Quechua down jacket

HeidiHeidi

I'm looking to get one of those ultra-light down jackets that squash up into almost nothing but yet make for warm insulation (it's for sailing, under the usual outer gear, so no bulk is important)

Most of the ones I've seen are €200+, which is more than I want to spend.

Recently, via a blog, I've come across the Quechua brand, available from decathlon.ie. I've heard of both brands, but know nothing about either.

There are Quechua jackets available for about €40-50, which is alarmingly cheap compared to anything else I've seen. Example http://www.decathlon.ie/x-light-men-s-quilted-jacket-en-s12080.html

Has anyone else any experience of either of these brands (the jacket itself, and/or the website) and could give me a steer? I'm a big believer in you get what you pay for, and if it looks too good to be true etc..... but on the other hand to get a jacket for 1/4 of the price of North Face etc.....

Any advice gratefully received!

Mountainsandh

I'm not into sailing, so I can't vouch for that specifically, but I'm French and very familiar with the brand, and it's really good imo.

Décathlon and Quechua are hugely popular in France, and with reason I think. The clothes and shoes are well made, good quality and cheap. You get what you pay for though, if they have a base, middle, and high price, you will get what you expect from them, but with a very good base price standard.

I have a pair of walking boots a good few years old that I can't seem to wreck no matter how many times I fire them in the washing machine.
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/media/828/8287393/big_2ccaf440791a4c588727ad9644521ada.jpg

I also have a selection of clothes, less sporty shoes, swimming togs, bags... all very good quality for the price.

If you look at most French people trekking/cycling around Ireland in the rain, you will see a lot of Quechua gear and shoes ! When they say it's waterproof, it is in my experience

I'd say go for it ! You'll probably be back for more gear.

HeidiHeidi

Thanks for the recommendation!

I've bitten the bullet and ordered a jacket - just over 50 quid, so if it's half as good as it says it is it'll still be a bargain. Doesn't have to be waterproof, as it'll be under proper wet gear, it's more for a warm insulating later with no bulk.

Also picked up a pair of flip-flops for €2.60 - where would you be going??!! (I'm not thinking about what child labour may have been involved in producing them that cheap, and hoping they just get spat out of a plastic moulding machine.....)

Mountainsandh

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Thanks for the recommendation!

I've bitten the bullet and ordered a jacket - just over 50 quid, so if it's half as good as it says it is it'll still be a bargain. Doesn't have to be waterproof, as it'll be under proper wet gear, it's more for a warm insulating later with no bulk.

Also picked up a pair of flip-flops for €2.60 - where would you be going??!! (I'm not thinking about what child labour may have been involved in producing them that cheap, and hoping they just get spat out of a plastic moulding machine.....)

Hope it does the trick for you, I think it will. Same here for the manufacture, I looked it up and found just one article that seems to say that of course, it's the mass production model (in China in the article), but that there are efforts to only contract to the "better" employers. They have a name to protect I guess.
http://www.lesechos.fr/19/01/2004/LesEchos/19075-053-ECH_decathlon---made-in-china--.htm#

Lex Luthor

hope it works out for you but would prefer to stick to well known brands

sportpursuit are doing sales on Mountain Hardwear gear at moment...got my wife one of their Ghost Whisperer jackets recently (800 fill) and its really light,packable and warm....loves it

HeidiHeidi

Well I got the jacket, and it's perfect - exactly what I was after.

Except for one thing - going by online reviews, I had guessed that the sizing ran to a bit small, so I ordered a size or two above what I'd normally go for - and it's HUGE :eek:

Like, unwearable huge.

So it's all parcelled up to go back for a no-quibble exchange - will probably cost me an extra tenner, but it's still amazing value in my book.

I'm hoping the new one will be back in time for a big trip I'm going on soon, but not the end of the world if it's not.

Red Kev

There's a Decathlon store in Belfast, it's out beside IKEA. Well worth a visit if you're after a few things, especially since the £ has lost a bit of value over the past months.

Mountainsandh

Decathlon that near ? (relatively speaking, I'm in co Waterford !)
That's good to know !

They have great kids' bikes and the son is due an upgrade. I've given up on kids' bikes bought in Ireland, they get rusty too quick, and I can't afford the ones that may not get rusty as quick !

We go to France in campervan every year so we're lucky we're able to bring them back here. We might not go just this year so a trip to Belfast may be in order.

HeidiHeidi, I hope the replacement jacket is doing the trick.