Polartec Announces 2008 Award Winners

Sprayway Energy Half Zip - £100

One of the first Sprayway designs from erstwhile Montane design supremo and OM member Julie Greengrass, the Energy Half Zip is a slim, stylish pullover using recycled Polartec® Thermal Pro® fabric with a grid pattern back to trap body heat without adding extra bulk to the jacket. It's all about technical clothing that also looks great.

Lowe Alpine Nordic - 129 Euros

Lowe Alpine's clothing is now designed in Italy and they do stylish as well as you might expect. The Nordic Jacket is an ultra light fleece for women that can be worn as a mid or outer layer and is made from Polartec® Thermal Pro®. The hem and cuffs however are made from wool to give a distinctive, stylish look. Hopefully available in colours other than powder blue...

Mountain Equipment Women's Moonlite Guide Jacket - £120

Another one for the gurlz, but this time coming right out of Hyde, Manchester from technical mountain specialists ME. The Women's Moonlite Guide Jacket is made from Polartec's excellent Power Shield fabric but with a deep pile inner to give added insulation along with the protection of the membrane-based face.

Power Stretch under the arms adds mobility and reduces weight. Should be great for female winter climbers and skiers when the going gets gnarly.

Haglofs Reptile Hood - 150 Euros

Haglofs seems to be going from strength to strength and they've produced some excellent, beautifully cut soft shells recently. The Reptile Hood looks like continuing the trend. It's made from Polartec® Power Shield® fabric with a microfleece grid inner to provided more insulation without piling on the grammes.

There's a hood too - hurrah - with a full zipper and a foam-reinforced peak so you don't have to reach for a hard shell when it starts snowing. Looks good.

Haglofs Treble Q Hood - 130 Euros

And Haglofs does the double thanks to the new Treble Q Hood which is effectively a replacement for the late, lamented Triton Jacket which we're still using regularly. The new version - which we've seen in the fabric - uses Polartec Classic Micro fleece along with Polartech Powerstretch panels for better mobility and fit. And as you can see, it also has a hood for noggin insulation.

Millet Super Touring - 249 Euros

French specialists Millet are another company building a reputation for really nice soft shell - not entirely coincidentally, the concept works really well in alpine environements - and their latest creation is the Super Touring, another Power Shield jacket with a full mountain hood and, it says here, a technical, innovative design.

And one we won't be getting...

This rather fetching little number also comes from France, this time Lafuma is the brand. The Bufandaflor Caban by Agatha Ruiz de la Prada is a three-quarter length jacket using Polartec WindPro fleece and includes a tall collar, wide turnback cuffs and, erm, an integrated flower scarf, which is the bit we like most...

Ideal for serious ice fall climbing we reckon.