Okay, this is all top secret, so don't tell anyone right. We
popped over to Mountain Equipment showroom in, erm, Patagonia - see
the pics - the other day for a sneak preview of what's in their line
up not now, but for Autumn-Winter 2003.
That's the stuff that'll be in the shops come September time, so
don't go harrassing innocent retailers just yet, we can't answer for
their behaviour if you do and you'll deserve the thick ear that you
get.
Anyway, here's a quick taster of what you can expect to see later
this year...
Down
Stuff
The expedition spec, serious cold weather Annapurna down
jacket gets a thorough re-working for later this year. It still
features box-wall construction with 600 plus fill power down for
maximum warmth and detachable hood, but there are some neat new
features.
Reversed zips look good, but more importantly up weather
protection for external pockets, plus the chest pockets, which were
previously internal are now accessed from the outside so it's
possible to get to the contents without undoing the main zipper and
losing body heat. Plus there are still internal mesh pockets and a
neat hydration system pocket to stop your fluids freezing.
Also, a neat touch, this year's Annapurna gets less compressible
synthetic insulation on the shoulders to cope better with compression
from pack straps.
Totally new though is the Trango Duvet - above - it's
designed to bridge the gap between the lightweight Lightline and
Lightline Plus Duvets and the ultra-warm Annapurna and, say ME, is
suitable for 'active use' down to minus 20 C. It gets box-wall
construction in the body, sewn-through on the sleeves a detachable
hood with peak.
Fill is 90 per-cent pure goose down with 351 grammes of 600+ fill
power, erm, fill with a water resistant Drilite Loft outer and a drop
tail. Total weight is 860 grammes and it looks well tasty in green.
New XCR Jackets
Okay,we're shallow, but show us a really nicely cut shell jacket
with water-resistant zips in black and we're anyone's. The
Changabang XCR jacket has had a subtle re-working for later
this year. It's already a top jacket and a perenial fave with the
testers from Trail magazine, but later this year it gets some neat
new revisions including a slightly shorter cut for easier technical,
use and new under-arm stretch panels.
The pit-zips have gone and are replaced by front body core vents
with water-resistant zips and internal mesh pockets, plus the waist
is pulled in with a half draw cord that pulls the jacket tight at the
front for a clean view of your feet on those marginal verglassed
smears...
Weight is 700 grammes and it's lovely. Nice to see a British firm
coming up with kit that's every bit as well thought out and well
produced as the cutting-edge stuff from the other side of the big
pond.
And one for the gurlz...
There's going to be a new Mountain Equipment women's specific
jacket at last in three-ply XCR in the form of the new Nanda Devi
XCR. It's essentially a female take on the popular men's Lhotse
and aimed at climbing, mountaineering and expeditioning use.
Two large chest pockets, external map pocket with water-resistant
zip, one of the excellent ME 'Extreme' hoods which moves with the
head and works brilliantly. Plus there are drawcords at waist and hem
and the waist again gets a half draw cord for a flat front. Weight is
a claimed 600 grammes and we reckon it's going to be a big hit.
Amazing how near Patagonia is to Manchester
these days... New Nanda Devi
3-ply XCR jacket for gritty climbing women
There's also a nice, women's-specific Ama Dablam Pant in Drilite
Extreme which gets all the technical features of the men's pants,
minus the front zip, including stretch knees and seat and crampon
patches. There are also neat, non-Velcro, full-length zips - see
below.
Soft Shell Things
As
we reported earlier this week, the success of various ME Softshell
items and falling sales of Ultrafleece mean that the company's
dropped its Ultrafleece tops from the range from next winter. So if
you want a new ME Ultrafleece Jacket, best get one while you still
can.
The various ME 'soft shell' stuff gets some new developments
though. We liked the G2 Alpine Jacket and Ultimate Mountain Pant that
appeared last year using Gore Windstopper fabrics, but reckoned a few
detail improvements would make a big difference.
So it's nice to see the new G2 Teclite Jacket appearing in
the range - as worn by the cross-legged hobbit on the right. The
Teclite uses the same windproof, water-resistant fabric as the Alpine
Jacket, which will still be around, but is cut slightly shorter and
gets a windproof hood with adjusters for extra protection when things
get windy.\
The G2 Ultimate Mountain Pant also gets modded, with new,
adjustable, detachable gaiters to keep the waist in place during
strenuous action (ahem) plus the internal gaiters, which we and other
testers found sweaty and clammy in use, are now made from what ME
says is a more breathable fabric. The excellent cut with twisted leg
seams stays the same though and we reckon these are going to be
excellent alpine leg wear.
Microtherm Mountain Jacket
The classic Ultrafleece Mountain Jacket might be on death row, but
its basic design lives on in the form of a new Microtherm Mountain
Jacket, which ME has also classified as 'soft shell'.
Microtherm's been around for a while and combines a microfleece liner
with a lightweight breathable, windproof and water-resistant
shell.
The new jacket, as we say, echoes the cut of the old Mountain
jacket, with an adjustable, rollway, peaked hood giving it better
foul weather versatility and we reckon you should be able to use it
either as an outer layer, or if the skies open up, as a mid-layer
piece. You also get handwarmer pockets, a map pocket, adjustable
drawcord, handwarmer pockets, a half waist drawcord to pull the front
of the jacket flat and neat plus other features scammed from the
top-end technical hard shells.
Weight is claimed as 600 grammes and pack size is tiny,
considerably smaller than a comparable fleece. We reckon the extra
technical cut and, in particular, the hood, should add versatility
over existing Microtherm tops and we look forward to trying it.
Other
bits: No more Velcro...
Those are some of the highlights, but there are some nice touches
on the way in ME's technical shell pants, where reversed full-length
zips are now backed with a double, overlapping inner flap. It's not a
wholely original idea, Mountain Hardwear have had a similar system
for a while, but if you've ever struggled with Velcroed-shut
full-length zips with frozen fingers in the dark, you'll appreciate
just what a boon it is not to have to bother.
And that's it really. Thanks to the guys at ME for taking an
inordinate amount of time to talk us through the new stuff. It's
great to see a British company that's right up there with the top
North American brands producing well-cut, thoughtfully-designed
clothing and equipment which has obviously had a lot of input from
people who actually use it for real.
Their spring-summer range is in the shops now. For more details see
the
Mountain
Equipment web site.
Note The kit previewed here won't be available until
September, but we thought you'd like to see it anyway.
