Over the years I have bought a fair amount of stuff from Alpkit, walking poles, a tarp, etc and have been very happy with my purchases, but when I've bought clothing I'm not so sure anymore.
I've bought three items of clothing, first a synthetic warm jacket, OK but it has that clammy nylon feel to it if it gets too warm inside. The second item was also a warm synthetic jacket, much better, roughly the same price. I wear them both as layers to keep warm, or to take off one when I start to get too hot. I just wear the second purchase first and the original purchase goes on top.
I decided to buy a warm cheap 'fleece cardigan' the other day and it arrived this morning. OK, I know I was choosing a product that was advertised as a 'second' reduced from nearly £40 to £25, which for my hiking needs I have no worry about. I've walked around with it on this morning and I notice that as I got warmer I started to feel that nylon clamminess again.
I'll persevere with it but if it proves to be a poor buy I'll just, as I always tend to, just wear it down the pub in the winter. I don't think I'll buy Alkit clothing again, well not as the first choice anyway, even with three clothing items, I feel the products are just a bit too hit and miss to feel confident about them.
Am I just being too picky?