Review: Buffalo Special 6 Shirt

- Product provided by outdoorkit.co.uk for the purpose of review -

Time for a review... The Buffalo Special 6 Shirt, an insulated, waterproof and windproof jacket loved by the military and outdoor professionals all over the world.

Weighing in at 675g, this jacket packs a huge amount of features: Pertex 6 shell, large front map pocket, extra long cut on the back to allow for rain run-off, handwarmer pocket and 8 ventilation controls including 2 way side zips. Available in black, green and red in 8 different sizes. 

Love this label, Sheffield rocks :)

I've been getting into the woods more and more over the course of 2014, I've got plenty of technical jackets but when it comes to bushcraft and playing in the trees you need something a little tougher. I saw a Buffalo jacket a couple of years ago on a course and it's been in the back of my mind ever since, designed for military and police users, I knew a jacket like that would be able to handle a bit of Devon woodland. A rainy summer has allowed me to put the Buffalo through some tests and I'm pleased to say it's performed very well!

Dry after 30 minutes, not bad for a jacket with plenty of exposed furry goodness.

 This jacket has been thought through, plenty of features help make it a go to jacket for cold and wet conditions. For me, it was far too warm to be worn throughout a day like a technical mountain jacket but when conditions worsened it was a godsend, the insulation and liner immediately improve body temperature and the Pertex shell keeps the rain off.

Plenty of liner and insulation right up the wrist.

Soft liner helps with comfort and warmth.

Walking through the woods with this jacket on is like wearing body armour, the shell feels solid enough to handle scrapes and bumps and rain beads very well. The longer cut at the back was appreciated, rain normally works it's way down my overtrousers but the lip meant it continued down to the floor.

Beading on the sleeve.

The large front pocket is handy for phones, keys and wallet too. It kept most of the rain out but after a while it developed that damp feel. Not a big issue but a liner included in the pocket may have kept it 100% dry. 

Large map pocket with zip flap.

After some time in the rain my hands were beginning to cool down, a perfect opportunity to test a pocket designed to warm up hands! Very comfy pocket with the same liner in half of it, unfortunately the other half has the reverse side of the internal liner, not too uncomfortable but having the liner all the way round would increase that pocket's comfort and warmth. My hands were warmed up quickly, the insulation is warm but when your heart's pumping this jacket really kicks out some heat, I struggled to keep cool even with the side zips fully open. 

Handwarmer pocket, no special zips or fuss just a standard pocket.

Reverse of the liner in the handwarmer pocket.

Side ventilation.

I've had a few cold nights this summer, with the temperature dropping to near 0°. I've had to keep the zips open partially to stop from overheating, this jacket has got some serious oomph when it comes to keeping you warm.. Temperatures in Devon rarely go below freezing so it was hard to see how much cold this jacket could handle. 

Velcro tab over the side ventilation, helps keep the wind and rain out.

Overall I've been really impressed with the Buffalo Special 6 Shirt, it's kept me ferociously warm, very dry and cosy too. There's one or two bits which could do with a small change but that's just me nitpicking, I'm really glad this jacket is made in Sheffield with such a high standard of workmanship - no stereotypical British manufacturing here, just a solid jacket. I look forward to many more years of wearing the Buffalo in the woods. 

Positive points:

• Tough outer shell which beads water and stops wind brilliantly. 
• Soft and cosy liner which helps this jacket double up as a pillow.
• Immediate warmth when you wear the jacket, no waiting for it to warm up.
• Long cut at the back to help the rain run off.
• Great build quality and workmanship.
• Made in Sheffield, that's got to be worth a few review points!

Not-so-positive points:

• Reverse of the liner within the handwarmer pocket is a little bit annoying.
• No hood, this didn't effect me much but something to remember.
• Not a 100% waterproof front pocket.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the review :)

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Thanks again to OutdoorKit for providing the Buffalo Special 6 Shirt for review. Please check out their social media pages... Facebook and Twitter.

Review: Berghaus Paclite Waterproof Pants

                                                                  - Product provided by outdoorkit.co.uk for the purpose of review - 

Lightweight, strong and reliable... A few buzzwords for the Berghaus Paclite Pants. Now for a little more detail...

The basics:

• Made with Goretex Paclite Helium fabric
• 185g weight
• 3/4 zip
• RRP of £100

First impressions:

As with most orders of technical equipment these days I always think they've forgotten to pack the kit because the bag is so light! Straight away I got the familiar feel of Berghaus quality with these pants, no loose stitching or manufacturing errors to be seen. A true sense of fit to size - I went for XL with a 38" waist and they fit perfectly, it's easy for brands to be over eager with an elastic waist and create a "one-size-fits-all" product which doesn't provide a technical fit, Berghaus have avoided this problem. 

On the hill:

The pants arrived around mid July and I was itching to get them out on Dartmoor to see what they could do, unfortunately, heatwave threats from the weatherman meant I had to wait until a stormy August before the heavens opened with some beautiful British rain. 

With a big grin on my face I headed out into the pouring rain while others hid in their cars...

Initially I was worried about the "lite" aspect of the pants, I've never been one to count grams with kit and I wondered how much damage shaving a few hundreds grams off could make when it came to waterproof trousers. 

There was no need for me to worry, the pants exceeded expectations and kept me 100% dry out in the rain with the water beading and running off well. After the rain, the trousers performed well, quickly drying out allowing them to go back into a rucksack and keeping you comfortable on the hill. They were breathable, not mind blowing, but definitely there - what's the point of overtrousers if there's condensation making your trousers wet while walking? This is a common drawback with "lite" equipment, sacrificing technical benefits like breathability to save weight.

When not being worn the pants pack up into a very small ball which can easily be put into a large pocket or rucksack. If you're going for an lightweight or ultralightweight setup where space and weight are priority then these pants will save on both. 

Packed up Paclite Pants... That's a lot of P's. Fruit Pastilles for scale!

Overall I was very impressed with how well the Berghaus Paclite Pants performed under testing Dartmoor conditions. No rain got in and there was enough breathabilty that the pants didn't feel uncomfortable even with the sunny spells between showers. My main concern with the Paclite Pants is the longevity of such a lightweight material - how much of beating can they take compared with other technical fabrics? 

Quickfire review...

Positive points:

• These pants pack away to a very small size and are very light.
• Reliable material, goretex is famous for maintaining its waterproof ability.
• Quick drying, allowing you to pack the pants away and keep comfortable. 

Not-so-positive:

• "lite" pants means they can't take knocks like traditional goretex can.
• Less breathable then some other lightweight overtrousers.

Summary:

The biggest selling point of these pants is the lightweight and space saving aspect of the Goretex Paclite material, the drawback of this is the loss of breathability and robustness. Personally I think it's worth it if you can look after the pants and make full use of the 3/4 zip to help the water vapour leave the trousers.

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Thanks for reading, please share with anyone you know looking for new waterproof trousers.

Thanks to outdoorkit.co.uk for providing the Berghaus Paclite Pants for the review, if you're interested in buying the Pants then they're currently 20% off of RRP on their website.

If you want more information about the Paclite Pants please don't hesitate to tweet me, @PaulWRickard.

Or you can contact OutdoorKit through their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Thanks again,

Paul Rickard