Paramo's 20 Per-Cent Lighter Smock

A few sharp-eyed OMers have spotted it already, but Paramo has launched a new Velez Adventure Light Smock in limited numbers for now, but with a full release due in early 2009.

As you've probably deduced from the name, the smock, let's just call it the 'Velez Light' for the sake of my keyboard, is a lighter version of the Velez Adventure Smock, which is a development of the standard Velez with a more substantial fixed hood instead of the original detachable one. Originally this was to cater for some adventure race regulations, which specify a fixed hood.


The new  Velez Light' is just the same as as the Velez Adventure except for using a lighter fabric, Nikwax Analogy Light. That means side vents, drop-tail, high collar, double layer lining in strategic areas for pack use, and so on. The big difference is that the outer face fabric is lighter. It actually feels more like a Pertex-tytpe fabric with slightly more visual shininess than Paramo's usual microfibre. The crucial pump liner remains the same, though it may be lightened in the future.

And the result is, says Paramo, a smock that's approximately 20 per-cent lighter overall, at 584 grammes compared to 723 grammes.  Our digital scales back that up showing 580 grammes on the button for a medium. Okay, that's hardly super lightweight by modern standards, but it's an appreciable saving and makes the Velez Light a tad more packable.

We have one on test and - based on a couple of hours initial use - as you'd expect, it performs very similarly to a Velez. If anything, the lighter, possibly more tightly woven fabric might be expected to make it very slightly warmer, but we think that's quibbling and Paramo tells us that many users find it less warm than the full-weight Velez, which is interesting. The main advantage though, is the weight saving, the level of breathability and weather protection should stay pretty much the same. If Paramo's too warm for you generally, we suspect that the same will be true of the Velez light, but we're willing to be convinced, so watch this space.

Limited Edition...

So where can you get one? Well, a little bird tells us that right now Paramo has limited quantities of the Light available only from its Covent Garden, own-brand store in a unisex fit. You can't buy the smock anywhere else and it's not available online, though you can arrange mail order from the store. Price is £180, which is the same as a normal Velez Adventure and 20 quid more than a standard Velez. Once the batch is sold out, that's it, no more until next year.

The Velez Light will then be available generally from around February 2009 when it will come in both men's and women's versions - men's in the red/grey colour pictured, women's in black - with the price still £180.

 More Paramo information at www.paramo.co.uk.