When the Shelter Stone came to market early last year it immediately
made an impression with its eco-credentials, but let's face it at
£240 you want a bit more than eco-credentials to keep you dry -
so how did it do in the British climate? The Shelter Stone Jacket and
pants....ooops trousers, were designed for the UK climate rather than
the usual American or Alpine styles we usually see.
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Price:
£240
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Weight: 644gm
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Features: 100% recyclable, 3 way adjustable
hood, Narrow zips, H2No membrane,.
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What's It
For?
The Shelter Stone's mainly targeted at the lightweight winter market,
and doesn't even appear on their
website
till the autumn catalogue, but with good ventilation and breathability
it's quite at home in the sort of Summer we're used to in the UK. It's
a bit overkill for a brief Summer shower but if you're out when there's
a big depression sitting over Britain it'll keep the elements even
through an all day downpour.
The
Techy
Bits
3 Way hood includes an internal
volume adjuster
The Shelter Stone is a 3
layer waterproof/breathable nylon hardshell. Patagonia have used 70
denier double ripstop nylon with a breathable barrier using their own
H2No technology and a Deluge® DWR (durable water repellent)
finish. The arms, sides, shoulders and waist are reinforced for added
durability and Patagonia felt this to be their most durable and
storm proof jacket when it came out last year. Patagonia are famous for
"their build" and style, and the Shelter Stone doesn't let them down
with slimline PU coated zips and supple, die cast tabs on the cuffs.
The central zip, PU coated like the rest, is covered by a storm flap
which is held in place by die cut Velcro and you get two hand warmer
and
two chest pockets. A nice touch is the pit zips being double ended,
which is essential if you're going to use it as your only jacket all
year round. When the jacket does reach the end of its life you can
recycle it 100% through the Common Threads Recycling Program, so it
comes with an extra feel-good factor.
How
It
Performed
I'd better start this off by declaring I like shells in principle,
and while I understand that some people don't get on with them they
seem to work for me. The first thing I noticed was the weight, 640g,
which compared to my trusted ME Changabang felt decidedly flimsy. Over
the year I began to appreciate that although feeling thin and light by
comparison it didn't lack when it came to performance and durability.
It
packs down quite well for a soft shell so doesn't take too much room up
in your pack, which is always a bonus. The thin feel and lightweight
contribute to the lack of stiffness I've been used to in shells and the
jacket was surprisingly flexible, making it easy to wear. Of course,
being a shell, you don't get that much in the way of insulation but the
jacket can certainly stand up to a good battering from wind and rain.
main zips are narrow and PU proofed
In our
initial
look at the Shelter Stone we were intrigued by the hood, but in
practice it was a typical Patagonia hood - the internal volume
adjuster
was adjusted and then left as it was, while the outer cords pulled the
hood as tight round your face as you wanted. A Petzl Elios helmet was
no problem with the hood, though you did have to tweak the internal
adjuster to allow room, which took some practice if you didn't want to
take the jacket off to put your helmet on. Although the Shelter Stone
started off just being used to test it soon became the default jacket,
and it's had a good selection of British weather from an Arran downpour
to snow in the Peak District and a weekend in Wales. It didn't seem to
matter what the elements threw at it, the jacket seemed as capable as
the Changabang at throwing it off but at a loss weight. Durability was
the other initial concern, given the feel and flexibility of the
fabric, but there were certainly no problems on that score - even
bouncing off Welsh stone walls and falling over on gravel tracks failed
to put more than superficial and temporary marks on it.
Like any membrane based waterproof/breathable the Shelter Stone works
best as part of a layered system. If you're wearing base or mid layers
that don't wick then it kind of defeats the object of wearing a
breathable jacket, but with with the right under layers the Shelter
Stone does what it's meant to - it keeps the outside outside, and does
a better than average job of getting the inside out too. The pit zips
give good ventilation, and you can reach them easily for a change, so
you'll need to be working pretty hard to swamp the vapour barrier.
Overall it's been impressive, and now I'm not sure when my expensive
Changabang will get used again.
There's never been any doubting the
eco-credentials of Patagonia, but this jacket gives you the green
benefits of being totally recyclable without compromise on looks or
performance. It's got a soft feel for a shell, and you may be tempted
to wonder about its durability when the going gets tough but it won't
let you down and can handle the bumps and scrapes as well as the rain
and wind. It's not the cheapest shell on the shelf and the exchange
rate hasn't done it many favours, but it's got that build quality and
attention to detail that soon gives you the a safe and secure feel you
need from a mountain jacket.
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 Weight, well designed with good
breathability and attention to detail
Internal helmet adjuster needs practice to get right on the hill
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Performance
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Value
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Know more or want to?
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