Haglofs Kaza Pullover - Tested
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Price:
£49.99
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Weight: 135 grammes
(medium)
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Features:
Lightweight windproof pullover made from 30-denier mini-rip
stop polyester fabric with 'super DWR', single zippered
chest pocket that works as stuff sack, underarm mesh for
ventilation, smooth lined half collar, half zipper with wind
flap, articulated sleeves, elasticated cuff with thumb
loops, front and back reflective print. Also available as
Women's Kaza Q version.
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What's It For?
Like the lightweight Oz Pullover, the Kaza is part of Haglofs
Intense Series of lightweight kit aimed at active fast movers -
runners, bikers, climbers, in fact anyone who wants their kit light,
functional and packable.
It's made from a fabric that Haglofs says is 'highly wind and
water resistant' but as far as we can see it's actually
windproof.
The Techy Bits
The Kaza isn't particularly radical, but in classic Haglofs
fashion, the technical details have all been done very well. The
polyester fabric is treated with what Halfofs call 'super DWR' for
added water repellancy. The nice thing about this is that it should
be relatively easy to renew as Polyester takes water repellant
treatments very well.
Otherwise neat touches include underarm mesh panels to air your
pits and a soft-lined collar plus thumb loops which you'll either
like or not. They all make the Kaza slightly heavier, but in use you
do appreciate them.
How It Performs
There are lighter windproofs out there, but not by that much and
at a genuine 135 grammes on our digital scale, the Kaza isn't going
to dislocate your shoulder when packed into its single chest pocket
come stuff sack. Pack size is in the ballpark of a large apple, so no
worries there either.
What we liked about the Kaza is that it doesn't feel filmy and
minimalist - the fabric has a nice soft handle to it and the classy
microfleece-lined half collar is soft and comfy against the skin.
Cut, as with most of the Intense kit, is quite slim. That means it's
best worn over a baselayer rather than a fleece and some users of,
erm, less athletic build will defiitely find it too close
fitting.
The pay-off for the snug cut is less flapping and billowing in
blustery conditions and, of course, a slight reduction in weight and
bulk.
Performance during our test was excellent. The polyester fabric is
effectively windproof, feels comfortable and is very breathable. The
only condensation issues we had working quite hard, were under a
pack, but that's the case with any shell clothing in our
experience.
Out of the box the 'super DWR' is quite effective and shrugs off
light showers, though in heavier rain you can expect a soaking. With
use rubbing and abrasion reduces effectiveness around pack straps and
belts for example, but polyester generally takes aftermarket
treatments well, so should be easy to restore.
We didn't really use the thumb loops, but they don't affect the
wrist closure anyway and we could still easily roll the sleeves up to
the elbow to expose our forearms which, in combination with the
half-zip and mesh arm-pit areas allowed decent enough venting in
warmer conditions
The Rolls Royce of lightweight windproofs - it may give away
30-odd grammes to something like a Montane Featherlite Smock, but
touches like the soft-lined collar, mesh pits and soft fabric make it
an all-round pleasant experience to use and weight and bulk are still low enough to make it pack and forget until needed.
Add in faultless performance in windy and showery conditions and
excellent breathability plus the small pack size plus slick looks and
we think Haglofs is onto another winner.
Our one proviso is that a close cut means that if you're a little
on the bulky side, you should try before you buy.
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Lovely design touches, good breathability, all bases
covered.
The slim, athletic cut won't suit everyone, try before you
buy.
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Performance
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Value
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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.
Andrew Sabisky
