TargetTalk

Looking to order a new shooting suit in September (Current made to measure Thune jacket was made when I weighed another 18kg; September is my deadline to have reached my target weight by) and have been looking at the various options on the market. The ones I've been largely considering over the past while have been

Sauer Advantage Extra
Kustermann Monaco Comfort
Kustermann Monaco Subratex

I was considering the Thune Expert, but I have reservations about some of the cuts on it. The sleeves are very wide, for instance. I like the neatness of the Sauer around the shoulders and the suppleness of the material in the shoulder and chest area of the Sauer. Not had any real exposure to the Kustermann Monaco Comfort but it looks to have a lot of the same characteristics, while the Subratex is closer to a canvas jacket in a lot of those areas, despite the syntehtic material, but I've heard very good reports about it from a friend who has one.

In terms of trousers, I've less experience and information to hand, so particularly looking for opinions on those. Is it as well to just order them with the jacket or would many people mix and match components, and if so, what are their preferred types and why? Looking at the fastenings on the Kustermann trousers, with the buttons and such, they don't look as convenient as the Thune or the Sauer, but is there an advantage to the buttons there over the velcro? I've seen a good few people using a variety of jackets but using Thune trousers.

Anyone any other recommendations I should be considering or any information? In terms of build, I'm in fairly good nick now, getting better, broad shoulders, big chest and thick legs and broad hips, so if build would be a factor in choice of manufacturer and model there's the information. Thanks in advance guys.

Have a look at Monard made to measure.

I had a look at the suits, but they're bloody expensive last I checked, and I don't know anyone with one to get a look at it. Wouldn't mind if it came to it though. What in particular recommends them?

Kustermann makes a good suit. I have owned a pair of their pants for 10 years now, they were not custom fit and work great and have held up even better over the years. In my opinion I feel that Sauer breaks down quicker and doesn't make as quality of a product.

Check out Anschutz Stenvaag [sorry about the spelling] they are very popular in Europe, no idea of price or quality, but I see a lot at big shoots.

JSB

I would be inclined to go with the Sauer, have seen some full suits and I was very impressed with the overall quality.

I would stay away from Anschutz, I feel the stitching is not up to scratch at times, the sling keeper on the new Hitex looks very flimsy having seen it in person, I was very surprised that Anschutz would produce something like that to be honest.
Also would not be interested in Thune as his delivery times are very long.

If money were not an issue I would purchase a Monard Super Extended suit, have only seen a jacket and I was blown away..The new proliner ( I think thats whats its called) looks really rigid but still meets ISSF regs.
My 2c
D.

I have a bit more exposure to the Sauer stuff, but I've been thoroughly impressed with their quality so far. All of their cuts seem very tidy as well, no real spare material to bunch or catch anywhere.

I much like my Thune made-to-measure. Delivery time was about 3 months (I ordered it this time last year).

Do you shoot to ISSF rules? If so, one advantage of buying jacket and trousers together is that they're going to know how much bulk there is in the trousers so will set everything up to give you legal overlap. I know the Thune MTM form asks about trousers but as a prone shooter who doesn't use them, that's as far as I got with those questions. One thing I keep hearing is that they may be changing the regulations after the Olympics. Not much comfort if you need new kit now :(

Pretty sure arm circumference is one of the measurements on the Thune form. The only place I feel like I have spare material is over my L (non shooting) shoulder but I think that's pretty much unavoidable for a prone shooter.

I've seen a lot of people with Monard who like it a lot - I mostly went with Thune because the off-the peg jacket was pretty much the right shape for me (apart from me being female) whereas the Monard simply wasn't. So my form went in with "the back on your off-the-peg jacket size x is exactly right".

Just getting back to this as I'm getting pretty close to the figure I want to reach and will be ordering in probably a month or so. I had the AHG Stenvaag in mind a while back but for some reason I was always less confident in it, possibly because I don't see many people wearing them, and I'd like to know why before I shell out my hard earned. Aren't all the Kustermann products made by the same people as the AHG stuff nowadays or have I been misinformed? Surely if there are build quality issues with the AHG, they'd apply equally to the Kustermann, about which I've heard nothing but good. I still like the Sauer, and I'm getting a quote for a KT, because my coach measures and deals for them, assuming I can correct a few of the fitting issues I had with my last jacket in the notes, but the Stenvaag offers another candidate. What do people think?