Waterproof, Windproof, lightweight jacket?

[Marcos]

On a student budget? Must obviously be somewhat stylish

I think I want a proper heavier weatherproof jacket for when real winter kicks in, and then a lightweight pac-lite style jacket for those annoying months between between hot and cold where the weather is unpredictable and you get caught in a rainstorm with just a t-shirt

So would be handy to have something i can pack away in my bag that is very light/small but handles the rain and wind

The past years i've had a padded Nike jacket that didn't really do anything, it was huge, but not very warm and not very water proof and it was heavy and cumbersome to keep in my bag. So i think i'll lay off Nike and the like in the search for something that really gets the job done.

[Nick F]

Check out millets, they normally do stuff like this,

[Marcos]

Will do,

also, what do people think of this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

:dunno:, i mean, its not the best looking thing but for something that folds away to tennis ball size and would be used just in rain/cold cold days, not bad. Wondering if it is worth my time though, i have no experience in these types of clothes so i need some help working out whats good and whats not

[Steve]

Get a bright blue kagool! You know you want to!

[XA04]

Will do,

also, what do people think of this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

:dunno:, i mean, its not the best looking thing but for something that folds away to tennis ball size and would be used just in rain/cold cold days, not bad. Wondering if it is worth my time though, i have no experience in these types of clothes so i need some help working out whats good and whats not

seems nice, but it doesn't seem like it would keep you warm during a REALLY cold day. obviously it would need to be something much thicker to keep you warm though. i'm sure you could find one that would fit in a back pack that would give more warmth.

Get a bright blue kagool! You know you want to!

my mum got me one of those, she thinks it isn't embaressing!
edit: im not kidding btw

[SilentDeath]

Will do,

also, what do people think of this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

:dunno:, i mean, its not the best looking thing but for something that folds away to tennis ball size and would be used just in rain/cold cold days, not bad. Wondering if it is worth my time though, i have no experience in these types of clothes so i need some help working out whats good and whats not

How much effort do you think it takes to get in and out of that tiny bag?
Probably not going to be very warm either.

[shiato storm]

black bin liner...cheap and retro trendy

[Elmo]

Hawkshead have some waterproof lightweight jackets that fold into a wee bag, they're about £15 i think. Saw them when i was in their shop, but they have an online shop iirc. i''ll see if i can find it....

<edit> it's hawkshead.com, but it's down just now :/

[Marcos]

seems nice, but it doesn't seem like it would keep you warm during a REALLY cold day. obviously it would need to be something much thicker to keep you warm though. i'm sure you could find one that would fit in a back pack that would give more warmth.(

Do you reckon as far as the waterproof side of things it would be competent?

Are all windproof jackets good at keeping you warm? Because the wind is usually the only reason i get cold. I'll mostly be walking to places so that'll keep me fairly warm.

My old nike jacket could fit in the backpack, but i would much prefer something not padded but still wind and waterproof. May get one of those thicker/tougher type snowboard jackets but i'd still need the paclite too

How much effort do you think it takes to get in and out of that tiny bag?
Probably not going to be very warm either.

I don't mind if i can't compress it down to a tennis ball size everytime i put it away, i think the weight may be the more important factor so even if its 2 or 3 times the size of the pic it would still be ok. The warmth is an issue, but i'd likely be wearing something warm too, just need this jacket for the water/windproof side of things

Hawkshead have some waterproof lightweight jackets that fold into a wee bag, they're about £15 i think. Saw them when i was in their shop, but they have an online shop iirc. i''ll see if i can find it....

<edit> it's hawkshead.com, but it's down just now :/

Sounds like a great price, i'll look into it. I have a huge Go Outdoors store near me somewhere (biggest in Europe i believe), i'll have to look there too, but i'm sure prices would be £100-300 for a proper jacket.

[Flibb]

Go to GO Outdoors, they are probably the cheapest place to get discount outdoors clothing in the UK. The cheapest waterproof jacket they do is £5, and yep the most expensive will be mega bucks. I would avoid that ebay Joby as its only shower proof, and it has no insulation, the smock design could be a pain to put on over other stuff. Its probably designed as a shell to shove on whilst cycling or running. The close fitting design will also result in the water soaking your nether regions. For some reason most companies try and sell very short jackets over here now (Yank style), luckily my fav manufacturer (Paramo) do longer ones so my arse can stay dry.

My main choice of clothing system is a good fleece, then have a pack away waterproof shell to put on if it rains. A good quality fleece will be pretty windproof and shower proof, its only when it really pissing hard that I bother to put the shell on. If you do go to GO keep your eyes open for any paramo deals, its one of the few bits of clothing that has a lifetime warranty on it, unlike goretex the fabric can be cleaned and reproofed to its full standard in a washing machine. Down side is that it costs a bit, but I had my first jacket from GO for £50.

I have to admit to being a bit of a kit junky, but I have had a couple of experiences of near hypothermia. 1st was me, was shaking so much I couldn't change out of my wet clothes in to dry ones. 2nd was a bloke wearing a waterproof shell jacket designed for running, when not active his body temperature dropped and we had to get him off the hill we were working on (trying to catalogue plant species) rather quickly.

[Marcos]

Interesting

What do you recommend for a good fleece?

[Flibb]

Most fleece jackets are good, and there is often little to diferentiate between brands, the majority are made from the same fabrics, but come in a varity of weights. Best thing to do would be to try on a variety of types, and ask the bod to show you different types. I pretty much wear a fleece all the time, find a variety of pockets to be really handy. Some waterproof jackets come with a removable zip in fleece, these are often quiet low quality.

[Marcos]

Can you recommend any cheap online retailers for this kind of gear?

Since online is usually a fair bit cheaper than shop

[5lab]

just wear a hoodie

[Flibb]

go outdoors are one of the cheapest, but most places have constant sales on selling last seasons models. In most cases the difference between this season and last is the colour. If you want the ultimate cheap waterproof jacket to grab when its pissing hard get an army goretex jacket, its camo but you can get them dead cheap. Its designed to be chucked over a normall jacket so its not padded. Normally a few on ebay. Cant remember if camo is still trendy.

[Marcos]

just wear a hoodie

I used to, but proper cold weather gets me, it just goes straight through normal clothes. I hate windchill

Never had a proper good jacket that stops everything