Product Review: TAD Gear Stealth Hoodie (repro) pic heavy

[rockafella]

(Mods: if appropriate I think this should actually be moved to the 'Reviews Section'- my mistake..)

With all the Repro TAD gear stuff out there I thought starting a product review thread dedicated to TAD repro's would be beneficial for anyone who is considering buying a TAD replica.

I am hoping that anyone with some firsthand feedback on TAD Gear replicas will post some detailed reviews.

Have a TAD Gear replica? Post your reviews here.

[rockafella]

Bannana

[oniwagamaru]

well this may not pertain to TAD gear's stealth hoodie, i bought a repro TAD gear ranger hoodie from ebairsoft. The fleece material is good and it actually kept me warm. There was enough room in the hood for my giant head. The sizing is actually north american so for you guys it should fit! I thought it was asian sizing so i bought a medium which was wayyyyyyyyyy tooo big for me so i think i might sell it. The only "big problem " i see with this product was the zippers which everyone was complainin about. It was really finicky and if you didnt put it on the right way it would get messed up and it was easy to screw it up. another thing wrong about it was in the minor details. some of it is a bit off from the actual TAD stuff like the zipper protector... i think its too big! Another one is the headphones eyelet which is just a slash on the fabric without the actual port thing. I actually really like this repro and would actually buy it again( i think im going to since the damn thing is too big for a small asian).

[huang]

I have the same Allwin one, same size for over a year. No complaint so far. It is my primary winter outfit. I have two medium left in stock.

[rockafella]

Originally Posted by huang

I have the same Allwin one, same size for over a year. No complaint so far. It is my primary winter outfit. I have two medium left in stock.

Hey Huang, so is this jacket supposed to have the little velcro loop patch (typically where TAD puts thier logo)? -mine did'nt have that.

[huang]

Originally Posted by rockafella

Hey Huang, so is this jacket supposed to have the little velcro loop patch (typically where TAD puts thier logo)? -mine did'nt have that.

Nope, allwin version doesn't have that. I have another vesion that has the velcro patch for logo and it has the logo. but that version is not made of DINTEX.

[rockafella]

Just a follow up on how the Allwin Stealth Dintex is holding up. So today, we had our first real downpour and I had a chance to test it in a real world situation.
Spent 30 minutes outside hood up- the jackets' external layer was soaked thoroughly - iPhone in front chest pocket, iPod in right upper arm pocket, long sleeve CF thermal shirt worn underneath.

I did not feel any leakage, however upon removeing the jacket I noticed that there were a couple of spots at the seams where the water had penetrated through to the inner lining of the shell (please note that the real TAD stealth soft-shell is not a water proof shell) The largest wet spots were at the seamline running down the arm right above the cuff on both arms, at the small I'D pocket on the left arm and at the bottom of the main front zipper. There were also very minor leaks at one of the elbow seams, a very small leak on the inside of the front right chest pocket.
The brim on the hood worked great printing any raindrops from entering the hood opening or the front collar/neck guard.
When I got back inside I hung the jacket on the back of my chair and after 45 mins (at room temperature) all but the right shoulder and underneath the hood, at the upper back of the jacket (hood down) was still wet.
The front zip, which was a bit stiff and took a bit fiddling around with is now functioning perfectly. The 'sharp' metal edges on the top of the front zip, and the right arm venting zip have now been completely resolved by flattening the edge with some needle-nose pliers. I have been wearing this jacket every single day since I got it and I am still very satisfied with it's performance.

[T@NK]

Originally Posted by rockafella

Just a follow up on how the Allwin Stealth Dintex is holding up. So today, we had our first real downpour and I had a chance to test it in a real world situation.
Spent 30 minutes outside hood up- the jackets' external layer was soaked thoroughly - iPhone in front chest pocket, iPod in right upper arm pocket, long sleeve CF thermal shirt worn underneath.

I did not feel any leakage, however upon removeing the jacket I noticed that there were a couple of spots at the seams where the water had penetrated through to the inner lining of the shell (please note that the real TAD stealth soft-shell is not a water proof shell) The largest wet spots were at the seamline running down the arm right above the cuff on both arms, at the small I'D pocket on the left arm and at the bottom of the main front zipper. There were also very minor leaks at one of the elbow seams, a very small leak on the inside of the front right chest pocket.
The brim on the hood worked great printing any raindrops from entering the hood opening or the front collar/neck guard.
When I got back inside I hung the jacket on the back of my chair and after 45 mins (at room temperature) all but the right shoulder and underneath the hood, at the upper back of the jacket (hood down) was still wet.
The front zip, which was a bit stiff and took a bit fiddling around with is now functioning perfectly. The 'sharp' metal edges on the top of the front zip, and the right arm venting zip have now been completely resolved by flattening the edge with some needle-nose pliers. I have been wearing this jacket every single day since I got it and I am still very satisfied with it's performance.

I have both the real TAD v3 shark skin soft shell and the Allwin replica, they are quite different , real TAD does have waterproof function and it work a lot better than the allwin product regarding on this point, also much more comfortable. You need to lay your hand on the real thing before you give a conclusion.

[rockafella]

Originally Posted by wingmantank

You need to lay your hand on the real thing before you give a conclusion.

So true!! wanna give me the $300US + the customs and shipping costs? JK.

You should throw your 2cents worth and do a side-by-side review.

[L473ncy]

Just got my TADGear Softshell from Airsoft Park cost me 73 USD minus coupon I had for 8% off so cost me a little over $67 shipped. Initial review will be up in about an hour and subsequent reviews (daily use) will be up probably in a week or whenever I get time to do it. Also note that I picked up the medium and as you can see from the shots of me wearing it it's a bit baggy, for the record I probably should have gotten a small but I assumed it was "Asian sizing" (even though they totally provide measurements for you on the webpage I didn't have a ruler/measuring tape/piece of string at the time).

SO.... This is my review.

I don't feel like linking a bunch of images so here's my tinypic album: http://tinypic.com/a/2ji9g/1

I will however link a few images as I see fit.

Shipping:
Nice sturdy box well sealed. I've come to expect this and only this from airsoft park. Always great solid packaging.

Just an aside, Royal Mail came by this morning and rang my doorbell repeatedly for a good 5 seconds, good stuff, a lot better than Canada Post is all I can say about that. So I'm happy about that.




Packaging and initial looks:

Standard plastic bag, nothing special here. Taken out of the package it looks pretty good.

http://i54.tinypic.com/2vns0op.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/23w1qqb.jpg

Stitchings and Zippers:

Standard cheapo YKK zippers. Stitching is nice in certain areas IMO but it's nothing special. You can judge for yourself in the pics below




Third pic is just a shot of the zipper, like I said standard cheapo YKK.
http://i55.tinypic.com/w0lt9i.jpg

Also what's up with this? LOL is all I can say.

http://i51.tinypic.com/mc9nat.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/286vp8w.jpg

All in all, is it worth $73? I'd say yes. I'm like 99% sure this is almost the same jacket that RDA is selling and that's what it appears to be comparing some of the points that rockafella stated about the replica. The only thing is the tags don't match as you can see from the above 2 pics.

Rating: I would rate it 4/5, on a budget you can't match this.

Any questions please PM me and I'll answer them here.

[rockafella]

Nice brief to-the-point review L473ncy, I don't believe that it is the same as the version sold by Huang (DRA) though. The one I reviewed is made by Allwin and seems to be some differences (FYI Alwin replicas actually have ALLWIN tags and do not have replica tags for north American market)
That softshell is made by another manufacturer (I believe the same one that makes the Ranger V2.0 that I just reviewed on another thread)
Also your softshell is a Tad stealth replica? Does it have all the features that the Allwin replica has?
As to your questions about the discrepancy on the care tags - as you may have figured out this is made in China, but like the front vinyl TAD patch those tags on the inside are just meant to complete the knock-off look- obviously this is NOT made in the USA. If you look at the reverse of that care tag you'll most likely find some 'engrish' writing that says something like: 'do not use softenrs and lander separately'. In fact the photo you posted of the tag is identical to the one on the inside of the Ranger V2.0 replica i reviewed, cut number, v numbers are all the same. Some people like the replica tags/labels others feel very strongly against the blatant copyright infringement. Many suppliers will not export the latter into North America to avoid any lawsuits many companies have already faced.
While i certainly do not condone copyright infringements I personally think it's a personal thing, the important thing to me is the quality of the replica and that is maintains as much of the actual functional use of the real thing. Having a bugout hardshell replica, for example that has absolutely no waterproofing function and is very cheaply made as well is totally a waste of money (see my review on the Element anorak replica for an example of this). A fleece however is a fleece it either keeps you warm or not if it's put together well and looks good great then you're golden. I mean it's the same a buying a Wallmart or Costco fleece and should be expected to function similarly to those and not actually like the real TAD Gear one. For me, as long as it at least works as well as a no-name brand fleece, raincoat or softshell, looks as close to the original TAD item and has the same design features that make TAD gear products so desirable, then I will give the replica a good rating.
Thanks for the review.

[L473ncy]

OK, as to the question of the hood or not, if you look at the "action pic" of me wearing it the hood is up. Just in that pic of it on the floor I had rolled up the hood and used the velcro thing to hold it down.

Alright so I guess we've established that it's not the same but it does appear to be very similar at least.

Also I just wore it today in the rain. Held up pretty well for being outdoor and rainy. It did get wet after I think 15 minutes in the rain, I didn't notice when the water started to soak in but at 5 minutes in the water was still mostly beading up and "rolling off" if I shook it a bit. Also kept me nice and toasty.

Finally, I just wanted to point out the discrepancy in the tags. Kind of funny IMO that it says made in china then elsewhere it says made in USA. TBH I don't care since it's pretty obvious that it was made in China and it's not like anyone will see it anyways.

EDIT: If I had a job in Ft. Mac or something I'd totally be buying PTW's and Arc'Teryx stuff but life doesn't go that way and I'm poor so this stuff I feel is worth it in the sense that it does it's job and looks badass. Like rockafella said, if you bought a waterproof hardshell that lets water soak in and get through then you've just spent your money on crap and wasted your money.

[huang]

In china, Allwin softshell costs 40% more than no name softshell with trades.