Ventile - Alpkit Jump the Wagon

[Cheeky Monkey]

(Vaguely) interesting to see Alpkit have added a Ventile jacket to their line up (they might have used it already but this is the first one I've noticed):

https://eu.alpkit.com/products/ranger-m ... edirect=EU



I'll not mention that it looks like a grandad's parka (whoops!) but hey, I'm not fashion icon

But it's this statement:

Designed for a lifetime of outdoor adventures, the Ranger is the perfect jacket for mountain days.

To which I cry "utter bollox". I've chuntered before but Ventile needs to get wet to "swell" and seal against rainfall at which point it becomes stiff, heavy, wet (d'uh) and cold, particularly in a mountain environment with lots of wind etc. There's some informative reading here:

https://welldresseddad.com/2017/05/20/v ... /#comments

. Fair play the treatments are less environmentally-unfriendly than they once were, apparently

As a nice looking (eye-of-the-beholder / beauty caveats aside) jacket for around town fine but as proper clothing for the hills, nah!

Mleh, just me banging on from an armchair (and my one snowboarding trip in a ventile jacket by Howies) again

[Bearbonesnorm]

I always liked the idea of Ventile but also wondered whether it was perhaps a century old solution to a 'problem'. I'm wondering why no one has done something using waxed cotton* as that obviously doesn't need to wet-out and swell in order to become waterproof.


*maybe someone in the outdoor industry has - I'm discounting Barbour and such.

[The Cumbrian]

I have a Ventile jacket that I only really use when I know that it's going to be windy all day, especially when it's cold. I find it much more breathable than synthetics and it's very quiet. Not that I'm sneaking around creeping up on unsuspecting beasts or people I hasten to add.

[fatbikephil]

I always liked the idea of Ventile but also wondered whether it was perhaps a century old solution to a 'problem'. I'm wondering why no one has done something using waxed cotton* as that obviously doesn't need to wet-out and swell in order to become waterproof.


*maybe someone in the outdoor industry has - I'm discounting Barbour and such.

My experience of waxed cotton is that when it get's wet it goes like cardboard and sucks the heat out of you....
I think Belstaff tried using waxed ventile but it wasn't much better than normal waxed cotton

I wonder what a ventile jacket treated with TX10 would be like

[ton]

i tried a ventile coat that a mate had. it was not very nice when wet. i seem to think it was a fjallraven one.

just been out walking in my 20 year old Cioch waterproof. it is made from nikwax anology stuff.
i got back with lots of wet patches on my tee shirt. jacket need reproofing it think.
any clothing item that needs maintenance is rubbish IMHO.

i am gonna buy another outdry for walking in.

[benp1]

They've been available from Alpkit from a while now

Didn't know Fjallraven did a ventile jacket. G1000, epic cotton or some other naturalish fibre but not ventile. They do have a very expensive smock available

I like ventile but don't use it for cycling. As a former bushcrafter I have a double ventile jacket and a single ventile smock (Snowsled and Hilltrek I think), plus my every day jacket is a howies ventile jacket. I have some ventile trousers I've never actually worn too! All the usual downsides apply, heavy and stiff when wet, but for general use - think everyday, natural softshell - I really like it. Expensive though

[Cheeky Monkey]

I agree Ben, I'm not hating on it per se, just that it being marketed as a great material to be out in the hills in is marketing BS (for the average UK weather).

I also hadn't noticed the +£300 price tag either - that's just laughable for something made out of the wrong fabric.

There's a vaguely interesting bit in the article I linked in the OP about whether stuff really is "Ventile". The chap in his blog seems to say it is all manufactured by a Swiss Co now and as something with a different name which is then re badged / branded / marketed as Ventile with an accompanying dose of claptrap and horseshit to make it appear to be a UK-centric, WW2 heritage fabric I notice Alpkit have gone for something spurious about Hilary and mountaineering. Yet more horseshit because no one climbs in it still and so, just because it was a good thing then, when there weren't the (superior?) modern alternatives everyone seems to use now, doesn't mean it's a good option.

Mleh

[ton]

the jacket i tried was the g1000 one Ben. to waterproof it you rubbed it with a bar of wax iirc.

[riderdown]

Designed for a lifetime of outdoor adventures, the Ranger is the perfect jacket for mountain days.

Ventile doesn't last, it frays at the cuffs and creases

also hadn't noticed the +£300 price tag

it's been reduced previously and I would expect it in the next sale

[Richpips]

I spoke to the designer Ronnie a while back. Ventile is expensive as a fabric (iirc ~£30+ per metre), so any garment made from it will be pricey.

I've tried one on and they are nice bits of kit. If I needed a smart coat to walk the dog of an evening, then it would tick that box nicely.

[ton]

here you go Rich.

https://frahmjacket.com/products/ventil ... _bEALw_wcB

[Alpinum]

As a nice looking (eye-of-the-beholder / beauty caveats aside) jacket for around town fine but as proper clothing for the hills, nah!

Yeah, better get the Shredly Trail Romper.

[Shewie]

Designed for a lifetime of outdoor adventures, the Ranger is the perfect jacket for mountain days.

Ventile doesn't last, it frays at the cuffs and creases

also hadn't noticed the +£300 price tag

it's been reduced previously and I would expect it in the next sale

This ^^

I had a couple of ventile smocks back in my bush nudging days, they always failed at the cuffs first

It's was weird taking off a wet jacket and standing it up on it's own to dry out.under the hammock tarp

[Richpips]

here you go Rich.

https://frahmjacket.com/products/ventil ... _bEALw_wcB

Bargin!

[johnnystorm]

here you go Rich.

https://frahmjacket.com/products/ventil ... _bEALw_wcB

Bargin!

And from the guy that brought you this fiasco: https://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/2777/bri ... nistration

[Richpips]

here you go Rich.

https://frahmjacket.com/products/ventil ... _bEALw_wcB

Bargin!

And from the guy that brought you this fiasco: https://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/2777/bri ... nistration

Yep, I thought that was the same bloke.

[Cheeky Monkey]

Oh aye, the fella behind Vulpine His "About FRAHM" section makes fascinating reading and totally glosses over that fiasco.

As if this little snippet wasn't enough to set the bullshit meters off:

Upgrades for 2022: Snaps now Cobrax B:Lock, considered the best in world, used by special forces.

[jameso]

Upgrades for 2022: Snaps now Cobrax B:Lock, considered the best in world, used by special forces.

B:locks?

[AlasdairMc]

So I’m the only person on Bearbones who owns one?

I’ve had it a few months, bought at £250. It’s so comfortable for walking, breathes well and looks good. I’ve worn it in frankly horrible weather, up Munros and so on. It goes stuff when wet, which causes it to shrink a bit, but it has kept me warm and dry. It does look a bit old pretty quickly though, so I’ll be seeing if this is enough to warranty it over the coming months.

[riderdown]

It does look a bit old pretty quickly though, so I’ll be seeing if this is enough to warranty it over the coming months.

For the ventile I have had that's pretty much a feature if used properly rather than walking the dog

[ColinC]

I had a Hilltrek ventile jacket in the 1990s. Very comfortable in a lot of conditions but heavier than I'd choose to wear now for much other than walking the dog. I liked the jacket and the ventile though and it lasted for years. Just had a look at their website https://hilltrek.co.uk after reading this thread they now do some cycling designs in ventile. They are just down the road, must remember to go in and have a look ...