Mountain Equipment's New Clothing Scoop!

We recently told you all about Mountain Equipment's brand new sleeping bags and mats now we've got the scoop on their new clothing. This is mostly spring / summer 2007 stuff, which generally means it'll be appearing in the shops from around February onwards, so out very soon...

Bg Belay Jacket

This one is actually part of this winter's range, but has only just made it into the shops and it's Mountain Equipment's take on a synthetic belay jacket, the sort of thing that works really well in damp UK conditions.

The Fitzroy Jacket is a smart-looking fella with 100g Primaloft in the main body and lighter 60g weight in the arms for better mobility. The outer fabric is ME's highly water-resistant Drilite Loft and you also get a couple of big pockets and a helmet-friendly hood. Looks good, weighs 620 grammes, priced at £130 but the recent cold snap means they've been selling like hot cakes.

There's also a women's specific version called the Alpamayo and a much lighter hoodless jacket called the Compressor which uses 60g Primaloft throughout, has the same soft, lightweight fabric as the new lightweight sleeping bags and is aimed squarely at weight savers.

Claimed weight is 345 grammes, price is £100, but it won't be in the shops until August so you'll have to be patient.

Lightweight Proofing...

Most of Mountain Equipment's waterproof shells - Ogre, Kongur, Changabang etc - stay the same until later this year when XCR will be replaced with Gore-Tex Pro Shell, but there is a new lightweight waterproof in the range.

The new Firelite is a development of the existing Paclite Firefly, which remains in the range, it's significantly lighter though at a claimed 295 grammes against the Firefly's 350 grammes.

It's been stripped down with one less pocket, a slightly shorter cut, and a water-resistant main zipper backed with a storm flap. It still has the classic Mountain Equipment wired and stiffened Stealth Hood with its concealed adjusters, articulated sleeves and so on. Fabric is lightweight Gore-Tex Paclite.

For once the price of less is actually less at a suggested £150 some £20 less than a Firefly. There are also matching Firelite Pants with a full-length zip and no reinforcements. Claimed weight is 285 grammes and the retail will be £100. Both jacket and pants are also available in women's-specific versions.

Freney Jacket

Also in the lightweight waterproof stakes is the 325-gramme Freney jacket - below in fetching powder blue - a women's version of the Triolet Jacket a lightweight waterproof made from ME's Drilite Plus 2.5-layer fabric. Stealth hood, big pockets, ideal to chuck on over technical softshell when the going gets throwing it down-ish. Price to you, £100. And that's it below.

Hybrid Softshell Too...

ME's been in the softshell game for a while, remember the original G2 Mountain Jacket? Their latest offering is the new Synergy Jacket which uses a mix of three high tech fabrics.

The main body is made from Gore-Tex's windproof and near waterproof stretch Windstopper Softshell, while strategic areas at the side of the trunk and underside of the sleeves use Schoeller 4-way stretch WB400 for improved breathability. You also get pit-zips for added venting.

Finally it's all topped off with a Gore-Tex XCR Stealth hood offering the same noggin protection as you'd expect from ME's waterproof softshells. To increase water-resistance, strategic external seams are also taped - below - for what the company calls 'virtual waterproofness'.

At £270 it's an expensive bit of kit, but it should be highly water resistant thanks to the fabrics and taping and in many situations will completely replace a traditional hardshell as well as being slightly warmer.

ME don't expect to sell thousands of them, but it's an interesting idea and shows what can be done. The G2 Jacket - above - and Pant also get added external taping, which again combined with the Windstopper fabric's near waterproofness, should make them even more water resistant in anything other than deluge conditions.

New Pants

Also new on the softshell side of things is the Liskamm Pant, an all-round mountain trouser made from Schoeller Dryskin Extreme with NanoSphere finish which is claimed to give a much better water repellancy thanks to nanotechnology.

The fabric has a four-way stretch and ME's active cut along with reinforced knees and kick patches. Lighter than the G2 pant and more breathable we think, should be good. Nicer in the flesh than in our picture as well. Priced at £130 and in the shops now.

And more softshell...

Also new, the £60 Velocity Jacket, an entry level softshell using the same stretch, weather-resistant fabric as the popular Mountain Stretch Pant. It has a water-resistant finish, three pockets and no hood, next please...

Fleece Too...

Fleece may not make the headlines these days, but the Shroud Jacket which isn't due out until August looks like an ideal thermal top to layer under a close-fitting shell. It uses 100-weight microfleece for the main body with PowerStretch hood and other areas plus neat concealed thumb loops.

We like microfleece for cold weather active use as it provides as much sub-shell insulation as many people need but with relatively little bulk making it great for layering. Weighs in at 395 grammes and is priced at £80.

A simpler hoodless, pullover version called the Jorasses hits the shops in March and is priced at £50, it too has concealed thumb loops.

Gloves....

And finally, just a reminder that ME also makes a wide range of gloves, look, loads of them...

Details of the current Mountain Equipment range of clothing and equipment at www.mountain-equipment.co.uk