Alpkit Does It Again

Those nice boys at Alpkit have done it again - following on from their budget-priced carbon fibre trekking poles, lovely but affordable down sleeping bags and luxurious self-inflating Airic sleeping mats, they've now come up with the Filo down jacket just in time for winter.

The new jacket follows the general Alpkit culture of offering a lot of performance for a very reasonable price. That means 320 grammes of high loft 650+ fill power 90/10 goose down, YKK zips with down baffle, twin hand warmer pockets, a microfleece collar, long back length and a handy internal zipped pocket so you can carry enough dosh to buy your round.

Construction is basic stitch-through, which is common to most non-expedition jackets. At 527-655 grammes it's a very reasonable weight and, as usual, Alpkit has concentrated on using high spec down for optimum insulation.

The shell material is, like the sleeping bags, Tactel nylon, which is slightly heavier than higher spec fabrics and has no DWR, but then the price is just £60, which is a bit of a bargain in our book, especially as we've seen prototypes and they look good. Available in cool, minimalist black now and blue from early October.

The price includes same-day shipping if you order before midday and Alpkit says that most items will arrive next day.

More information www.alpkit.com