19 December 2011

Repair or replace

Nothing like Dartmoor in late October to find out if your kit is waterproof! Unfortunately, when I went there with several splendid friends, I had to conclude my jacket wasn’t waterproof at all. I tend to be fairly fatalistic about such things, but my companions weren’t, and they inspired me to go back to the shop. And there they didn’t ask any questions; they just took it back to send it back to the manufacturer. And I didn’t really expect anything to happen before Christmas (mind you, I brought it back on November 14th), but lo and behold! On the 16th of December I got a message that the manufacturer had sent a brand new specimen back. So now I can try again!

When I picked it up from the store one detail struck me immediately: the older version of the jacket had inferior Velcro on the cuffs, so I replaced that. This newer version has a different kind of velcro; evidently they figured out themselves the old stuff wasn’t working!

My first action point was testing its waterproofness. And it wasn't raining outside so it became an indoor test. And the jacket came through well! I just hope it stays like that for a while... I hope to have lots of outdoor fun with this jacket!

Goretex testing in action

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