlon

For growing kids, occasional users and tight budgets, yes. Serious regular sailors can buy better if they wish.

 

[TiggerToo]

Another vote for Decathlon.

I have owned Musto, Gill and XM over the years, and the latest Decathlon (top of their range) jacket and salopette are definitely the best - and the cheapest (!) so far.

 

[The Q]

My personal favorite which I think outperforms everything else in winter is a fladen one piece flotation/immersion suit. Extremely light and comfortable but a little bulky, feels like silk on bare skin, is totally wind and waterproof plus the safety aspect of built in buoyancy and hugely extended survival time in cold water .
One guy told me he feels clammy when wearing the fladen but I've never had a problem with it.
Fladen 1 Piece Flotation Suit

I wear the Fladen 2 piece in the appropriate weather, this summer Way to hot, ... but really good late autumn through winter to early spring..

 

[MoodySabre]

Try on as many makes as you can find. The fit and features vary. Musto salopettes had no pockets. Some were just uncomfortable. HH were just right. Your shape and needs are different to mine.

 

[Obi]

Different outfits for different days/conditions. So it is not just one set of sailing gear to buy. I also like the first comment about using the sailing schools gear and improving on that.

IMO the best argument for paying Musto prices is their customer service, support and follow up. Not as good as it once was, but still very good and they like to keep customers happy. The gear should last longer than cheaper brands, and Musto used to be very good at re-doing seams and re-water proofing their gear, not sure if they still do. Some of the cheaper brands, you might find fail quicker and then you have little option.

My HH crew midlayer jacket bought for fair weather sailing, I really like the fit and look so I keep buying them, but they do not last at all and the material wears out very quickly. I've been on a friends boat with non slip deck panels and that destroyed the fabric in one breezy afternoon. HH replaced that one, but since then I have just accepted that whilst it is sold as a sailing jacket, I need to be aware of it's fragility.

My HH leather wellies are nice and dry and a lot warmer than plastic ones. My toes used to freeze in plastic wellies, not so in leather ones.

Final tip - if your skin hates the cold sea water like mine does, then germoline's liquid skin is a good thing to have to hand. Basically surgical super glue for sealing up cuts and splits. In my first winters sailing the skin around the edges of my thumbs would split and get wider as the winter went on. Uncomfortable.

 

[Stemar]

One bit of kit I wouldn't be without is a Musto Snug, or its equivalent from other makers. Warm & windproof for the days when you want a bit of protection, but not full oilies, and it will keep the odd shower off. I suspect there are a lot of days like that in W Scotland

As for the oilies, many years ago I was under orders to replace my nicely worn in Compass set because they were too scruffy, so I went to a shop and looked at the cheaper options. I'd just about decided on the XM offshore set, then I did something very foolish. I tried on a Gill Atlantic jacket It was in a different league and I came out of the shop in a state of shock, having just spent more on one set of clothing than I ever had on any two in my life. That was over 10 tears ago, and the Gill set is still going strong. When Milady needed a new jacket, she got Gill as well.

I won't say Gill are any better than the other quality brands, but they're streets ahead in terms of comfort and fit than cheaper stuff.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Try on as many makes as you can find. The fit and features vary. Musto salopettes had no pockets. Some were just uncomfortable. HH were just right. Your shape and needs are different to mine.

Helly may suit the larger gents among us. Those Norwegians seem to grow big.

 

[flaming]

An awful lot of the decision on which type of sailing gear to get depends on the sort of sailing you are going to do, and just as importantly the type of boat you're going to do it on.

For example, if you are doing all of your sailing on a small boat with minimal shelter available to the crew, and expect to sail 9-10 months of the year, you will benefit from high end kit a lot more than someone sailing a 40 foot boat with sprayhood etc who only sails in high summer. Sounds obvious, but....

With your current level of experience, don't take this the wrong way but if you're out in conditions where you'd really benefit from the protection that top of the range Musto etc give you, then you've messed up... Where that kit really comes into its own is when the wet is not being caused by rain falling from the sky, but by water jumping out of the sea.
Right now for you I'd be looking at "coastal" spec stuff, honestly any brand / Decathalon will be absolutely fine. If you want to spend more at this point then spend it on trousers, not jackets. Compared to ski gear (and I do a lot of skiing) pay much more attention to what covers your backside, as you'll spend a lot more time sitting on it in puddles...

The other thing I'd buy at a pretty early stage is a light jacket. Windproof and showerproof, but from an actual sailing brand. I know you have walking kit that you will be thinking "this is absolutely fine as a light jacket". And it absolutely will be.... right up to the point where you trap it in a cleat etc and rip it... I've seen way too many nice Goretex walking jackets go that way.... The sailing specific stuff is just that little bit tougher.
And buy the size up from what you'd buy for walking gear etc. A bit baggy is generally your friend on a boat. Both because you can put layers underneath, and also because you will be spending a long time sitting down and it's just that little bit easier to get comfortable in a slightly baggy jacket than it is in the sort of fit you'd choose for a walking jacket.

Then buy good quality boots. Absolutely nothing transformed my comfort levels on a boat like my boots.

 

[JFowler]

Buy the best you can afford!
Theres nothing worse than being cold & wet.

 

[Sandy]

Wait for the sales and see what you can afford. Go and try stuff on fit is important.

Give careful consideration to base layers, after years of using cotton I'm experimenting with a Marlow wool mix. It's a bit better, but eye wateringly expensive even from Mountain Warehouse.

Boots and gloves are also worth thinking about. Sadly, Musto have stopped doing the pair I love with the Gortex uppers. Leather boots take ages to dry.