Wet weather gear.

[Joe_Cole]

I'm going to have to get some new gear for next season. Don't care what it looks like, don't care what name is on it. Just has to keep me dry and comfortable. What do you reckon?

Joe

 

[Chris_Stannard]

Breathable is well worth it if like me you sweat a lot. After that it depends on what kind of sailing you do. I think all of the good brands are just about equal but they vary in cut so I would get the ones that fit you best.

Chris Stannard

 

[mick]

Have a look at Gill's Key West suit. Well made, quality materials, reasonable price.

 

[jimi]

Depends what size you are! I always go for end of lines .. got a set of Ocean oilies for £99 that the wife had paid £400 for 3 years previously and they had been reduced from £800. I spend all my time crawling about the reduced and end of line rails. Have a keek when you're at the LBS.

 

[byron]

/forums/images/icons/wink.gif Get a Stinkpot, sit inside in the dry with a nice cuppa as you watch all the saily types hauling on lines and winding winches. Hardest bit of work on a stinky is reaching for another digestive biscuit /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

http://www.alexander-advertising.co.uk

 

[vyv_cox]

Buy at boat shows. You have the choice of the latest and greatest, or the slightly less late and great at far lower cost. The choice is yours. Quite honestly, there is little to choose between the top names. They won't tell you that, of course, but I suspect it to be the truth. We have Helly Hansen offshore kit and we are very happy with it, bought at Amsterdam boat show a few years ago at half the price of the latest version.

 

[Rowana]

<<Hardest bit of work on a stinky is reaching for another digestive biscuit >>

And paying the fuel bills. The wind is free!!

I'm an Aberdonian, by the way.

Jim

 

[dickh]

Compass do a breathable set which was recommended as best buy by Sailing Today, or try the end of line merchants - Spindrift Marine - at most of the boat jumbles, they also advertise in the mags.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...

 

[Peter_H]

The XM Ocean suit (jacket and trousers) is a good buy - it is breathable with good features at a very reasonable price. I think it is around £299 most places but we got ours for about £250 if i remember correctly from Sharp and Enright Chandlery at Dover

 

[Peppermint]

Double Vision

If you think about foul weather gear, no matter how good it is or how much it costs, it's going to get wet inside eventually. For some years now I've carried two sets and the luxury feeling of getting into the dry set is well worth it.

So my advice is to buy two sets of cheaper kit instead of one set of state of the art.

In addition to the usual suspects in the chandlery field many of the manufacturers have opened "Outlet Shops" to sell old stock direct. Helly Hansem & Musto have shops at Bicester Village in Oxfordshire. I just found a Ocean HPX smock at half price there.

 

[Joe_Cole]

Thanks everyone (except Byron!! /forums/images/icons/smile.gif). It looks like we'll be looking at either the Gill or XM gear. These are about the right price for us.

Thanks for your input.

Joe

 

[BrendanS]

Worth taking a look at the retail villages. Depends where you live....there's a Helly Hanson store at the retail village in Bicester on M40. They sell brand new, flawless gear, usually end of line at extremely good prices. Worth calling before you visit if they are not close as stock varies all the time.

Take the missus and she'll love the trip as they have all sorts of shops selling stuff cheaper than highstreet (mostly high end and designer).....but your wallet will take a hammering!! /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[Joe_Cole]

You've set me a real problem here. If I suggest going to our local retail village then SWMBO will be very suspicious indeed; I always refuse to go there, can't stand the place.

So what I've got to do is get her to suggest it. Mmmmmnnnn!

Joe

 

[Guest]

We were just in the market for some new gear and bought 2 Dougie Gill Key Wests at Soton Boat Show for £270 each - best deal by far at the time and £100 below anyone else. However, I notice Mailspeed are now advertising them for the same price, so there you go. Very pleased (been big users of Gill in the dinghy for years) although haven't given it a real hammering yet!

 

[bedouin]

I bought a highly-recommended set of breathable oilies (sub £200) a couple of years ago - and replaced them with top-of-the-range Henri-Lloyd two seasons later.

The cheap set are very comfortable, and fine for coastal work, but crossing the channel in a gale soon showed their limitations. They weren't sufficiently waterproof to keep me dry when the spray was flying, and the neck fastening was not adequate to prevent water finding its way down my neck(ugh!). By comparison the H-Ls are more cumbersome, but they keep me dry through anything.

Now is a good time to buy as you tend to be able to find end-of-range being sold off cheap - there is a shop in Lymmington (near the town quay) that often seems to have bargains.