Paramo Aspira Jacket First Look

The most fundamental of these changes and one that it has in common with the rest of this year's Paramo range is a 'pump liner' - the strange bit that's claimed to work like animal fur - that's 25 percent lighter than before.

That still doesn't exactly make for an ultralight garment - we weighed a size large at 940 grammes - but it's an improvement on previous Paramo Jackets, which were offputtingly heavy.

If you've encountered Paramo before, please skip this bit, if you haven't, here's a quick look at how Paramo's directional system works. Despite the jacket being described as waterproof, the actual fabric isn't. In fact there's an outer windproof microfibre shell over what Paramo calls a 'pump liner'. This feels like a fluffy old housecoat, but is claimed to work like animal fur and 'direct liquid water into the right spot'.

The pluses are that it copes better with sweat than conventional waterproofs, is immune to puncture damage and has a soft feel. The downsides are (for some) that it's warmer than conventional waterproof clothing, lets water through under pressure (for example if you lean against a wet rock and compress the liner) and - though no-one mentions this - it absorbs enough water to up the weight when wet, which is a factor if you want to remove and carry.

The lighter 2003 liner in the new Aspira seems indistinguishable in performance from the previous version and generally works well, though we found it too warm over just a base layer stomping up hill in temperatures around zero, even with the hood down, cuffs rolled up and vents open. But then we do run hot. Good for colder folk and instructors though. For a longer explanation see the Paramo site.

At £250, the Aspira is Paramo's top-end technical mountaineering and climbing jacket, so you'd expect things to have been thought through carefully. Some of the detailing we really like - being able to roll the cuffs up is great, there are loads of pockets none of which are obstructed by a harness, and a huge map pocket twinned with a Velcroed-shut compass one.

The vents at the front of the upper arms are accessible but, we thought, of limited effectiveness and would be right in the line of fire from spindrift when climbing and reaching up, though to be fair, no worse than many pit zips.

Nice hood...

The hood has been redesigned for 2003 with a higher volume and cordlock adjustability and is very effective. The combination of soft fabric, and shockcord volume and aperture adjusters topped with a wired hood fit comfortingly closely over a bare head, but also accommodates a BD Half Dome helmet with ease. And, a nice touch, the elastication in the front of the hood allows you to slip it off, over the helmet without loosening or adjusting either this or the main front zip.

The downside is that the lined material is quite warm, so if you run hot, it's a recipe for overheating, especially on uphill sections. Update Interestingly OM member Guy Newbold, a longstanding Paramo user, actually preferred the older version liner for its extra warmth in cold conditions. He also found that the reversed zip on the new jacket wasn't up to the job and after breaking it, chose to exchange his jacket for a Smock version. See link to user reviews below.

The cut is looser than we'd like on a top-end technical jacket. The soft drape means that it doesn't billow out as much as some, but there's still an excess of loose fabric under a pack and harness. We'd like a closer cut for more efficient insulation and wicking.

Otherwise things work well. The sleeves don't pull down when reaching high and a low bulk skirt helps to reduce bulk under a harness or pack belt. The fasteners are also glove friendly, even the pop studs, which look as if they might be awkward to use.

Not perfect though. The waist draw cords are hidden, but the hem cords hand loose at the sides in just the right place to tangle with racked gear on a harness loop. They really should be captive and hidden away.

The new lighter liner means that the weight is now more in the ballpark, but for us - and bear in mind that we do run hot - even this latest version is too warm for anything other than full winter conditions. If you run cooler or stand around a lot, say, instructing, the extra warmth may be a bonus, but while it's welcome on a winter belay ledge, it's not so great when you're burning up an approach slope. The hood, in particular cooked our head and aided overheating. And of course leaning or kneeling on wet surfaces is still a bad idea.

The debate over the fabric has tended to overshadow cut and design. The new Aspira's a basically competent top with an excellent (if warm) hood. For our tastes though, while detailing like the pockets, cuffs and hood are good, the overall cut needs to be tightened up for climbing use. At the moment there's simply too much excess fabric in the sack-like cut for us. If you're bulky yourself though, that might be an asset.

We're going to give the Aspira a bit more of a caning in the next few months and see how things develop, but initial impressions are that it's a comfortable and very protective winter jacket with all the traditional Paramo pluses and minuses, but at a lighter weight. For us it's a shame that the cut is still on the loose side, though bulkier mountaineers may find that an asset. Perhaps we should be eating more pies.

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