A Rather Superior Cycling Jacket

[Jonty]

Just received a copy of "The Brooks Despatch", September 2011, an email letter about all things Brooks.
It draws attention to a Brooks traditional cycling jacket called the Criterion Cycling Jacket, which retails at £869.80. I've checked and it definitely doesn't say £86.98.
Showed it to my wife who said "are you getting one then?"
jonty

[meic]

Such a jacket will obviously make a statement about its owner!

[snibgo]

It has a "fold-out seat panel". Delivery is free, so this is a bargain price for "truly the finest jacket ever created for cycling." (http://www.brookssaddles.com/catalogue- ... ket+GENTS/)

I'd look a cheapskate if I bought one of their capes at £200.

[TonyR]

Its cheap compared to e.g. this if you are into that sort of thing.

Ventile has never been cheap. I had a ventile climbing jacket once and it cost a fortune even in the sale. Worked very well though as a non-sweaty waterproof..

[Graham O]

Ventile is a great fabric, but it just doesn't come close in looks to this http://www.dashingtweeds.co.uk/dt/tailo ... fits-sub1/. Something I'm quite pleased about.

[Jonty]

Such a jacket will obviously make a statement about its owner!

Such as a total absence of dress sense. I don't even think it looks very good.
Now if it looked better.......
jonty

[Mick F]

It would be cheaper to buy a car.

I'm all for spending money on good stuff - you gets wot you pays for - but £800+ for a cycling jacket is taking the proverbial.

[thirdcrank]

I can't even see from the link what it's made from (although that may be my fault ) Ventile has been mentioned and I had a Ventile jacket once. In the days when Settle was a real market town - when the A 65 went through the town centre - there used to be a real gents' outfitters. In our church mouse days we used to holiday free in a farmhouse near Clapham owned by friends. I used to press my nose against the shop window coveting the Grenfell Ventile jackets. Then, yippee! They had the top model half-price in the sale. IIRC, down from an unaffordable £120 to a still eye-watering £60 - in the region of a week's take home pay. It was dry clean only and, in spite of the whole point of Ventile being that it gets more waterproof as the threads swell in the wet (likce cotton duck) it had to be reproofed whenever it was cleaned. Very soon, it was fraying at the cuffs and where the lower pockets were rubbed by the cuffs. One of life's disappointments.

On the subject of Ventile bargains, I have some trousers I bought from TK Maxx for a tenner, reduced from £300 IIRC. That's the way to do it.

[LollyKat]

Hilltrek do a Ventile copy of the old Greenspot for £175 which looks a lot more practical if you like that sort of thing.

[thirdcrank]

Hilltrek do a Ventile copy of the old Greenspot for £175 which looks a lot more practical if you like that sort of thing.

Very reasonable when you look at the prices of the ones sold in some RSPB shops.

http://www.countryinnovation.com/ventile/

[diapason0]

I always shop at Oxfam