The nice people over at Montane have been hard at work updating
their web site with new autumn / winter products that should be
appearing in the shops towards the end of August 2007.
Among the highlights are an updated version of their classic
Super-Fly jacket, a new eVent windproof softshell top and, one for
the boys, a male version of the rather lovely Panther fluffy fleece
jacket that 99 per-cent of all women fell in love with this
spring...
New Super-Fly...
The classic llightweight eVent Super-Fly waterproof jacket
has had a complete re-design for autumn / winter 2007 with a
re-designed, head-hugging hood and bonded cuffs and hem. Perhaps the
most interesting change though, is printed reinforcement in the
shoulder area which should make for more pack-friendly performance
than the original.

Weight is claimed to be 475 grammes, so slightly heavier than
before and retail will be £200 once it hits the shops. We like
the new Burnt Orange colour as well, very cool.
There's a new Female Super-Fly too and the Super-Fly XT - Montane's
mountain-orientated shell - also gets a makeover, though this time if
drops a claimed 60 grammes along with some new features. If you want
light weight, have a look at the Quickfire Jacket, an eVent shell
weighing in at a very reasonable 320 grammes.
And eVent Windproof...
Also new for winter is the Firestorm Jacket made from the
new eVent windproof fabric with a soft, micro-fleece inner for added
insulation on cold winter days. The fabric itself is waterproof,
though the non-taped seams mean that it will leak in heavy rain.
Weight is 650 grammes and price will be £160.

The lining, interestingly - and we'll be seeing more and more
eco-friendly, natural fabric this year - is made from carbonised
bamboo which is supposed to wick like a demon and inhibit bacterial
growth too.
Fluffy Fleece For Guys
One of the hits of this spring was the gurlz-only Panther fleece
jacket. It was made from Polartec's excellent wind-resistant WindPro
fleece with a fluffy pile finish on the inside where it's needed for
insulation.

Lots and lots of men looked on jealously, but the good news is
that there's now a men's version, the Jaguar and it's lovely.
We've actually been using one and while it will do the technical
thing if you like, it majors in soft, fluffy luxury and is ideal for
lounging around pubs, tents and anywhere else you feel like lounging
around. Looks better in black though, we reckon... £90 once it's
in the shops.

Also on the insulation side of things, there'sa pile Pertex
Extreme jacket, some very neat looking down tops for both men and
women and some neat looking women's Terra Thermic Pants, a lined
version of the Terra Pant.
More Bionic...
Finally the Bionic baselayer range made from the Sportwool merino
/ Polyester fabric has some new recruits including long-sleeved
Bionic tops for both men and women.

We're big fans of Sportwool which seems to combine the qualities
of both merino and polyester for great all-round performance and
it'll be nice to have warm fore-arms on those winter evening runs...
It's available in less garish colours too :-) Price £40.
More Info
There's more new stuff coming too - we'd expect it in the shops
from late August or so. More details at www.montane.co.uk