New in for review is a rather nice-looking
Gore Windstopper Soft Shell
jacket from
Mammut
called the
Ultimate Pro.
It's a short cut, alpine-type windproof and water-resistant jacket made
from latest fabric in the Gore Windstopper Soft Shell range. It's got a
nice, soft light feel to it and the interior scrim is very thin, so has
little insulation value. It also keeps weight down, so the jacket in a
medium weighs just 430 grammes.
It's all very alpine, you can imagine Swiss Mountain Guides wearing
these as they rope up at the base of the Matterhorn, we're not quite so
sure how applicable it is to UK conditions however. Our experience of
Windstopper is that it really needs lots of venting to work well in
typically damp UK conditions, though it's great in the Alps where it
tends to be cold and dry.
Windstopper fabric itself is effectively waterproof, but because seams
aren't taped, the garment will leak there in wet conditions. And the
pay-off for excellent weather protection is reduced breathability to
the point where you might consider a fully wateproof hardshell instead,
particular when the soft shell, like this one, has no hood. If you do
want something similar with a hood, check out the Mammut Ultimate Hoody.
That's not knocking the Mammut Jacket, in cold, dry conditions, we
suspect it will work very well, but on a gnarly day in the 'gorms, we'd
want head protection and possibly more length. What is good about the
Mammut is that it feels great on, has hand-warmer pockets, thumb-loops
and an adjustable hem and collar.
Cut is close-fitting and technical and the fabric itself is soft and
stretchy. And the weight is excellent. We'd save it for the Alps and
ice fall climbing rather than Scotland though. Price is
£155.
More information at
www.mammut.ch
and
www.gore-tex.co.uk.
