Craghoppers is going back to its outdoor roots with three new eVENT mountain jackets out early in 2004 plus another big brand is going to be using the breathable fabric.
If you're a regular OMer, you'll know that we've been very
impressed with the breathability of eVENT fabrics, as used in Lowe
Alpine's latest technical climbing shells.
Unfortunately for eVENT fans, the current Lowe Alpine jackets look
like being the last they're going to be producing - the company is
switching to Gore fabrics from next autumn - leaving RAB and cycling
label Pearl Izumi as the only two brands currently using the fabric
in the UK that we're aware of.
It looks like there are going to be some other choices out there
though. First, we're reliably informed that Helly Hansen will be
using eVENT fabrics for its waterproof shell clothing next year,
next, Craghoppers has three eVENT jackets in its range for spring /
summer 2004.
Back to outdoors...
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New more breathable bananas
were
the talk of Horrogate this year
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The company has been putting an emphasis on travel for the last
couple of years, but the new Equinox and Epoch, together with the
women's Elixir, jackets are straight mountain-walking shell jackets
that you could also use for more technical stuff if you chose.
Crags has deliberately kept the designs quite traditional and in a
heavier, tougher-feeling version of the fabric than that used by Lowe
Alpine making for a jacket that feels to weigh in at around 950-1000
grammes or so.
The fabric is a two-ply construction, meaning that there's a drop
liner inside to protect the TPFE membrane, and the features include
classic handwarmer and chest pockets, water-resistant chest pocket
zips, substantial roll-away hoods, concealed map pockets and so
on.
The top-end Equinox jacket at £250 is a little more technical
with slightly shorter cut and full-face wrap-around hood, while the
longer-cut Epoch and Equinox - £220 - also get waist cords.
They feel sturdy and reliable rather than super lightweight, but
if you're after a highly breathable, do-it-all mountain jacket that
you can wear every day, you'll want to check these out. They also
come with a free bunch of bananas, ahem, just joking...
More information online: Craghoppers
web site.
