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I feel like this secret is being kept alive by a dwindling community unfortunately. I have a great Montane Extreme Jacket, similar to the Buffalo one but with a

I feel like this secret is being kept alive by a dwindling community unfortunately. I have a great Montane Extreme Jacket, similar to the Buffalo one but with a better hood and not a pullover smock. I had a Buffalo about 15 years ago too. This move to Gore-Tex et al reminds me of what happened after the invention of the trainer. Trainers (sneakers) are everywhere now, and they get more and more complex each year yet people get injured running in them just as easily. A small sommunity kept alive the idea of running in minimal shoes, zero drop, flat unpadded soles, and running like we did in the past. Similarly, Gore-Tex came along and now we're obsessed with shedding the water on the outer layer. The modern mantra is water must not penetrate under any circumstance. There's a time and a place for that but in those conditions a truly impermeable layer like a PU shell is better. And so there's just a few of us who know that it's not necessarily preventing all water ingress that's the goal - it's maintaining warmth, breathability, comfort and having material that will dry quickly. Maybe it's because of our climate in the UK but it's no accident Buffalo, Montane, Mountain Equipment and Rab (all UK based companies) make 'Pile and Pertex' colthing and now some exceptional Primaloft based synthetic shells - The Mountain Equipment Citadel and Fitaroy Jackets, and the Montane Prism are two I own and are every bit as good as Pile and Pertex but without the bulk. It's good to know there are a few of us out there keeping the wisdom alive!

pbowyer 7y ago
I'm in the UK too and it's been great to have so many local contributions in this thread. I'm an enthusiastic walker (rambler?) and am always looking for suitable clothing - not just for walking holidays, but for everyday, keeping warm, dry and comfortable in variable weather and rain (lots of it this Christmas!). Whether a stroll, hill climb, birdwatching or taking a dog for a walk, getting sweaty or wet is what I'm always aiming to avoid. > Maybe it's because of our climate in the UK I do wonder if our climate is a bit "different" when it comes to outdoor clothing. Are we more humid and damp than most of the USA and Europe? They do great gear, but it often seems to assume a different environment (the alps) or different climate (sun for X days, then rain for Y days). Gear for us, given the small range of temperature variations and fast changes in the weather, seems to have different requirements. Thanks for recommending EDZ in another comment. I like the performance of outdoor clothing but often don't want to look like an outdoor enthusiast (because I merely walk a lot, and also want to blend in in towns). Can you recommend any trousers that keep you dry(er) in showers, or dry quickly once wet? I got caught in a squall on Exmoor today and soaked through. Stayed warm in no small part thanks to a Trespass AT200 fleece (ridiculously cheap for the performance) but warmer legs would be nice. For torrential rain there's overtrousers, but I'm not a fan outside winter (too hot and sweaty).
- PuffinBlue 7y ago
  I use Rohan Overlanders. They are pretty lightweight but warm enough when moving. 6 pockets that fit an OS map :-) They dry extremely quickly and you can give them a wash in tech wash to give them a bit dwr. I think they hit a good balance of fast drying and warm enough when moving. But if it's going to be very wet and you know it then some simple baselayer trousers with a brethable (read: air permeable, not just water vapour) shell trouser, preferably with braces, is the way I go. eVent is great but so is NeoShell I think it's called.

pbowyer 7y ago

I'm in the UK too and it's been great to have so many local contributions in this thread. I'm an enthusiastic walker (rambler?) and am always looking for suitable clothing - not just for walking holidays, but for everyday, keeping warm, dry and comfortable in variable weather and rain (lots of it this Christmas!). Whether a stroll, hill climb, birdwatching or taking a dog for a walk, getting sweaty or wet is what I'm always aiming to avoid. > Maybe it's because of our climate in the UK I do wonder if our climate is a bit "different" when it comes to outdoor clothing. Are we more humid and damp than most of the USA and Europe? They do great gear, but it often seems to assume a different environment (the alps) or different climate (sun for X days, then rain for Y days). Gear for us, given the small range of temperature variations and fast changes in the weather, seems to have different requirements. Thanks for recommending EDZ in another comment. I like the performance of outdoor clothing but often don't want to look like an outdoor enthusiast (because I merely walk a lot, and also want to blend in in towns). Can you recommend any trousers that keep you dry(er) in showers, or dry quickly once wet? I got caught in a squall on Exmoor today and soaked through. Stayed warm in no small part thanks to a Trespass AT200 fleece (ridiculously cheap for the performance) but warmer legs would be nice. For torrential rain there's overtrousers, but I'm not a fan outside winter (too hot and sweaty).

PuffinBlue 7y ago
I use Rohan Overlanders. They are pretty lightweight but warm enough when moving. 6 pockets that fit an OS map :-) They dry extremely quickly and you can give them a wash in tech wash to give them a bit dwr. I think they hit a good balance of fast drying and warm enough when moving. But if it's going to be very wet and you know it then some simple baselayer trousers with a brethable (read: air permeable, not just water vapour) shell trouser, preferably with braces, is the way I go. eVent is great but so is NeoShell I think it's called.