It's not often a major manufacturer offers to give you a top-end
waterproof jacket free, but that's what Lowe Alpine is
doing with their new eVENT kit.
So what's the catch? Simple really, if you sign up for the Lowe
test programme, you'll have to go out and use the jacket
intensively in all conditions and, in particular, conditions where
breathability is at a premium - in the Turkish baths, climbing steep
hills with a big pack on your back and so on.
If you're selected for the testing programme, you'll be given a
user name and password so you can pass feedback directly to Lowe
Alpine using their web site. You'll be able to keep the garment for as
long as you like and trash the stuff to the best of your
abilities.
So what's going on? Take a look at the previous OM articles linked
to below for the full monty, but briefly, eVENT is a PTFE-membrane
based fabric that's claimed to be the most breathable on the market.
Lowe is going to be producing top-end kit in the fabric, but not
until October 2003.
In the mean time, they want to get a realistic idea of the
fabric's performance in real world conditions with real users, hence
the test programme.
If you want to take part?
There's an ad box on the righthand side of this page that will
take you directly to the Lowe Alpine eVENT test sign-up page, where
you can register as a prospective tester. It'll also tell you more
about the fabric.
The consumer field test programme begins in February, so if you
want to take part, you'd best get your skates on.
What's it like?
We have some eVENT evaluation kit already and we'll feed you some
first impressions within the next week, so simply watch this
space.
