More Macpac Togs For The UK

New Zealand company Macpac has a great reputation in the UK for bombproof tents and a range of unusually hardy packs, but they also make clothing and, from late this summer, more of it should be available in British outdoor stores.

The company has actually been producing clothing for around seven years, but on this side of the world, they've been concentrating on packs and tents. One reason, said Macpac's UK man Aidan Craig during a flying visit to the fleshpots of Glossop last week, is that Kiwis don't really give a stuff how they look, whereas us Brits have become outdoor dandies with an eye for slick cut and features. How embarassing is that?

There's already a limited amount of the Kiwi clothing on sale in the UK - see, for example, Field and Trek in the OM shopping section - but come August, you should be seeing a whole lot more. Aidan had some samples of the new range with him and we were impressed.

The UK stuff will be mainly technical shell clothing and the stuff we saw looks great with top end fabrics and neatly thought out technical features.

The top of the range Prophet alpine shell jacket, for example, uses a special heavy duty XCR fabric combined with XCR Viper stretch panels on the back and shoulders plus at the base of the hood for added mobility. Plus you get water-resistant pit zips - without superfluous flaps - and neat features like a slightly slanted main zip for comfort in the neck region and more.

We also liked the look of the matching Mountain Pants, which have one feature we've never seen before in the shape of Kevlar scuff patches on the thigh to minimise scuffing from ice screw teeth when racked on your harness. There's also some neat-looking softshell garments using Polartec Power Shield windproof fleece and Epic fabric.

It's not going to be cheap kit - the Prophet jacket will be priced at around £300 and the Pant at £200, but if you're in the market for top-end technical shell clothing later this year, you'll have another option. Incidentally, the stuff we get in the UK come August is launching in NZ some time around now though it's not on the Macpac web site just yet.