Oilies Again!

[marisca]

My 2001 vintage XM Ocean oilies had gone far beyond their "use by" date - soaked up water like a sponge, weighed a ton and did little to stop water getting through. I tried a new set from Marine Pool last year on the SIPR which were remarkably chilly and failed to keep out the waves of the Mull of Kintyre so they went back. A Fladen flotation suit was next and is waterproof and an absolute joy to wear on night sails or in winter but is awfy hot if it's not upwind in what we call summer. So this spring I bought another set of XM Ocean oilies, mostly on the grounds that I would probably get a good 5 or 6 years out of them and the previous yins had really been ok.

'Cos my original set had been an XL jacket and L trousers, that's what I ordered, expecting the sizing to still be the same. Couldn't even get the pants over my arse, so they went back for exchange to XL. Still too tight - ok when actually on but they had a tight waist band which was the same size as my hips and as for getting my willy out for a pee - impossible without wriggling out of the things. So I now have XXL - and these I can get on but the waist band is again tight and peeing without removing the jacket and pulling them down requires a fair degree of stretch in the relevant body part.

The jacket (XL) is a good size and I thought it was fine except that after about 2 months the silvery inside of the fabric is now worn through where it rubs against the front of the trousers. So it's another set of photos and more correspondence with XM.

The suit is well made, waterproof, seems to breathe well and is comfy in hot and cold but I have difficulty in believing the design was actually tested on anybody before production. The waistband of the trousers is stupid and the shortness of the zip and front fold caused by having it, idiotic. The abrasion of the jacket against the fold of the trousers can't be avoided but there is no attempt at all to protect the silvery material.

Perhaps I expect too much, perhaps I should have bought a name like Musto or Henry LLoyd - anyway, I feel better for the moan.

[Fingal]

So that'll be the end of sneering at my Mustos then? A new set of unsatisfactory cheapish oilies every 5 years or so, or a new set of Mustos at twice the price half as often, Hmm, tricky.

[marisca]

Somehow I had the feeling that you would be on my case. I would have thought oiled wool jumper and tarpaulin jacket would be more in keeping with the style of your venerable vessel rather than top-of-the-range Musto HPX.
At your age surely paying more for anything that lasts more than 5 years is a tad hopeful?

[Fingal]

I would have thought oiled wool jumper and tarpaulin jacket would be more in keeping with the style of your venerable vessel rather than top-of-the-range Musto HPX.

You ought to come below sometime, it's like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise down there now. I have even thought about installing a big swivelly chair and simply instructing Number One to 'Make it so' from time to time.

[Silkie]

I've been very pleased with my Compass cheapies which are in their eighth season. The knees are slightly more than micro-porous now (and they're getting some attention tomorrow to see if this can be improved) but apart from that the only other gripe is that the jacket is quite heavy. Excellent value for £200 I think.

I see they're £270 now.