walkinaround

used barbours are £40 at camden market

genuine north face gore-tex jackets are £10 in china.

just some money saving tips.

laclaire

I have a feeling that you are asking this because you have a budget and don't think you can find what you need in the UK for tha price. Am I right? If not, I highly recommend purchasing your jacket there. Obviously, they have great rain gear and you can get locals to suggest things to you.

That said, my father loves London Fog and if you have a Marshall's near you, you might have some luck as they end up there a lot.

nibblette

REI makes some really good rain jackets for much less than some of the big names. They frequently have sales. Their TAKU jacket won Outside magazine's 2005 "best-of" award ($199 men but you can find it for less with sales and coupons).

I do a lot of hiking and use their Ultralight jacket. I am very small so I can wear the children's sizes (about $60).
It won't completely keep out very heavy rain but is otherwise very good, breathable, and windproof. My English BF also likes REI's jackets (he wears the higher end ones).

I also like their guarantee. If their waterproofs are not waterproof, they will refund/exchange. I was refunded for a pair of boots that leaked after 6 months and only a few wears.

Have tried Marmot with Gortex (very expensive!) but found it did not do as well as the REI's Ultralight.

JoeTro

Thanks. I guess I could buy it in the UK, but I think it might cost more and I'd like to have it already so I don't spend days looking there.

flanneruk

The only people who wear Barbour are:

- genuine rurals who spend all day in the fields being taught by their Slobrador how to catch rabbits, or
- inhabitants of London's naffer semi-gentrified southern suburbs who want the rest of the world to think they've got a country pile - the last thing in the world any inhabitant of the naffer semi-gentrified northern suburbs would ever want.

Don't even think of wearing one in a civilised city: your peers will assume you're someone's thicko brother, visiting for the day from Cirencester Agricultural College.

I've never seen outerwear in a UK Uniqlo. I doubt they'd have any in their handful of US outlets.

The simplest thing is to buy pretty much the same, unbranded (you're moving to Oxford. Not some Nike-obsessed finishing school for the mentally deficient), £30-£40 anorak everyone else wears. There are at least half a dozen outdoor clothes specialists within 100 yards of Carfax - mostly called variants of Milletts or Blacks.

JoeTro

Thanks, Flanner. Now I remember some of the stores you are talking about. My concern with the anarax is that that's kind of what I had before which didn't work too well/last too long. I'm probably leaning now towards something at REI or LL Bean, although I recently found a good priced GORE-TEX jacket from BassPro.

Pausanias

Another vote for Campmor -- I've packed their lightweight "Red Lodge" jacket on many trips and it's always kept me dry. I think it cost about $60.

If you need something more businesslike, laclaire's London Fog suggestion is pretty good.

Buy it here. In the UK it will cost more. (Unless you buy a Barbour, which look great and smell bad but which, as flanneruk suggests, send a message. Mine is on its second life. I bought it in London 19 years ago when everyone wore one.) Barbour raincaps look snappy and presumably will not arouse the ire of the casual observer. Stick on in your pocket and you won't need an umbrella.

flanneruk

Barbour raincaps do NOT look "snappy" (if that's meant to be a nice thing to say)

They look...well, Gloucestershire's the least offensive way of putting it.

In any English university city, they make you look like the worst kind of public school oik. Apart from a 1960s college scarf, it's hard to think of anything more devoid of Quad Cred.

Even David Cameron doesn't wear one. And didn't even in his Bullingdon days.

walkinaround

barbour is much more popular with the french than the british. every frenchman living in or visiting britain has one.

Pausanias

"Barbour raincaps look snappy and presumably will not arouse the ire of the casual observer."

To which flanneruk replied:

"Barbour raincaps . . . make you look like the worst kind of public school oik."

My mistake.

jsmith

I haven't had an opportunity since posting about this time last night when I recommended Cabelas while in a hurry. My wife has been wearing the same full length GoreTex raincoat for about 5 years now from Cabelas. It has gone with us to London, Paris, Amsterdam in October, November and March and has seen its share of rain. Nary a drop has penetrated it.

I have a three year old jacket, called a three in one, of which I can say the same.

I've had many raincoats (Aquascutum, London Fog, Burberry) over the years While stylish and expensive they really don't give protection in sustained rain.

Take a look at these two pages on the Cabela website:

http://tinyurl.com/hejzn

http://tinyurl.com/fnjv3

While you're on the website look at the Bargain Cave for closeout and sale items and for the location of their retail stores.

djkbooks

Gore-tex is terrific, but noisy.

Buying one "over there" will likely cost a lot more. I left my beloved sandals home one trip based on the forecast and ended up buying a pair of Clarks I discovered upon returning home I could have purchased for 1/2 the price online.

JoeTro

I ended up buying a Columbia brand jacket today at Sports Authority for $80. A North Face one could be had for $100, but I didn't like it as well. We'll see how things go; thanks for all the help.

audere_est_facere

Burberry will get you an interesting reaction.......Not perhaps the one you might expect.

Flanneur's right - get yerself down to Millets or Blacks (on most high Sts - they're actually the same comapny trading in two guises) and get a decent mac or anorak for around £40.

audere_est_facere

P.s My raincoat/overcoat is by Austin Reed. Good quality and not insanely pricey.

Danna

I brought a bright yellow plastic poncho on my first trip. Scared small children in Scotland and Northern Ireland. I wouldn;t suggest it.

The second year I had a non-breathable jacket... also can't recommend it.

You have good insights here however.

Have a grand time!