Polartec's Power Shield fabric is one of outdoor
technology's unsung heroes in our book, so we thought we'd big up the
Millet Premium Shield jacket that won one Polartec's 2007 Apex
Awards.
The deal with Power Shield is that it uses a perforated membrane
with a windproofness figure which is usually quoted as 98 per-cent.
The idea is that you get effective wind and water protection, but
breathability is significantly improved over comparable 100 per-cent
windproof garments.
Also available in black...
In our experience it really does work well and is a great
alternative to Gore-Tex Windstopper, particularly if you run on the
warm side. The French brand's Premium Shield jacket is a full-on
technical soft shell complete with a hood, something we reckon is a
must on a mountaineering shell hard or soft.
The jacket gets an athletic cut, pit-zips, chest pockets and
water-resistant zippers. The fabric itself uses a smooth, tightly
woven Nylon face to give good abrasion resistance and a polyester
velour backer traps warm air to up the insulation values.
A DWR - durable water resistant - finish, helpls the jacket to
shrug off showers. It looks pretty good to us and, we're reliably
told, will be available in the UK. Price is a not inconsiderable
£210 and the jacket weighs in at a claimed 640
grammes.
More about Millet kit at www.millet.fr
plus further information on Polartec fabrics at www.polartec.com.
John Burley
