Only morons and finance bros are paying close to $500 for that.
Do a little bit of research and you'll find that Outdoor Research is making that exact jacket, called the Motive AscentShell and selling it for $230 retail, or even less on sale.
Only morons and finance bros are paying close to $500 for that.
Do a little bit of research and you'll find that Outdoor Research is making that exact jacket, called the Motive AscentShell and selling it for $230 retail, or even less on sale.
It's literally the exact same fabric.
I used to know more about fabrics than I do now, but you're most likely right. There's really only a handful of top-performing waterproof fabrics that you want to be using, and they're all owned and patented. If you can do 10 minutes of reading you can know them all, find the jacket with the right material at the lowest price, assuming you like the fit and styling. I have some OR gear that's fantastic and was half the price of some more expensive stuff.
My brother in law and his sister will absolutely buy this. 23 minute 5k and 3:45 marathoner with way too much disposable income and this idea that hitting a BQ is the ultimate achievement in running.
My brother in law and his sister will absolutely buy this. 23 minute 5k and 3:45 marathoner with way too much disposable income and this idea that hitting a BQ is the ultimate achievement in running.
Some of the comparable jackets noted above don’t have the venting the Tracksmith jacket has even if they are the same fabric. Waterproof jackets, even with venting, can get pretty hot.
However, it is strange Tracksmith introduced this jacket in the Spring.
It’s idiotic to want to run wearing a waterproof jacket. It’s easier to just not run at all when it’s raining or at least not run outdoors, and if you are stupid enough to be an obsessive runner in cold rain, just wear a decent water-resistant jacket that you can get for $100-$200 and don’t mind getting wet coz you are going to get wet even with a waterproof jacket.
It’s idiotic to want to run wearing a waterproof jacket. It’s easier to just not run at all when it’s raining or at least not run outdoors, and if you are stupid enough to be an obsessive runner in cold rain, just wear a decent water-resistant jacket that you can get for $100-$200 and don’t mind getting wet coz you are going to get wet even with a waterproof jacket.
If it's cold and wet and pouring, I've run 10k's in my trisuit. Keeps me at a great temperature.
My brother in law and his sister will absolutely buy this. 23 minute 5k and 3:45 marathoner with way too much disposable income and this idea that hitting a BQ is the ultimate achievement in running.
Is this really the demographic for TS? From what I’ve seen the Tracksmith crowd are former collegiate runners who can’t understand why their 15-16 min 5K has no market value.
1) Tracksmith isn't large enough to be innovative in the materials industry, so if they're making their own fabric, it's definitely substandard compared to premium offerings from materials-forward business' like Goretex
2) They take that sub-par material and spray on DWR. I have a bottle of that stuff in my closet that I use to apply to my rain jackets every now and then.
$400 for a substandard jacket, cool!
Yup, this is the first thing I looked at in the materials section. It's just their own version of waterproofing, which you can't expect to be anywhere near Gore Tex or the proprietary materials of companies that specialize in outdoor adventure gear. The 360° chest vent is a cool detail but not revolutionary by any means. There are a million old high school track team pullovers that have this same feature, but just with old nylon fabric rather than waterproof. Crazy to claim it's the most breathable waterproof jacket ever when it doesn't seem to have pit zips(?), which is like the most basic feature for breathability across the industry for this kind of technical gear.
But then again, Tracksmith doesn't specialize in technical gear. They specialize in the irony of turning the egalitarianism of amateur running culture into something you can buy, gatekeep, and flaunt to make "serious running" more exclusive.
$400 is way too expensive but it's crazy how a company like Satisfy is out-Tracksmithing Tracksmith. At least theirs is Pertex, but it's even more expensive and they have stuff like a comically oversized exterior tag to show that wearing their stuff is extremely performative and elitist, just like Tracksmith.
Anyone who pays $400 bucks for a "water proof" jacket is a dumb azz.
I get a windbreaker from Amazon for $10 bucks made in China like TS. Probably same factory.Then spray it with a can of $5 water repellant form Menards.
Ta-da ....$15 bucks for a "water proof" jacket.
Give me $300 for my "water proof" jacket and you'll be "saving" 25%.