Craghoppers Epoch eVENT Jacket - First Look

Until now, eVENT's been used mainly for technical climbing jackets, but Craghoppers has taken the fabric and used it to make a more general walking jacket, the sort of thing you can wear on the hills or just for day to day pottering about. In effect, it aims to bring the benefits of eVENT to a more general hillwalking audience rather than just to hardcore climbers.

You also get some more refined touches like the seamless shoulders, Velcro-adjustable tabbed cuffs ,a stiffened bear guard with a nice, fleecy inner surface and single-hand adjustable drawcords at waist and hem.

The cut could charitably be described as 'generous'. That's fine if you're a large chap, but we found the excess material irritating with a pack when it billows out and simply doesn't feel neat. Ideally we'd like a closer fit, which would also help performance by removing air spaces within the clothing.

Even so, on a damp, not too cold, not too hot, classic British day that's hard on breathability, the eVENT fabric seemed to be doing a good job, clearing dampness after a fast blast up onto the plateau and never leaving us uncomfortably clammy. It feels sturdy too, though time will tell.

The hood left us a bit ambivalent. It rolls out of the collar and is fully adjustable with an excellent stiffened and wired peak that feels set in concrete with the hood cinched down against the elements. Craghoppers has also produced a good tensioning system that grips the top of the head a la Arc'teryx and Mountain Equipment and should allow you to turn your head with the hood moving with you. Unfortunately, there's not quite enough material in the hood and with it tensioned down, we found there wasn't enough leeway to look up or sideways.

On top of that, there's a lot of stiffened bulk in the chin area with the laminated beard guard, a double storm flap and two sets of zip teeth and we found it pressed uncomfortably against our not particularly jutting test chin. A good case for diagonal zip arrangements which reduce bulk in the centre of the chin area. Otherwise the hood is good, though the roll-down design means it offers less lower face protection than a full mountaineering jacket.

We liked the cosy, microfleece-lined handwarmer pockets and traditional map pocket under the storm flap and overal, the long cut gives good protection to the nether regions front and back.

With a more flexible chin area and a little more material, the hood would be excellent. As it stands, it's not dreadful, but not as good as it could be, which is a shame. The fabric looks to be doing the impressive high breathability gig we've come to expect from eVENT, though again we'd stress, that it's still possible to overwhelm it if you run hot and work hard. You'll still dry out faster afterwards though.

Construction feels sturdy and stuff like the seamless shoulders and articulated sleeves are nice touches, as are the soft-lined handwarmer pockets. It's not glam and it's not flash, but it brings the benefits of a very impressive fabric to a more general market, which has to be a good thing.

Know more or want to?

If you'd like to add your own experiences of this product check out our user review system and post your opinions to the world. If you have questions you can mail us direct, ask Richard Gear or try a posting to our gear forum.