"Stalking clothing" outlets having a laugh!?

Buckaroo8 said:
Let's not get too carried away about Harkila in particular......I wasn't really complaining about the quality of their clothing.
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Quality is not my issue, neither is the 'Brand' but VFM is, I personally am not swayed by the marketing man nor am I a sheep, it strikes me many are! however the immediate response to the OP & the first posts were comments like 'reverse snobbery & 'envy'...what a load of b*****ks, some folk just do not have the means or the need to spend the exorbitant amounts of money. However for me the opinion of those that actually use these items daily would be more informative, hence my post #34!
 
rodp said:
On the other hand, you could say that they make so much profit from them that sending a new pair out for a minor fault (that could be described as fair wear and tear) is nothing to them, a drop in the ocean !!!

Two ways of looking at it.
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Seems to me that we're so used to s**t customer service now in this country that when a manufacturer actually does something like this (without ever any quibble, I may add) that the only way we can rationalise it is by saying it's over-priced in the first place.

Fact is, you don't really hear too much about repairs, but when you do it's always positive - it just seems to me that you actually get what you pay for, for once - quality and customer care/after care.

Just out of curiosity though - has anybody got any of the RedKettle stuff?
 
Regarding decent clothing-

About 9 years ago I was set to go on a hunting trip to France , this was for a couple of days in the Loire valley shooting boar and deer in a private forest. My brother had very kindly paid for the trip for my 40th birthday. Neither of us at the time had any stalking/hunting experience so we were a bit concerned as to what we would wear. It was March so the weather was not very warm.

As luck would have it, I won a mint condition forest green Laksen coat on EBay for £8!.... I had never heard of Laksen before this. My brother had a very nice Musto country coat so jacket wise we were sorted. I took a trip down to D J Litt in Newport and luckily managed to pick us both up a pair of New laksen goretex shooting trousers which were on sale for £35 each, Lucky or what! The trousers were a good match colour wise for our jackets too.

We had a great two days in France, though weather wise was challenging to say the least. The first day it rained constantly.... we were sat in high seats for two four hours sessions, with little in the way of protection from the rain other than the clothes we had on. The temperature was little above freezing also... Fortunately we had a great lunch back in a superb warm hunting lodge between each session. Our jackets and trousers (together with decent underlayers) did a great job of keeping us both warm and dry.

The second day gave snow all day, with periods of hard driving snow! Luckily our clothes stood up admirably to the onslaught, though on each day our gloves proved to be somewhat lacking! This couple of days taught me one thing... That there really is no substitute for quality!

I still wear both my laksen coat and trousers to this day, they do not see really heavy use - possibly 5 outings or so year, but I have not been able to fault their performance. I give them a yearly reproof with a machine wash-in Nikwax water repellency and a proper wash when required. I have other quality gear but I have found the Laksen clothing to be impressive. The coat was the best £8 I have ever spent in my life!

As to the price of the Harkila gear, initially it seems very expensive to say the least, but if it is hard wearing and will keep you both warm and dry in a variety of conditions on a daily basis and you can afford the outlay, then who is to argue?


We finished the trip with 3 boar and a deer between us Incidently.
 
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Christ people don't half moan! I say if you've got the money, spend it! People spend ridiculous amounts of money on different things- 1000's on rifles, hundreds of thousands on cars and millions on houses.

I guarantee the same people that baulk at people spending £500 on a. Jacket or £80,000 on a car, would be the first to go out and spend the same if they won the lottery. I say buy whatever you like, as long as it works for you, you like it, and you've got the money!
Some people think I'm crazy for spending £500 on a pen, but then spend £120 on a "polo Ralph lauren" shirt (and have 5 of them!) :D

besides, don't adults make their own decisions and not care what other people think??
 
mitchiet123 said:
Christ people don't half moan! I say if you've got the money, spend it! People spend ridiculous amounts of money on different things- 1000's on rifles, hundreds of thousands on cars and millions on houses.

I guarantee the same people that baulk at people spending £500 on a. Jacket or £80,000 on a car, would be the first to go out and spend the same if they won the lottery. I say buy whatever you like, as long as it works for you, you like it, and you've got the money!
Some people think I'm crazy for spending £500 on a pen, but then spend £120 on a "polo Ralph lauren" shirt (and have 5 of them!) :D

besides, don't adults make their own decisions and not care what other people think??
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Was it a Harkila pen....?
I'll get me coat.....
 
I've tried loads of coats/clothing over the years, and I use them daily on the farm to fully test them, especially in the winter. They all have their negatives and still trying to find the perfect one! Ridgeline are like wearing a black bin liner over you as they don't breath at all. I have the harkila jacket, which I find very comfortable and warm, but on the downside gets very heavy in a downpour and dries out to cardboard! The trousers have been very good though and can't really fault them. I guess if you add up the years I've owned the harkila stuff it works out ok, but I bought the set as a 2 piece deal some years ago.
 
Buckaroo8 said:
For about 10yrs I've been buying Milsurp moleskin trousers which cost £12 a pair but recently, the shop I was buying them from has stopped selling them. I went online to look for some decent quality trousers, suitable for stalking, the brand I often see other stalkers wearing is Harkila, so I looked them up............
SALE!!!! now on......
only £360.95 for a pair of trousers!
only £541.45 for a jacket!
only £351.49 for a pair of wellies!
only £85.45 for your gloves!
only £80.70 for a cap
So you can get kitted out for as little as just £1420.04 while the sale is on :doh:
I knew they were pricey but that is taking the pish surely?
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There jokers but while there are people willing to pay it !!!!!!!!!!! I would love to be able to demo them clothes over a year and see whats left of them!!
 
I'll again try to let the sd membership into a little value for money secret. The outfox trousers that teamwild have on sale are made by schoffel. For 60 quid you will not find better and I dare say you won't find better paying 4 times that price.

Ive stocked up on a number of pairs, so hopefully won't need I look at the price of comparable gear for some time!

novice
 
novice said:
I'll again try to let the sd membership into a little value for money secret. The outfox trousers that teamwild have on sale are made by schoffel. For 60 quid you will not find better and I dare say you won't find better paying 4 times that price.

Ive stocked up on a number of pairs, so hopefully won't need I look at the price of comparable gear for some time!

novice
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.....unfortunately they are now back up to £239.99.....

I managed to get a pair for 60 quid (the following day the price had gone up to 240) - and when they arrived they were far too long for me :(, so they've been moved on to a mate who is considerably taller than I. A right bugger 'cos they looked like belting keks at that price.....:-|
 
I would say spent a little time doing your desk research and you'll find the same Brand/Models of clothes, optics and other gear available from online shops in the USA or Continental Europe for some 25-30% less - and that includes delivery to a UK address. The Euro-zone is particular good value right now, as the Euro has dropped a bit.
For example, I have decided to let my wife treat me to a Valentine's Day present for my stalking - the BEST price I can get in the UK is £3,299. However 10min. online and I found four outlets in The Netherlands where I can buy exactly the same item online for £2,438 - including delivery to my UK home address. So a saving of £861 or 26%.
Guess who will win my business!
 
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scotlanddeerstalking said:
ALI, I go commando when I am there ma boy
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If anybody thinks this guy is joking, I can almost assure you he is probably not :-)
I met this fella on a driven hunt in Croatia a few years ago and we were all dolled up in top price 'Fashinable' kit to keep warm in the snow and ice and this guy was running around in rolled up cotton shirt sleeve shirt chivying us all up to get a move on.
I got the impression that he had a built in radiator :D or perhaps something longer than most guys and wrapped around his kneck ;)
 
merlin said:
.....unfortunately they are now back up to £239.99.....

I managed to get a pair for 60 quid (the following day the price had gone up to 240) - and when they arrived they were far too long for me :(, so they've been moved on to a mate who is considerably taller than I. A right bugger 'cos they looked like belting keks at that price.....:-|
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well then I'm especially glad I bought 4 pairs!

Novice
 
artschool said:
agree. when i divide the cost of my jacket and trousers by the number of years i have had out of them, they become cheap.
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Over the years, I've bought three so-called waterproof jackets at about £100 each. Each used a proprietary version of Gore-Tex ('Deer Tex', 'See Tex'). And each has let in water, one leaked like a sieve. I paid £300 for a Harkila jacket and £120 for the trousers, at McLoeds (spelling) in Tain in 2010. The next day I was out in torrential rain all day, and crawling through flowing burns on the hill to get on a stag. The suit was saturated on the outside, but for once I was dry on the inside. Yes, it was expensive. But no more so than the three jackets I'd previously bought, all of which would have let in water. As with optics, you get what you pay for. No, you don't have to buy Harkila (and it isn't the quietest fabric by a long way) but if you do, you know it will keep you dry and the Gore-Tex works as advertised.

-JMS
 
You have to try Härkila or/and Goretex in the field before you talk about how expensive it is. I have always walked right pass the expensive Goretex clothing in the shops, but a day I won Härkila Frontier Goretex jacket and trousers. And to this day iv'e never had so much comfort wearing any hunting or outdoor clothing before. Its solid, waterproof and can be worn all year round. IC have tried it in sun and in heavy rain and in cold snow and nothing gets past the Goretex membrane. And something I have been very impressed about: it only takes an hour or so, before my soaked wet Härkila jacket gets dry. Some of my other jackets need atleast half a day or more.

So yes its expensive, but you wont find better hunting clothes than the ones with Goretex and especially Härkila which also is very solid and last for 100 years ;)
 
Moleskin (not sure if any moles were harmed) on sale on EBay. West German ex army. I agree with the guy who stated that some people pay any price. I have a generous income but I would prefer to allocate my money elsewhere....
 
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