Lowe Alpine Climb Pro GTX - First Look

Lowe Alpine Climb Pro GTX Jacket - First Look

Price: £260.00

Weight: 510 grammes (medium)

Features: Lightweight technical jacket made from Gore-Tex three-layer Pro Shell fabric, micro-taped seams, Watershed seamless shoulders, helmet-compatible Swivel Sight hood, adjustable Velcro cuffs, water-resistant ventilation zippers on rear upper sleeves, upper arm pocket with waer resistant zipper, drawcrd at hem with single-handed action, full-length front water-resistant zipper, Helix underarm panel design for high reach mobility, glove attachment loops on sleeves, zipped inside mesh pocket.

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What's It For?

The Climb Pro is Lowe Alpine's top-end, technical alpine shell jacket designed for climbing and mountaineering use and intended to combine low weight and packability with good mobility, decent protection and durability.

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The Techy Bits

This is one of the first jackets we've used which is made from the new Gore-Tex Pro Shell fabric. Pro Shell differs from previous Gore-Tex fabrics through the use of a woven instead of knitted backer for the three-layer laminate.

Gore says the new woven backer is lighter, significantly more durable and slides more easily over mid and base-layers to give better overall mobility. It's also reckoned to increase breathability thanks to a combination of the backer and carefully chosen face fabrics.

Overall, a jacket made from Pro Shell seems to be around 50-100 grammes lighter than an equivalent made from last year's XCR fabric - the new backer is around 50 per-cent lighter than the old, knitted version. Combined with the use of microtape on the seams - lighter weight,. better breathability - that means the Climb Pro weighs in at an impressively light 510 grammes on our digital scales. Who needs Paclite eh?

Side by side, Pro Shell left and XCR right. The new woven inner is
lighter, more breathable and slides more easily over inner layers.
In tests it's also proven far more durable and resistant to abrasion.

Other notable features include Lowe Alpine's interesting face-guard design, which utilises carefully positioned Velcro patches to allow secure partial closure of the chin/neck area rather than just 100 per-cent lockdown or hanging open.

Also interesting are Lowe Alpine's upper arm vents which the jacket uses instead of pit-zips. The idea is that pit-zips can be awkward to access when festooned with packs and climbing gear, whereas the sleeve area is unobstructed, so easy to reach.

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How It Performs

Since Lowe Alpine started using Gore-Tex a few years back, its waterproofs - now designed in Italy - have tended to be overlooked. That's a shame because after some nicely cut but quirky designs, signs are that things are getting back on track.

The Climb Pro's a short-cut alpine jacket, with a neat, close but not restrictive fit on the OUTDOORSmagic test dummy. That means enough room for a microfleece or Powerstretch mid-layer, but anything thicker will be a squeeze. As with other modish short-cut shells, in really serious hoolie conditions, you'll appreciate a pair of shell trousers for nether region protection.

The first time we used the Climb Pro, it was back to back with a jacket made from a stiff version of Gore-Tex Performance Shell. In contrast, the light, flexible Pro Shell felt incredibly comfortable and unrestrictive with the woven liner sliding easily over our baselayer. It's something you really appreciate when, say, reaching up for a high handhold and it was a noticeable, chalk and cheese, difference after the Performance Shell. The microtape probably helps here as well.

Pro Shell face fabrics are selected for hard technical use, so we'd predict that the jacket will also be reasonably durable in use and the flexible fabric in no way compromised weather protection.

If pushed we'd say that Pro Shell is probably slightly more breathable than last year's Gore-Tex XCR fabrics, but not as effective as eVent. In other words you'll overwhelm it if you're a hot, sweaty type working hard, but that's true of most waterproof fabrics. You can improve things with judicious use of the short venting openings at the rear of the upper arm.

They're accessible and do have some effect, especially when it's breezy, though as with pit-zips, you'll need to pull the sleeve taut for easy opening action. We'd have liked slightly wider cuffs for easier sleeve rolling as well, so if you habitually roll up your sleeves, we'd suggest a dummy run as part of your initial try on in the shop.

As you'd expect, the twin chest pockets take an OS map and sit well above harness / waist-belt altitude, we also really liked the chin area opening. Lowe Alpine has used cunningly positioned Velcro strips to allow you to partially open the chinguard area while still keeping it sealed up, so you have an alternative to fully closed or hanging open. It works well and we found it very comfortable in use.

The hood itself is reasonable, though not perfect. It works fine with a helmet - lots of room there - and okay with a hat, but not that well with a bare head. Also the stiffened, but not wired, peak has a tendency to angle downwards rather than straight out, which reduces protection.

Finally, we also found a little lift on the body of the jacket when reaching up high, though nothing serious and a waist belt or harness would hold them hem down.

Initial Verdict

So far we rather like the Climb Pro. The combination of the smooth flowing, light and packable Gore-Tex Pro Shell fabric and the neat, fitted cut makes for an elegant, easy to wear jacket that has most of the basics right and we particularly like the adjustable neck / chin opening.

The hood's not perfect, particularly with a bare head, but then it's very difficult to design one that works well both with helmet and without and in this case, it's better with a helmet or hat. To be fair, it's aimed primarily at mountaineers, so that's not unreasonable.

Finally, at just over 500 grammes and with a very compact pack size, the Climb Pro's going to be as happy in your pack as on your back.

All in all, we reckon Lowe Alpine's shells are back on track and we'd definitely include the brand on any waterproof shortlist.

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Light, packable with great mobility and a neat cut. Hood could be more refined for non-helmet use.

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Lowe Alpine web site

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