Marmot Aegis Jacket -
Tested
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Price:
£95
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Weight: 400
grammes (medium)
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Features:
Waterproof shell jacket made from MemBrain® strata 2.5 layer
fabric., taped seams, Angel-Wind-Movement, DriClime®
collar and chin guard, pit-zips, roll-away hood with stiffened
laminated peak, twin mesh-lined pockets with water-resistant zips,
adjustable hem drawcord, Sleeve pocket with water-resistant zipper,
DriClime-lined cuffs. Also available as women's version, Strato Jacket.
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What's It
For?
The Aegis is designed as an all-round, lightweight and highly
breathable all-round walking and scrambling jacket and uses Marmot's
new MemBrain® strata 2.5 layer fabric. You could also, at a
pinch, use it for biking or running, but Marmot's other new for spring
2009 Mica Jacket uses the same fabric in a more streamlined design and
is better suited for that as well as being just over 200 grammes
lighter.
The Techy
Bits
Brand new for spring 2009 is Marmot's own MemBrain® strata 2.5
layer fabric. It's claimed not only to be very waterproof with a
hydrostatic head of 20,000mm - which is very waterproof - but also
extrememly breathable.
The lab figure Marmot give is 20,000 gr in breathability. To
put that in perspective, it's roughly the same as we'd expect from
eVent, which is the most breathable fabric we've used in the real
world. Lab tests aren't everything, but it's definitely a good starting
point.
The fabric is a 2.5 layer lamination that uses very small non-organic
particles mixed in with Marmot Membrain, which protects the Membrain
from direct abrasion and has a dry touch. It means there's no need for
a heavy drop lining to protect the laminate.
Overall Marmot says that it's 2.5 layer fabric is approximately 100
per-cent more breathable than 2.5-layer coatings on the market, which
is a whopping advantage.
That's the main event. The rest of the jacket is refined Marmot - there
are pit-zips, two big handwarmer pockets with mesh liners for venting
and Marmot's Angel Wing cut for easy arm mobility.
How It
Performed
The first thing we have to say is that we're blown away with
the level of breathability you're getting for under £100. We
used the Aegis hard - that's running and biking hard - in proper wet
conditions and it performed as well or better than far more expensive
jackets. It really is very, very breathable as well as waterproof.
Cut is medium with enough room for a full-weight mid-layer for us
anyway but without excessive bagginess. We also really like thoughtful
touches like the soft Driclime lined collar and cuffs that add a touch
of luxury against the skin. You really are getting a lot of
jacket for the money with touches like Pit-Zips for added ventilation
and a small sleeve pocket on the upper arm.
The two big handwarmer pockets are a bit of a double-edge thing.
They're big and roomy, which is great for habitual stashers, but they
also extend right down to the hem, which means they can foul pack
belts. Also, while they haven't leaked as yet, we'll be keeping an eye
on the unprotected water-resistant zippers on the pockets in heavy
rain. Zips of this type can allow water in as they flex and while the
mesh lining is great for venting, it's clearly not waterproof.
We'd also say that the tidy but slightly Trans-Atlantic, roll-away hood is more of a spring /
summer item than a full year round one, mostly because the laminated
peak is a tad on the flexible side for serious windiness, though fine
in less blustery conditions. Mobility with the Angle-Wing design was
good.
Marmot's 2.5-layer fabric is great. Fully waterproof and as breathable
as more expensive fabrics, so far we're highly impressed. On top of
that, the Aegis has an awful lot of features for a sub-£100
jacket with stuff like Pit-Zips and the DriClime detailing really
impressing.
It's not without its faults however. If you're a pack and pocket user
then you need to be aware that a pack belt will run over the lower part
of the pockets, we're reserving judgement on the water resistant pocket
zips for now and we'd ideally prefer a stiffer peak for the hood.
That said, the combination of features, breathability, light weight - a
real 400 grammes - and venting makes the Aegis a bit of a steal at the
price for general use. For fast and light fiends, the £90 and
185-gramme Mica looks astonishingly good. We'll report back once we've
used it a little more.
Buy if you
run hot and are looking for a lightweight walking and scrambling jacket
with great breathability and venting options on a budget and preferably
don't use pockets and pack at the same time.
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Very breathable fabric, nice cut and a mass of neat features at a
brilliant price.
 Pockets tend to
foul pack belts, hood peak not stiff enough, question mark over pocket
zips.
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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.
Graham Faithfull (stourvalewalker)
