GoLite To Expand In UK

More good news on the availability front with the announcement that lightweight performance brand GoLite is going to be distributed in the UK by Ardblair, the company behind Leki, Aku, Odlo and X-Socks with prices set to fall as well.

We've been consistently impressed with the GoLite kit we've tried, which has evolved from extreme minimalist form into a more useable, but still respectably light, incarnation. Up till now though, the brand has been distributed via Holland and has been hard to buy in the UK.

That should change come late summer, but you should also be able to order in items via some outdoor retailers before then.

Ardblair are stilll getting to grips with the new range themselves, but there's some lovely stuff in there. We particularly liked the look of the Momentum Jacket which uses a lightweight version of Polartec's Powershield fabric to give good weather protection with decent breathability.

Also interesting looking and new to the range are a couple of jackets utlising a fabric which GoLite calls Cynchronisity. It's a lightweight windproof mebrane sandwiched between a ripstop polyester outer face and an inner scrim based on the company's C-Thru base layer fabric. Available with a hood as the Evade or without as the Destiny, it's essentially a windproof, highwicking soft shell top.

There's also something called Fusion which is, and we quote, 'a revolutionary, breathable, stretch waterproof, hybrid soft/hard shell fabric'. We're not quite sure what that means, but it appears to have a PU film centre with stretch face and stretch wicking liner and is claimed to be waterproof but also very breathable. One neat garment using the technology is the Wizard Jacket -pictured - which incorporates a big window in the cuff so you can checlk your all-singing, all dancing mountain watch without messing about with your wrist closure.

We also really like their down jackets. They look great in the flesh and the feathery fabrics used make them very light and very comfortable too.

There's also a Gore-Tex Paclite jacket in the range plus some Windstopper pieces. You can check out the current GoLite range at their web site. Ardblair Sports can be contacted through their own web site.