cheap packable down/insulated clothing ??

[ton]

i need some packable down or insulated clothing, well a jacket and trousers, for a event i am doing.

is there anywhere anyone can think of ? or is there a place where you can maybe hire stuff for a trip ??

[Bearbonesnorm]

Decathlon are often worth a look Tony. Quality tends to be reasonable and the price fair.

[PeterC]

Would second what Stu says. I've a MT500 insulated jacket (about 35 notes) and matching gilet both sufficiently warm for my needs and excellent value. At the other end of the scale I did try on their Simond Makalu jacket last winter, but I think that would be more suited to an arctic winter than mooching about in the lowlands!

[voodoo_simon]

What’s the event? Might help with some recommendations of kit

[ton]

What’s the event? Might help with some recommendations of kit

Fat Viking. Norway in January.

[Richard G]

I bought a half decent set of down trousers from Amazon. They aren't light, but they seemed pretty decent.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0728P95FB

I've since replaced them with a spendy set from Cumulus, but I'd still recommend the original.

Fat Viking. Norway in January.

I really fancy doing that at some point. Probably not before 2025 now though.

[Tam]

Vinted is good if you're not bothered about brand new kit

[voodoo_simon]

Oh nice, know a few people who have done that . Think Bob from here has and a couple of my Dutch mates too. I’ve heard that studded tyres are worthy investment for the trip, a couple of years they had a freeze thaw and studs were required for large sections.

As ever with winter fat bike races, get used to pushing (and falling over in deep snow!)

Pogies will be a good investment and I found several pairs of those insulated builders gloves to be perfect (several pairs as they do get sweaty!).

Clothing wise, vinted as suggested above is excellent - think eBay for clothes but with set prices, so it makes it easier to shop.

I was in Jack wolkskin on Cheshire oaks last week and they had down jackets in there for £60, might be worth a call. Jack wolfskin is also very generous on sizing too

Weird son on a bike or weirdos in a bike (can never remember which is correct ) had some down pants on their website when I last looked, seemed reasonably priced too. Saying that, I only put on primaloft 3/4 pants whilst doing the Rovaniemi races once and that was in the start line of one race and one early morning on another race when it went to approx -20C/25C on was descending.

Definitely grow a beard, it’s in the polar rules of expeditions…!

Don’t forget over Manchester/Derbyshire way Mountain Equipment and Rab have their own outlet stores, can’t remember their names but sure google will tell you.

I known someone to have waiters until they got to the resort for the race (this was Rovaniemi and not fat Viking) and bought a load of XC skiing clothing and they swore by it but a bit of a risk if you don’t find anything.

Finally, check sportspursuit and sports shoes as they’ll have plenty of discount clothing too

[whitestone]

I went to do it but broke my collarbone a couple of days after getting there Cath ended up doing the 100km version. That was the icy year- Nina, the organiser, ordered a few hundred ice studs for those who didn’t have any. You almost needed crampons to walk around town!

Geilo is a ski resort so is expensive and in Norway so doubly so.

I did a trip report, it was 2020 just before the first lockdown. Can’t remember the kit requirements but I don’t think they were as onerous as Rovaniemi.

I bought Cath some 3/4 length primaloft trousers that are fully zipped so easy to put on. Can’t remember the brand but they pack pretty small

[PaulE]

No idea if they do trousers, but I've an Uniqlo ultralight down jacket and it's a very good compromise between price, warmth and volume - particularly when in a sale. They go up to XXXL and are pretty generous sized, so no issue there either.
https://www.uniqlo.com/uk/en/men/outerw ... kets-vests