We have a look at Salomon's take on a breathable, lightweight waterproof jacket aimed squarely at fast movers.
Salomon Paclite Jacket Tested
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Price:
£150
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Weight: 315 grammes (men's
large)
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Features:
Lightweight waterproof jacket using Gore-Tex Paclite fabric
with 13mm micro-taped seams, water-resistant main zip,
mesh-lined venting pockets, articulated elbows, hem drawcord
with shockcord, adjustable cuffs with Velcro fastening.
Roll-down adjustable hood with foam-stiffened
peak.
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What's It For? It's a lightweight waterproof jacket aimed
primarily at fast-movers, so runners, light hikers, adventure racers,
mountain bikers. Packs small and light but keeps you dry.
The Techy Bits Nothing remarkable - the Salomon Paclite uses -
surprise, surprise - Gore-Tex Paclite fabric for its combination of
light weight and waterproofing. The company's used large mesh panels
in the lining of its jacket pockets so they also work as vents when
unzipped.
How It Performs This is the first item of Salomon outdoor
clothing we've used and first impressions were positive. The fabric
has a nice look and feel with an attractive microgrid pattern on the
face fabric.
We like the cut too, it's slim and neat with an easy, athletic
fit. Add to that neat contemporary touches like the water-resistant
main and pocket zips - the latter are colour-coded to match the
fabric - and classic, simple Velcro cuff adjusters and it all looks
good. It's also light at 315 grammes for a large and packs down
nicely too.
The Paclite fabric isn't the toughest out there and we wouldn't
recommend it for hardcore sustained pack use but it manages moisture
well in situations where exertion levels vary. Hammer too hard for
too long and you'll overtax the fabric and discover a world of
condensation, but the same is true of most waterproof fabrics. We
think that Paclite's grey lining acts as a sort of buffering layer,
but you don't really need to worry about that; the important thing is
that most of the time, it works.
Which is also true of the Salomon jacket, until you reach hood
level where things go slightly awry. We've been spoiled by tethered
neck cords for so long that we couldn't quite believe that the
Salomon ones were simply hanging semi-loose waiting to give our face
a good lashing in high winds. And that's just the start. There's
no volume adjuster at the rear of the hood, which combined with a
large volume hood meant that cinching things down left you in mad
monk mode with the brim of the hood over your eyes. Not clever.
It's all very, very wrong and lets down what's otherwise quite a
nice jacket.
The Salomon Paclite would be fine if you didn't have a head or
a need to protect one. Unfortunately while the rest of the jacket is
actually pretty good with some neat touches and a nice cut, the hood
needs a major overhaul in the form of a volume-adjustment system and
tethered drawcords.
We wouldn't write off Salomon's clothing on the basis of this
jacket - we've seen some very nice kit from the brand - but there are
plenty of better lightweight waterproofs out there.
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Nice cut, decent fabric and some neat detail touches.
Terrible hood.
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Performance
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Value
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