Mountain Equipment Firefly Jacket Tested

The pockets, by the way, aren't mesh lined, so while they can't be used as vents and the added material adds a little weight, it also means that they can't allow water through to your body.

We like ME's semi-drawcord waist as well. The shock cord only tightens the back of the jacket, which pulls the front flat and neat for an easy view of your feet and minimal bunching under harness or hip belt. Nice.

Another plus for us is the very competent hood design. It's not quite a full mountain hood, but it will take a climbing helmet, albeit without total facial enclosure, if that's your bag. It also fits well without a helmet and, because of the way the rear volume adjuster grips your cranium, moves with your head as you turn it.

The rest of the detailing's great too. The main zip flaps - one outside and one behind the zip - are stiffened, so there's no irritating folding of fabric or catching of thin material in the zipper. The big chest pockets are great and well above harness level, though in a real deluge, we'd expect some leakage from the exposed water-resistant, urethane coated zips. The map pocket - though we're not sure you really need it as well as the chest pockets, takes OS 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 maps in its stride.

Weight is very reasonable for the level of protection and as we've said before, the latest version of Gore's Paclite offers better breathability than anything else we're tried apart from Lowe Alpine's eVENT prototypes. It packs down small too.

Fit for us is great and unrestrictive helped by the semi-corded waist and features like the big pockets make it an option for alpine use where you want quick access to snacks and nick-nacks without fiddling with your pack.

The New Paclite fabric plays another dependably breathable blinder. Bear in mind though that the lightness comes at the expense of some long term durability, so for sustained pack use or thrutchy climbing, you'd be better advised to opt for a heavier fabric like XCR.

If you were going to quibble, you might want more venting options, though we didn't find it to be a significant problem and if you're more into mountain biking or running, something with a shorter cut and drop tail would make more sense

As a lightweight complement to, say, a technical soft shell layer, that'll still offer full weather protection when needed or as an ultra-lightweight mountain jacket though, the Firefly's hard to beat.

Performance
Value

Pushed for time: Lightweight fully-specified mountain jacket that uses the excellent new Gore Paclite fabric to give extra breathability. Superb longer cut, carefullly thought out features including a variation on ME's excellent Extreme Hood that's large enough to house a helmet and - shock horror - pockets, make this a great option for climbers and mountaineers looking to save weight and bulk without losing out on weather protection. Would work well teamed with a technical soft shell. Only downside is that the lightweight fabric won't be as durable as, say, Gore XCR.

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