GoLite - Still Light But Sexier...

Long time OUTDOORSmagic members may remember the first appearance of GoLite in the UK a couple of years back. We scooped pretty much everyone back then with a quick interview with the company's founder, 'Coup', and a look at the philosophy behind the brand.

In those days, two years ago, the GoLite range was fearsomely minimalist, with kit designed with the aid of lightweight zealot Ray Jardine. Fearsomely light too, but - let's be honest - a lot of it simply didn't look or feel up to UK conditions and was also, well, kind of ugly.

All Change...

Since then things have changed markedly. Some of the original GoLite gear lived on under the Ray-Way label, but the company's moved forward with its creations becoming more stylish and less minimalist. Plus the company's using cutting edge fabrics and technologies from top names in the industry, companies like Gore, Polartec, Schoeller and Epic. Still light, but not light at all costs.

So what's new? We met up with Barry and Coral who somehow prised themselves away from GoLite HQ in Boulder, Colorado for the bright lights and outdoor action of the OS Outdoors Show at the NEC the other week.

The company has a New Paclite jacket for this spring and it looks very nice indeed. The old GoLite would have produced an ultra-minimalist design with a super basic hood, elasticated, non-adjustable cuffs and no features, but the new Phantom Jacket not only uses Gore's most breathable waterproof fabric, but manages to combine respectable lightness with an extremely competitive claimed weight of just 370 grammes.

You get fully taped seams, watertight zippers for the main zip and two large chest pockets, fleece-lined chin guard, cuff pull tabs and an adjustable hood that rolls down into the collar. On top of that, there are even - gasp - pit-zips. Looks like a contender at £159.00.

Yeah, everyone has found Softshell this year and GoLite is no exception. Better still they've picked out the Schoeller Dryskin Extreme fabric that we really like. The fabric's not cheap, but its combination of stretch, wind and water resistance, rapid drying, demon wicking and abrasion resistance is a winner.

The GoLite version is a simple jacket in both men's and women's versions which goes under the name of the Dharma. You get what GoLite calls 'human engineered' shoulders and elbows with panelled side and back for ergonomic freedom, handwarmer and chest pockets , Velcro -tuneable cuffs and a fleece chin guard.

It's not cheap at £159.00 in the UK, but like we said, the fabric rocks and allows you to do without a waterproof shell most of the time. Very neat.

N2S doesn't quite seem to have taken off in the UK, but it's actually a very versatile product if you want to move fast in windy conditions. What we like about GoLite's version, the £109-Stealth Windshirt is that it uses Malden Power Stretch panels at the sides and behind the shoulders to allow a closer, more effective fit. On top of that, GoLite uses something called Endorphin Silkweight Windstopper, which is the lightest N2S fabric on the market. Looks good.

A hooded windproof top that weighs just 80 grammes? How mad is that? GoLite says that the new Ether - there's also a hoodless version called the Wisp - packs down to the size of an energy bar - 0.2 liters - so there's no excuse for not carrying one.

Fabric is an ultralight 15x40 denier Nylon with a DWR - durable water repellant - treatment to up water resistance, the hood is adjustable and there's an 18cm front zipper for venting. The hooded Ether costs £70 and the decapitated Wisp is £55.

New this spring is the Dawn Pack. It's a 41-litre day / weekend sac weighing in at just 390 grammes, but again less minimalist that the first generation of GoLite packs.

Like them, there's no back padding though, so you need to pack carefully - GoLite says it'll carry loads of up to 20lbs by the way - and keep some soft things against your back. The main sac is made from very lightweight SiLite fabric, but the base is made from Dyneema ripstop, which is both light and very tough - as used on the Gust climbing pack.

There's no lid pocket, just a strap-over fastening, but there are two bottle-sized mesh stuff pockets at the side, a big one out back and a bungee cord accessory holder as well. Oh, you get a webbing hip-belt for stability too. Price is £55 in the UK.

That's some of the new stuff for this summer, that should be in the shops about now. There's also some of the excellent Epic - silicone encapsulated - windproof kit in the range by the way.

We also got an interesting glimpse into the future, or later this year at any rate, when the company will be using Polartec Power Shield, which is a membrane that's 'only' 98 per-cent windproof, but - says Barry - that extra 2 per-cent of air movement makes it appreciably more breathable than comparable fully windproof membranes. Looks very interesting.

For full details of the spring/summer range, see the GoLite web site. You can find UK dealers at the GoLite UK site or