Arktis 1514 Antarctica Flame Retardant Shirt

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Shewie

Mod
Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,259
24
48
Yorkshire
Not seen that one before Buckley - cheers for the heads up

I`ll be interested to hear if anyone has one.


Rich
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,407
2,428
Bedfordshire
I am sat here wearing mine. They are good kit. Stuart wrote a review on one after taking it to Alberta for one of Mors' courses. Several of the guys who just came back from Fyresdal wore them in Norway. It is not totally inflamable, it is possible for hot sparks to char the material after which it will crumble. That is what Stuart found, but I would imagine that it is less prone than a synthetic would be. It is quite a loose knit, so if a spark were to land on it, it would not bounce off all that readily, not like the Swandri. On the other hand, weight for weight it is a lot warmer than a Swandri.

The best feature for me is the high zippered neck, it is almost like wearing a scarf and does a great job of keeping your neck warm. Can't say how durable it will be over the long haul. The folk at the Country Covers stand (they make it) say that it is quite hard wearing. It is a pretty baggy garment, but can still be tucked into trousers. The sleeves are relatively long and don't have the elastic grip that some tops do. The length is great for keeping warm using the thumb loops, but the lack of strong elastic has made me avoid sliding the sleeves up too much.

I like it well enough that I am seriously thinking of getting a second (in black) to wear around town.

I bought mine straight from Country Covers/Arktis at the West Midland Game Fair. They had a show special which brought it down to about £35. I was planning on getting another when I see them at the Kelmarsh show, so sorry, am not able to suggest other suppliers.

The only problem that I have encountered with is that it fills a very similar niche as my Paramo Mountain-Vent Pullon, and now I have the dimlema of having to choose which to wear on expeditions :banghead: :lmao:
 

Prophecy

Settler
Dec 12, 2007
593
32
38
Italy
Chris - may I ask your chest size and which size of shirt you got?

I'd like to order one but as we all know, sizing can be rather unpredictable.
 

Tiley

Life Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,364
375
60
Gloucestershire
Am I right in assuming you mean the Nomex/Merino ones? If so, they are great: warm, pretty durable and very comfortable. They do become quite saggy but I've found washing it does relieve this to a degree and actually improves the transportation of moisture away from the body. I've found it superb when combined with the Ullfrotte 400 sleeveless top when the temperature drops. My only problem is I can't remember where I got mine from!:eek:
 

buckley

Nomad
Nov 8, 2006
369
4
United Kingdom
Thanks alot for that Chris, much appreciated.

I am 6ft 3 with a 44 chest, as you suggested they are baggy do you think a large would suffice? I'm going to order both green and black I think ;)

Don't seem to bad for the price.

Cheers.
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,407
2,428
Bedfordshire
Well, the country covers site says that medium is "up to 40" chest" and that large is up to 44". If the room I have in mine is anything to go by, I would expect that if you have a 44 inch chest, the large one should be fine.
 

buckley

Nomad
Nov 8, 2006
369
4
United Kingdom
I own a buffalo and a montane.

Both excellent jackets. Not particulary well suited to bushcraft in my opinion though as they have a pertex shell, and as my inital post notes they are vulnerable to melting/catching sparks etc. Thorns/Brambles etc are also a huge pain! Excellent value for money. I paid £65 for my montane extreme of evil bay and its a great bit of kit, much prefer it to any of my other jackets (moutain equipment, northface etc)

I've learnt the hard way and won't be using goretex/pertex stuff for bushcraft in the future. I'm going down the 'it was cheap, don't care if it gets trashed' route.

Sad I know, but i've shyed away from Swanndri (awesome kit) primarily because everyone else has one, and i'd feel like I was in a uniform if when I was at meets and stuff!

Cheap wool pendelton shirts are pretty good, you can pick them up for a few pounds off ebay.

:)
 

Miggers

Forager
Dec 31, 2006
149
0
57
Oxford
Got mine from Lansdale [http://www.lansdaleltd.com/prod.php] they were £38 inc Vat which was the best price I found at the time.

They do go a bit baggy and minor pilling on the outer. Found it great on cool autumn/spring nights as a pullover. Works great as thermal in the winter.

Highly recommended.
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,407
2,428
Bedfordshire
The place where the Buffalo (pile fleece/pertex) garments totally outshine wool is when it is really wet. The people I know who do wilderness canoe expeditions won't touch wool with a pole for that activity, but swear by the pile/pertex combination. I use my Paramo there if I have the choice. Wool retains some warmth when wet, but it is a beast to dry out compared to synthetic.
 

traderran

Settler
May 6, 2007
571
0
73
TEXAS USA
Just get a heavy Blue jean shirt and starch the living H&ll out of it. Been using
them on camping trips for years. The starch makes the embers slide right off:beerchug:
 

Lostdreamer

Tenderfoot
Jul 6, 2007
50
0
Wmids
i'm looking for something spark resistant, warm and cheap!

I'm going to second Traderran here. If what you want is something for knocking around camp in, abusing the hell out of that doesn't care if it catches a few embers:

Natural fibers every time. It takes an awfull lot to beat a good old fashioned woolen shirt.

It wears pretty well, don't melt when embers hit it (you can scorch it, but probably won't go through), you can throw it in the washing machine when you get home and it is considerably cheaper £30 an item (assuming you are shopping for old shirts at charity shops/jumble sales/car boots/army surplus/etc).

Only catch: It's not 100% waterproof.
 

Prophecy

Settler
Dec 12, 2007
593
32
38
Italy
Did you ever get the Antarctica shirt Buckley ???


Rich

I just got mine today. It's a lot thinner than I expected, as I was comparing it to Buffalo Shirts - don't know why! Also very light.

I really like it - the shape is very functional with the high neck, thumbloops and scooped tail.

I've got a Stowaway Shirt on the way too, and I hear they work well together.
 

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