Outdoor shops

[frank2008]

Hi,

I am looking for a warm winter jacket to buy in Helsinki.
Does anyone happen to know a place where I can get clothing from producers like Patagonia etc.?

Thanks and regards,
frank

[mCowboy]

Finland is too cold to have outdoor shops during winter time, so most shops are indoors, except for the occasional market square stalls.

For North Face etc you can try http://www.partioaitta.fi and http://www.joutsen.com .

[Meri-Tuuli]

Hello

I love Patagonia gear! Sadly, it is totally out of my price range. Anyway Finland isn't so hot on outdoor shops as some other countries - I guess there isn't such a large mountaineering community here.

Are you looking for equipment to be used for outdoor activities such as mountaineering or just need a warm jacket for the winter?

If its the latter, then I wouldn't bother getting a high tech mountaineering jacket to stroll to work in (unless you have bags of cash) simply because the normal jackets people wear here are pretty good. For instance, I picked up a down filled jacket yesterday for 40euro at my local supermarket - okay so its not some known brand (anyone heard of 'skila'?) but it is warm and for 40euro I'm not complaining. So you might think about doing the same. Although OTOH by bf has a Patagonia jacket that was really expensive, but he's been wearing it now throughout the whole winter for the last 3 years, so relatively speaking, it is good value. Although he did buy it in the US - I haven't seen Patagonia on sale here.

As for outdoor gear, most Finns (I do geology so we need alot of outdoor gear for fieldtrips etc) tend to buy Hägflors which I'm told is very good, or Fall Raven or Halti. They're not so keen on North Face stuff or other non-nordic brands, or at least, thats the impression I get anyway.

So I would say that outdoor shops are quite hard to come by - there might be a couple in the local mall or town centre, but they tend to stock the aforementioned nordic brands, and sometimes are more cantered to the ice fishing community so if you want a full blown ice immersion suit then these are the shops to go to. Halonen has a large outdoor gear section, as does Intersport. Your local hypermarket might have some good deals too - I picked up a pair of New Balance trainers for 35euro there, which would retail for 3 times that much in the UK. If you just want a down jacket to keep you warm, then I'd suggest ditching the outdoor shop idea and just go to normal shops. Joutsen seems to be a popular (and expensive) brand of good down jackets.

Hope this helps, its abit garbled, but the situation is that in Finland it is (obviously) very cold in the winter, so there are lots of good jackets out there that aren't really sold in outdoor shops -- a mistake I made!

[mCowboy]

Skila was a big name in the 80's, and it's a decent brand. I see mostly North Face in Met area, more than any other single brand. I don't buy North Face in Finland, since here it's too expensive, I order or buy most of clothes like my McMurdo North Face down park from the US.

[Muddy Zuk]

I picked up my toasty Jack Wolfskin Jacket for 100€ in Itakeskus reduceed by 50% as it was last years But then i bought another one from the Marmot range in another sale for again 100€ so no saving for me but on the plus side i now have two very warm winter jackets. The Marmot is slightly better i must say.

There are outdoor shops on the street to the left of Kampi and behind forum. These have probably more than you are looking for! But if like me you prefer to have a slightyl more expensive winter jacket this may be the place to go. My last one lasted me five years and is still going strong except my ex has it now!

[mCowboy]

My last one lasted me five years and is still going strong except my ex has it now!

Steal it back...

[sinikala]

Anyway Finland isn't so hot on outdoor shops as some other countries

Not totally true, you'll find one in most reasonable sized towns... partiokauppa is the magic word.

Also you get a far better selection of outdoor gear here in standard sports shops like Intersport / Topsport, than you do in some other countries. E.g. JJB in England appears to sell little more than replica footy shirts.

[EP]

partiokauppa is the magic word

Almost: Partioaitta

[mCowboy]

There's Partiokauppa and there's Partioaitta... both are similar shops.

[sinikala]

partiokauppa is the magic word

Almost: Partioaitta

Search Google for partiokauppa and you'll find that not only is http://www.partiokauppa.fi/ come up but so is http://www.partioaitta.fi/

[superiorinferior]

Anyway Finland isn't so hot on outdoor shops as some other countries

Not totally true, you'll find one in most reasonable sized towns... partiokauppa is the magic word.

Also you get a far better selection of outdoor gear here in standard sports shops like Intersport / Topsport, than you do in some other countries. E.g. JJB in England appears to sell little more than replica footy shirts.

I thought you were asking the question.

All I see these days is North Face printed on the backs of people with too much money. It is like the early 1990s when all people wore were those god-awful Cap Horn jackets with the emblem on the left sleeve. Everyone was a sailor or something back then! Now everyone is a mountain climber.

Luhta makes jackets that last and last and they are expensive, but they do last.

[Meri-Tuuli]

Well good to know that Skila isn't as bad as I'd thought! Anyway for 40e I'm not complaining although the colour perhaps isn't my first choice (dusty pink).

Anyway don't know what you mean about 'I thought you were asking the question'.

But yeah, North Face stuff is a touch overpriced here in Finland and well, you can pick up something that will keep you just as warm for half the price.

I still don't think Finland has a good selection of outdoor shops -- it just doesn't have the mountaineering community, compared to say, some resorts in the Alps, Colorardo, Scotland etc which are packed with outdoor shops. A couple of outdoor shops in a decent sized town, I would say, is pretty much average I think.

But there you go.

[Hank W.]

If you're planning a trip somewhere, I'd aim for a Decathlon when the French got the sales on (or even without sales). I've got a few of their "own brand" stuff... Quechua, the fleece's survived 3 winters in the wash without getting natty, and the ski coveralls I cannot wear unless I go into the lake ice in -30 without getting a heat stroke... apparently in Italy, Spain and UK too...

[superiorinferior]

Anyway don't know what you mean about 'I thought you were asking the question'.

Was directed to sinikala who seems to know more about outdoor equipment sales in the Tri-County area than Mr. Partio himself. And he was "asking the question."

[frank2008]

Thanks a lot to all for this helpful info, really appreciated. Cleary one does not necessarily need a top end jacket for walking to work and back in Helsinki but it's always worthwhile to have good clothing - even if only really needed twice a year or so...
Best F