Lowe Alpine Altered State Jacket Tested

Lowe Alpine Windpro Altered State acket

Price: £90.00

Weight: 630 grammes (men's medium)

Features:Polartec Windpro wind resistant fleece fabric, twin zippered angle pockets with reversed zip, full-length front zipper with internal wind flap, elasticized cuff binding , elasticized drawcord hem, under-arm stretch panels, dropped shoulder seam for comfort under pack, flat-locked seams.

Like Ultrafleece but warmer... Like Ultrafleece but heavier...

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The Concept The Altered State uses Polartec's Windpro fabric which is highly wind resistant rather than wind proof, but is pretty much as breathable as normal fleece. We'd estimate that it has about the same level of wind resistance as Ultrafleece or Karisma, which both work well in the UK. The fabric used by Lowe however has a sort of semi-pile inner, which makes it both thicker and heavier than Ultrafleece and similar dense-woven fabrics, but also inherently warmer, particularly when worn under a shell. A slightly tweedy finish to the fabric means it looks good as well.

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Features The Altered State is a simple jacket but nicely done with neat touches like external wear reinforcement to the collar, stretch panels under the arms and roomy, neat angled chest pockets that are easy to use and still accessible with harness or pack in place.

Seams are flatlocked for comfort and the shoulder seam is moved forward for comfort under pack straps. Neat. Lowe has also bothered to put a wind resistant flap under the main zip.If you were going to carp, you might want an elasticated closure at the neck, but it wasn't an issue for us.

Cut is neat without being figure-hugging and, for us, a comforting few inches longer than some of the modern climbing-style technical fleeces on the shelves.

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In Action We've always liked dense, wind resistant fleece like this simply because you can wear it for longer before being forced to drag out a shell jacket and the Altered State didn't disappoint. Also like Ultrafleece, it still remains breathable under a shell, without the clammy feeling you sometimes get with 100 per-cent windproof fleece.

Where this jacket scores is in its additional thickness and brushed pile inner surface which makes it warmer than comparable materials. That's either a plus or a minus depending on how cold it is and how hot you run, but if you're looking for something like Ultrafleece only warmer, then this could be the puppy. We used it in cool, blowy conditions without a shell and the protection it gave was close to one of the Schoeller fabrics.

With a shell it gives roughly the same level of warmth as a Polartec 200 mid-weight fleece, which you'll either welcome or feel is excessive.

The pockets are roomy enough to take an OS map easily and accessible too, and the rest of what's basically a simple jacket design performed simply and effectively though the wrists aren't adjustable and were a little loose for us and a closure at the neck would have been nice.

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Verdict

Like Ultrafleece but slightly heavier and warmer, which is no bad thing if you're after something that hits that spot. The wind resistance mean you need a shell less often, the breathability means it's not clammy. It's simply a very good, all round fleece for general use in cold conditions and it looks good in an understated, tweedy textured sort of way too that grows on you. The only quibbles we have are with neck and wrist fastenings and the price, which puts it in technical fleece country.

Performance
Value

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Lowe Alpine web site

Pushed for time: Highly wind resistant Poartec Windpro fabric in a simple, but well executed, neatly cut fleece jacket form makes for an excellent cold weather fleece jacket - pockets, zips etc all present and correct. The added wind resistance - like Ultrafleece or Karisma - means you can do without a shell until things get really blowy or wet and the breathability means you avoid feeling clammy. Brushed innner pile finish makes it warmer than Ultrafleece and slightly heavier. Our only reservations are with the non-adjustable wrist and neck aperrtures and the price which is a little on the high side

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