New First Look - Berghaus Velum Jacket

Although it's technically an autumn 2011 jacket, along with the Mountain Equipment Firefox, the Berghaus Velum made with Gore-Tex Active Shell fabric is actually available from Cotswold Outdoor right now.

We've been using a Velum for several months now along with a couple of other Active Shell jackets and we're dead impressed with the combination of breathability and light weight that the new fabric offers - we reckon it's the most breathable Gore-Tex material ever and as good as anything else on the market right now.

But what about the jacket? It's light - around 330 grammes for a medium - and borrows a fair bit from the Mount Asgard series that debuted this spring. It's intended for lightweight, fast-moving alpine and mountain use. And it has the impressively capable Mount Asgard hood design, which accommodates a full helmet while still giving a great combination of head mobility and face protection.

Oh and did we mention that we kind of like the classic retro blue and red styling too?

What else? Read our full First Look.