Hi

Has anyone got one? How good is it?

It's this one I am thinking of getting for climbing and running - Lite-Speed Jacket Womens.
http://www.planetfear.com/product_detail.asp?d_id=2&c_id=72&s_id=29&p_id=7278


How waterproof (showerproof), windproof etc is it please?

Cheers

I've got a men's lite speed - it is probably the piece of outdoor clothing that I wear most.

It's light, very breathable, windproof and warm if you put a micro-fleece underneath it.

It's shower resistant, but not waterproof.

I've got a Buffalo Wind Shirt which is made out of the same stuff, and although it is not officially rated as waterproof I personally find that it really has to be pouring down for it to get wet through.

ive got the montane areo smock, very light, windproof, and will cope with light rain

Great, thanks y'all!

I've bought it! it should be good for running, what I've been looking for for ages. I am not sure how it will cope with cragging on gritstone though as it looks quite thin.

I've got a featherlite. Forget the hype. It will cope with 10/12 mph winds with occasional gusts up to about 20mph in springtime. It will withstand a very light, short shower. If the wind is consistently above 20mph you WILL feel it whatever you wear underneath unless that is really windproof.
A combination of cold rain and sustained wind will have you shivering in no time whatever you are doing when you wear one of these.

i've got a new litespeed

dwr on them is excellent, don't know how long it will last, expect it to get you through a medium shower but not prolonged heavier rain

i'm sure it would be fine in drizzly conditions for a while

that said is not waterproof

they are designed to be worn by people on the move, so you will be fine running in one

at the price (£25) i think mine can afford to be trashed on the grit

Got one recently (men's) for £25 and wornm it twice, seems to be excellent, I'm really impressed with it. It doesn't look particularly hard wearing but then if you get them in the sales they're cheap enough to throw away and replace when they wear out.

I bought one of the original Montane Featherlite smocks when they first appeared (a bit heavier pertex than the current ones I think but still sub-100g). After a week backpacking in the Pyrenees the fabric on the right arm had had sort of creased and puckered - I guess from repeated abrasion with the on/off of a heavy backpacking sac. So I rushed straight out and bought a spare one ready for when the original wore out.

Three years on, the spare is still on its hanger in my wardrobe and the original is still going strong. Occasional treatments with Nikwax TX10 help it shrug off some pretty testing weather. A phenomenal piece of kit!

I was initially disappointed with the DWR on my Litespeed, but having just re-proofed it with Nikwax wash-in, and tested it in fairly heavy and prolonged rain in Wales last week, I can attest to its water-resistance; at no point did I need to put on a waterproof, and no rain came in, even under daysack straps.

Pertex seems to cope remarkably well with gritstone, and my only theory on this is that it is such a smooth fabric that it slides over the grit, whereas more open weaves tend to snag on the grains and suffer damage. Obviously, it's not indestructible, though...

Thanks everyone. I paid £50 for mine but had been looking for a jacket with a hood that packs up tiny, in a womans fit for ages, so I got it.

I'll see how it copes with the grit, just hope I don't have to do too many arm bars! Otherwise I can just use it for running.

Cheers :)