If you're a Mountain Hardwear fan and were wondering when the
company would bring out a jacket in the latest Paclite fabric, then
relax, your waiting is almost over. No pics yet, but we'll bring them
to you as soon as we have them.
The new Swift Jacket and Swift Pant in both men's
and women's versions are in the Spring 2005 line-up and should be in
the shops early next year. Weight is quoted at a very competitive 380
grammes and the jacket features the sort of refinements you'd expect
from MHW.
That means Gore's micro seam tape for increased breathability -
yep, the A4 paper thing again - superlight welded pit-zips and a
stow-away hood with laminated brim. The Swift Pant weighs a
claimed 270 grammes and includes nice touches like a watertight fly
with double slider zip for those outdoor emergencies and 3-ply
Gore-Tex XCR reinforcement in the knee area.
Both look good for general lightweight mountain use and will run
alongside the Conduit Silk Epic jacket that we found disappointingly
sweaty when we tested it last year.
And a Paclite Bivvy Too
There's also a brand new bivvy, the Rock Sack Bivvy which
also uses Gore-Tex Paclite fabric with microtape construction,
features a UVX window on the hood to reduce that familiar
claustrophobic feeling and has an overlapping hood with drawcord
closure. It's aimed at climbers and has two tie-in points at the
waist. Claimed weight is just 510 grammes or just over a pound.
Also new...
Also new in the range are a pair of new softshell jackets - the
Griffin which combines Conduit softshell laminate fabric for a
wind and waterproof front panel with highly breathable Air-Perm sides
and back for a combination of protection and breathability.
The Leviathan jacket is aimed at cool weather active use
and is a box fleece-lined Air-Perm piece that should combine
insulation with a degree of wind resistance and a DWR water-resistant
finish. Looks interesting.
Looks like Transition is getting a total makeover too with
new 'Transition Featherweight' garments hitting the stores. The
original Transition used Gore's Windstopper N2S fabric and really
worked best when it was cold and dry. The new stuff uses an Endeavour
windproof face fabric with a Dryline wicking scrim against the skin.
Basically the same concept then, but hopefully more breathable.
New Sleeping Bags
The company also has a complete new range of tne, we think,
synthetic-filled sleeping bags to complement the existing
well-regarded down range. The two expedition bags which also use a
waterproof/breathable Conduit shell fabric have Polarguard Delta
fillings and a welded construction which should make for a totally
waterproof bag. The All Mountain variations use conventional nylong
fabrics and slightly downgraded filling materials, but also look
good.
Details of the current MHW range at
www.mountainhardwear.com
