Sportful Fiandre Extreme Neoshell or Castelli Pave?

luv2ride

Not sure if others had seen this?
http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/arti ... 48291.html
Might be a different (earlier) version of Neoshell but the suggestion is that the 10,000mm HH reduces to 5,000mm HH after 20 washes :?
Not ideal given the RRP of the Sportful jacket. Not sure how this compares with Goretx and Event fabrics?

teebs_123

Bit of a result with my jacket

WIggle have offered a £25 voucher to keep the jacket rather than getting a refund.

I had ordered a Castelli Senza (awful fit and felt cheap) and a DHB Aeron softshell (felt very cheap), so I was a bit stuck with what to do.

The pocket issue isn't huge, so I'll live with it rather than send back and get something else. I do feel the jacket is excellent, just let down by some slightly flimsy pockets

Well done to Wiggle for coming to a resolution rather than "computer says no"

noodleman

That's good news. I'm awaiting my 3rd replacement but if it happens again I may well see if they will offer some sort of voucher code or similar. I feel the same in that I love the jacket generally and don't fancy anything else but not happy to pay for faulty goods.

teebs_123

noodleman wrote:

That's good news. I'm awaiting my 3rd replacement but if it happens again I may well see if they will offer some sort of voucher code or similar. I feel the same in that I love the jacket generally and don't fancy anything else but not happy to pay for faulty goods.

That was my angle. Good luck

luv2ride

Fiandre Extreme went back. Replaced by this:

Went for medium and first impressions are its a much better fit (on me) than the large Fiandre Extreme. Fabric also has a nice soft feel and some limited stretch (much more so than Goretex Active Shell). Nice.

rowlers

@luv2ride - why did you send it back?

noodleman

Looks nice. My fiandre (lost count how many I've had) should arrive tomorrow. If this one fails I'm getting onto sportful and letting them know about all these issues. Might get me nowhere but it seems they have a pretty bad QC problem with this garment.

luv2ride

rowlers wrote:

@luv2ride - why did you send it back?

Just down to the fit (was between sizes I think) and wasn't a fan of the insulated waffle lining. Too much like a softshell for me, and have a few of those already albeit not waterproof. Have also read that the waterproofing performance of Neoshell "halves after 20 washes" (see earlier post).

Slightly annoyed though to see Wiggle have now got the short sleeve and arm warmer combo (in my preferred red colourway) down to £148 currently. That's a bargain.

noodleman

That is annoying. Still haven't recieved my replacement yet and it's dropped 11 pounds in price since i sent the first one back.

rowlers

That is the one I have, the SS version, I paid only a little more than that..
I thought maybe it fell apart on you as it has on others!

noodleman

Replacement jacket arrived today. Put my phone, multi tool, spare tube and gel in the pockets. 37 miles later I arrived home, emptied my pockets and the seams have started to come apart at the bottom. Utterly fed up with sending the piece of crap back and getting the same problem. Four times now!!

rowlers

noodleman wrote:

Replacement jacket arrived today. Put my phone, multi tool, spare tube and gel in the pockets. 37 miles later I arrived home, emptied my pockets and the seams have started to come apart at the bottom. Utterly fed up with sending the piece of crap back and getting the same problem. Four times now!!

Well I think you really have to call it quits. I'm going to dig mine out and have a pull on the seams...

noodleman

Put your fingers into the bottom corner of the pocket. It seems to be where it starts to fail and then just works its way up. I did give mine a bit of grief before wearing it and it seemed ok. I'm wondering if its the heat and moisture build up that softens the glue causing if to pull apart.

rowlers

Yeah those seems are WEAK! Just a little tug and you can see them coming apart... They appear to be glued rather than stitched? What a real disappointment as the jacket fits me like a glove an does what it says on the tin..

They may realise the mistake and bring a revised version out? Email to Sportful me thinks....

akastana

Luv2ride wrote:

Not sure if others had seen this?
http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/arti ... 48291.html
Might be a different (earlier) version of Neoshell but the suggestion is that the 10,000mm HH reduces to 5,000mm HH after 20 washes :?
Not ideal given the RRP of the Sportful jacket. Not sure how this compares with Goretx and Event fabrics?

That's from 2011 - NeoShell has come a long way since then, as have most of the brand name fabrics... most of the issue with degrading waterproofing can be avoided by making sure you keep the external surface in good condition and reproofing it every once in a while so the membrane doesn't have to deal with it as much...

rowlers

I have a had little correspondence back from Sportful. They are aware of the issue, but they are confident that it is a particular "batch". They have jackets that have been used and abused for 12 month+ without issue.
The seams are bonded to reduce the need to seal/tape the seams, which is understandable.

noodleman

Must be a fairly large batch then! I've had four now and all came from wiggle. There's at least two other distributors mentioned on here where the same issues have occurred. I'm not sure it's a bad batch. More like a design fault. Seems like pretty much everyone is experiencing the same problems.

rowlers

I tend to agree with you, but that's what the rep said!

apreading

Havent worn mine yet but Red LS Neoshell from PBK - I just put my hand in the pocked and pushed out and you can feel the glue joining the pockets coming apart. Didnt go all the way as I am not sure if it bothers me - I dont use rear pockets except for rare occasiont or if using an mp3 player or to shove my garmin in while popping into a cafe. I am not sure that it would trouble me, but its obviously not just a batch in that case... Hmm, was not 100% on the jacket already (hence why I hadnt worn it yet) and this gives me pause for thought again.

Sanjay

Did 4 hours in the rain today with my Neoshell - it was fantastic. I was dry despite almost constant rain the entire way, and breathability was great too.

Sorry to hear about the pocket issue for many people. I'm keeping an eye on mine, the glue is holding fast so far but it definitely doesn't seem the most secure way of separating them....

luv2ride

Luv2ride wrote:

Fiandre Extreme went back. Replaced by this:

Went for medium and first impressions are its a much better fit (on me) than the large Fiandre Extreme. Fabric also has a nice soft feel and some limited stretch (much more so than Goretex Active Shell). Nice.

First ride out in this today, and in the dry, albeit bloomin' windy and about 2 degrees. Wore it with a long sleeve DHB baselayer and a Castelli Prologo jersey. Absolutely windproof and now officially "the most breathable jacket I own", dry as a bone inside after a good 2 hour training ride. Very impressed. Hargroves are doing these at £135 at the moment, but could get Evans/Wiggle to price match for their easier returns if needed. Can't wait to try this in the wet....

daniel_b

Luv2ride wrote:

rowlers wrote:

@luv2ride - why did you send it back?

Just down to the fit (was between sizes I think) and wasn't a fan of the insulated waffle lining. Too much like a softshell for me, and have a few of those already albeit not waterproof. Have also read that the waterproofing performance of Neoshell "halves after 20 washes" (see earlier post).

Slightly annoyed though to see Wiggle have now got the short sleeve and arm warmer combo (in my preferred red colourway) down to £148 currently. That's a bargain.

They took it back for a refund even though it had been worn and had no faults?!

riddleofsteel

Hi to all. Any experience by anyone on the newest version of the Sportful Fiandre Extreme jacket and Castelli Pave, how is the Sportfuls pockets holding up etc.? Considering getting one of these two.

Cheers!

riddleofsteel

RiddleOfSteel wrote:

Hi to all. Any experience by anyone on the newest version of the Sportful Fiandre Extreme jacket and Castelli Pave, how is the Sportfuls pockets holding up etc.? Considering getting one of these two.

Cheers!

Ended up ordering Castelli Perfetto l/s and Endura FS260 Race Cape in case of showers.

luv2ride

^ a good combo choice. I ended up getting a 2nd hand short sleeve Fiandre Extreme with the arm warmers. I guess i still needed to "scratch the itch". The plus points are the versatility of the armwarmers, the highly visible colourway (fire red and anthracite). The downsides are I still don't find it that breathable, the grid-type lining can soak up the sweat when working hard and the inside if the pockets have come unglued at the bottom though still work fine.

However, I got it for a great price so i don't mind wearing it in dreadful and dirty conditions, such as on a muddy gravel ride, and it does seem more waterproof than my old Gabba.

I now keep my Castelli Pave for best, and "clean" wet road rides

spatt77

Hi, Ive got a Assos Bonka for cold ,dry days which when you get the layering right is excellent , just got a Lusso Aqua Max Repel Extreme Jacket for when its wet and cold, haven't tried it yet but quality seems good and got great reviews and for £89 it could be a steal.

riddleofsteel

Luv2ride wrote:

^ a good combo choice.

Great, thanks! Good to know i got it right

Also ordered Castelli Alpha jacket today, getting ready for the winter here in the North.