RedKettle - 50% off sale

[Dobermann]

Rec'd my Medium/Regular...fits great over base layer and thin vest. I'm 5'-9", 165 lb

Good to hear ... we're similar sizes, and I also ordered the Med/Reg.

Wow, mine still says it's passed through LA. That was the 21st. No updates since.

I think LA is having some issues ... ordered something in late Sept for export from the US; it arrived at LA and has disappeared.

Am also hearing stories of commuter luggage going AWOL on flights around the world ... not sure if it's more theft due to rising prices, systems problems post-COVID, both, or something else ...

 

[fwafwow]

Wow, mine still says it's passed through LA. That was the 21st. No updates since.

Hopefully it wasn't on a train....

FWIW - this is what my box looked like when received. I attribute this to DHL - not Red Kettle

 

[david2duck]

Ordered mine yesterday and already have shipping info. Hopefully the XL jackets fit my works out a ton but loves donuts ass.

 

[fwafwow]

.

 

[BBob]

Ventile Wind Shell M20. 5’9” 155. With my measurements (a hair less than the middle of the size range) it suggested Medium Regular. I can easily layer. Kuiu Ultra Down not a problem at all, Pro Down is snug but still fits. I can layer about any mid layer I might want under it. Doesn’t feel overly large.

 

[mp12]

Ventile Wind Shirt. 5’9” 155. With my measurements (a hair less than the middle of the size range) it suggested Medium Regular. I can easily layer. Kuiu Ultra Down not a problem at all, Pro Down is snug but still fits. I can layer about any mid layer I might want under it. Doesn’t feel overly large.

Is that with a base layer also?

 

[BBob]

Is that with a base layer also?

With a t-shirt which would be about equivalent to a light merino that I’d normally be wearing. Basically I could wear my base merino and pretty much any mid layer and be totally fine with room left to move freely. It fits about the same as my light rain jacket over the Pro down, a bit snug to be actively walking around hunting in but sitting glassing would be fine and would keep the wind from penetrating.

 

[Firth]

6'1" 200 lb. Chest measurement is in the upper middle of "large", waist is on the lower end of "large", and arms are right in the middle of "large". Ordered a large wind jacket. Length and fit around the midsection are good. The one spot that is a bit tight is the shoulders. I'll have to decide if I need to bump up to an XL. Fit is not terrible but noticeably snug. The last time I ordered a jacket I had to go to an XL for shoulders and that always seems to be the tradeoff - go bigger for shoulders versus being much bigger than I need through the torso. Other than shoulders fit is good with a base layer and Patagonia R1.

 

[BjornF16]

Like the Light Ventile Hunting Jacket so much I ordered the Ventile Wind Shell as well

 

[dingle]

If I end up liking the hunting jacket, unfortunately for me I'll find out well after the sale ends. Tracking number says the Royal Mail hasn't received the parcel (AND the British postal workers are going on strike in November but that probably won't have an impact).

Any notion if Redkettle will run another sale like this after October 31?

 

[Dobermann]

Hopefully it wasn't on a train....

FWIW - this is what my box looked like when received. I attribute this to DHL - not Red KettleView attachment 468164

My experience of DHL is that they're faster than many other carriers, which means less transiting, handling, and so on - and fewer damaged parcels.

Hard to tell for sure from that photo, but to me, the wall of that box looks just too thin for international travel.

Will be interesting to see how the others fare ...

 

[BBob]

Will be interesting to see how the others fare ...

My box arrived just fine. It was handed off to USPS for final delivery.

 

[mp12]

Does this jacket do well in thick cover areas?

I'm wondering - do stickers/thorns poke holes in it easily and do burrs/seeds stick to it if you end up crawling/walking through thick stuff?

 

[three5x5s]

Well........what's the word on the Ventile Wind Shell. Thinking about ordering one tonight before the sale ends. I'll be ordering a size small. 5"4 130lbs w/37 chest. Hoping the sleeves aren't to long, hate all that bulk at the cuff.

 

[parshal]

Finally received mine. I'm 5'8" 175 pounds and ordered the large. I can easily fit it over a sweatshirt with some room to spare. The sleeves are slightly long by about an inch and the shoulders are not tight. My only 'complaint' is that the zipper is on the wrong side. The pull is on the left side; the same side of the road the Brits drive on!

 

[Formidilosus]

Does this jacket do well in thick cover areas?

I'm wondering - do stickers/thorns poke holes in it easily and do burrs/seeds stick to it if you end up crawling/walking through thick stuff?

No and no.

 

[mp12]

No and no.

Thanks. Looks like their sale has ended a couple hours early on the hunting jackets unfortunately

 

[three5x5s]

Thanks. Looks like their sale has ended a couple hours early on the hunting jackets unfortunately

I missed it to..

 

[Dobermann]

Mine arrived today.

First up, I'm usually a 'standard medium' by most measurements, and the medium standard fit fine.

Second, like @fwafwow's box, mine was trashed:



It looks like it might have somehow got rain damaged during some part of the process. However, the cardboard is so thin and flimsy that I'm not sure it would have stood up to normal handling of international shipping - I'll be contacting RedKettle about this. Fortunately, the contents were okay, but it could have just as easily have been otherwise.

As for the jacket ... hmmm.

I guess what I'll say is that, overall, I'm glad I bought it at that price point.

I have every faith that it will perform as @Formidilosus has reported - and that I'll love it for what it is.

However, as a piece of active wear, and as a rain jacket specifically, there are at least six design issues that jumped out straight away.

This makes me wonder if the reason it was on sale is that it received increased popularity in Europe, and possibly in the US thanks for Form's earlier posts, and they've had some feedback on the design and are coming out with a wholly revised model.

Overall, I love that 1950s (or earlier) tech has been revitalised in this way. I'm a bit of a Luddite and have ex-hippy tendencies, and the use of natural materials appeals. I'm also old enough to have had high-end seam-sealed Gore-Tex jackets fail.

However, the cut, fit, and features of the RedKettle Light Ventile Hunting Jacket remind me of rain jackets of the 1980s - and we've moved so far ahead from then.

I know Form said something along the lines of this not being a 'performance' wear piece, and that's true.

However, again, there are six issues that jump out at me as a mere user, not a designer ... surely more modern design and a couple of decades of multiple user experience would count for something?

Overall, this feels like a jacket designed by a keen hunter who found some cool 'old' tech. It doesn't have the feel of some jackets by a couple of the 'big name' US-based companies who have people who are not only hunters, but also ex-military and/or snowboarders, and/or climbers, and/or who already had experience in the outdoor clothing industry.

Personally, I'm saying all this to not 'rag' on the jacket at all - I'm sure it will work well, and will last for years.

For the price I paid for it, I'm happy I took the gamble. Given that I paid what I did, I'll now have less of a problem 'thrashing' it for as long as it lasts - and I'm guessing it will last a long time.

However, had I paid full price, I think I'd be having buyer's remorse. This is partly as I'm on a budget, so things have to work at a level that reflects the price tag. If I were made of money, I would have bought this for the sake of having a natural fibre rain jacket, and for supporting RedKettle as a company, and even if I knew this was version 1.0, and an initial purchase would enable them to design an improved 2.0.

As it is, with the constraints of mortgage, kids, etc, the reduced price, and design limitations, feel just about matched.

And I'm guessing I'm not the only one that would have feedback about how RedKettle could make a handful of improvements - and the good news is that, from such a solid base platform, but with so many design issues, they could make the next version really, really knock it out of the park.

Which I look forward to, but probably couldn't then afford at their full price (even though I usually prefer to pay more and get the best I can). But I'd still be glad that it exists, and know that it's going to fill a nice that we needed.

Overall, thanks again to @Formidilosus for putting us onto Aclima net base layers, Fjallraven Kebs and Varusteleka Sarma TST pants, and now the RedKettle jacket ... these natural fibre options are a viable alternative to the mountain of industry-standard synthetics, and having found all of his other suggestions to work just as well as recommended, I can't wait to put the Ventile through its paces.

 

[ahlgringo]

However, as a piece of active wear, and as a rain jacket specifically, there are at least six design issues that jumped out straight away.

As someone who was/is looking at this jacket seriously- would you mind elaborating?

apologize, but I read your entire post but not a lot of useful info on the jacket except the box was trashed. can you expand on your design issue flaws?