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 Average Rating: 5 out of 5 No. of Reviews: 6 RRP: £200 Year: 2003 Description: Jacket using the Nikwax analogy system. Designed for backpacking in changeable conditions.
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|  | | Posted: 17/07/07 | | 'ANOTHER HIT FOR PARAMO' | | Strengths:
It's Paramo.
Excellent build quality.
Keeps you dry and warm.
Nice design touches.
Doesn't rustle like a crisp packet. | | Weaknesses:
erm....i'm trying...... | | Overall:
My favourite by far of my Paramo jackets which was a nice surprise as I picked this up for half price "to try" and I'm glad I did.
It has the usual Paramo excellent build quality that we've come to expect from their Colombian operations and what I really like; the side zips which allow you to put your pack belt under the front of the jacket. You would be amazed at just how much this aids ventilation. Upper arm zips for more ventilation, or wet arms if you forget to close them.
Superb pockets designed so things don't fall out of them when you unzip them and big enough for a map should, by some strange reason, you would like to put a nice impermeable laminated map in there. The pockets can be left undone for a little more air through flow.
I am unable to put enough superlatives for this jacket.
At the price I paid it is without doubt the bargain of the decade. If it was full price I would think can I stretch to the Aspira instead? |
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| | | | Performance | | 100% | | Reliability | | 100% | | Value | | 100% |
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| | | | Posted: 07/10/06 | | 'A PARAMO CONVERT!' | | Strengths:
Warmth, venting, waterproof, feel. | | Weaknesses:
At a push no hip pockets, but you can open the side vent zips and put your hands in your trouser pockets! | | Overall:
Been looking for a medium weight jacket for a time to replace my ageing Berghaus jacket. I've been eyeing up Paramo since buying a set of Cascada trousers and being very happy with them, but I was always a little suspect of the weight and warmth, (being a big guy I sweat like a horse!). I saw this jacket for £125 so I took the plunge.
Anyway the first outing, it was raining, hood was up, climbing up a mountain so working hard, beads of sweat running down my face, I'm thinking this jacket is far too warm, but to be honest I never felt damp inside. I vented various areas to control my temperature still keeping the rain at bay. At the summit the jacket was still beading on the outside, felt warm and dry inside, regardless of all the hard work to get there! The rain never eased throughout the day and when we got back down to civilisation and the pub I was surprised on how dry I was and the inside of the coat when removed. Even the sleeves were dry which normally is an area which is socking after a day on the hills. |
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| | | | Performance | | 100% | | Reliability | | 100% | | Value | | 100% |
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| | | | Posted: 26/01/05 | | 'ABSOLUTELY KILLER!' | | Strengths:
Hmm, where do I start?
*Fantastic venting (I run really hot - but not in this!)
*Incredible fabric - light, soft, warm, cool, tough, ultra-windproof, ultra-waterproof, dries amazingly fast. Oh, and it's totally breathable too.
*Ethically manufactured
*Lifetime guarantee - which makes sense, because the build quality is so high | | Weaknesses:
*Pockets don't vent as advertised - not a problem because of the arm vents, hip zips and the fantastic inner storm flap
*Fit is a bit odd - long sleeves (but then that means extra protection for hands), short body (but that's great for biking/round town - and if you want it longer, get an Alta II)
*It doesn't make me a brew or cook my dinner for me | | Overall:
I had stupidly high expectations of this, but it has blown me away. As soon as I got it out of the packet, I knew I had a quality item on my hands. It is so well-designed and well made, the kind of quality which my parents say things were "back in their day". It is soft, snug, warm - but not too warm (though I wouldn't wear it in summer). It's also tougher than it looks - I was blown off my bike onto the pavement by crazy winds recently, and while my tough-looking polycotton combats got gashed, the Viento only had light scuff marks. Very impressed.
Weatherproof performance: top marks. Spent New Year in the midst of minging Scottish weather - rain, horizontal ice, wind, snowstorms, etc. My mate's 3-month-old Berghaus XCR jacket wet out and then got wet on the inside from condensation. It took all night to dry. The Viento, meanwhile, shrugged off the sh*t, kept me toasty and dry, and - after half an hour on a hanger - was nearly bone-dry and ready to go again. Well chuffed.
Then there's the venting. I run really hot, and I wanted this jacket for cycling to work in winter, which is uphill all the way in (boiled) and downhill all the way home (frozen). I know running hot has been an issue for Paramo in the past, but I think with this coat they've cracked it. Salomon base layer T plus Viento plus Camelbak ares pack (has an airflow back) = comfort. On the bike ride, I usually start out a little cool, but with all the zips done up I soon get warm. When I start feeling the overheating coming on, all the vents get opened, sleeves go up, and I'm soon feeling just slightly warm rather than boiled. The arm vents are big, and better than pit zips because they don't close up when you drop your arms by your sides. They really cool you down, channeling air to the pit area - especially when there's a bit of a breeze, which is pretty much always in Scotland. The inner storm flap is fantastic. It's poppered, which means you can undo the zip and air will get through the gaps between the poppers, but the rain stays out. The hip zips don't add a lot of venting, but they mean you can wear a rucsac with the hip belt done up and still unzip (and hence vent) the whole front of the jacket. The whole thing is just so well-thought out, it is really pleasing.
I know some people don't get on with Paramo. All I can say is that it is working for me, day in day out, round town, in the rain, on the bike, on the hill. Compared to the Gore Tex I've tried, it is just a whole different ball game. Gore Tex is a glorified plastic bag which you take out when it rains. Paramo is a nice light jacket which you just wear all the time, and which turns out to be body armour when the weather goes bad.
It'll be too warm for summer - so I'll probably buy a Pertex. But for mild to cold changeable weather, from October through to March and on odd days beyond that where I live (Scotland), I reckon it'll be perfect. One thing is that the hood is warm, so in warm wet weather you can get a little hot around the collar on an ascent. But then when the cold wind kicks in further up the hill, you really appreciate it. And yes, the hood is also excellent - adjustable, nice visor, soft on the face, etc.
One day, maybe we'll all be wearing electronically regulated clothes which adjust automatically to body temperature and weather conditions. Well, IMHO if you put such uberclothes at one end of a scale, and then put Gore Tex/membranes at the other end, I'd say Paramo was bang in the middle.
I can already hear people saying "yeah, but is it worth £200?" There is this western industrial notion that you can get something for nothing, which I think we need to get over. If you want something which will work long term, on a daily basis, no questions asked, then the only way you'll get it for £50 is if either (a) you get lucky with a one-off sale, or (b) the people making it get treated like dirt. A coat like this *should* cost £200 - because it works, and it is well made, and that means the people who designed and made it deserve to get paid properly. I've worn £200 coats before, but this one actually *feels* like a £200 coat. There isn't that familiar deflated sense of having been ripped off. And let's face it, you're not going to have to buy another one - this thing is built to last, unlike most consumer goods these days. So I'm giving this five stars on value as well.
Now, if only I could get my hands on some of those Cascada trousers... |
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| | | | Performance | | 100% | | Reliability | | 100% | | Value | | 100% |
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| | | | Posted: 27/01/05 | | 'NO MORE BOIL IN THE BAG.. ' | | Strengths:
I got mine for £110. What a bargain. After a walk with a baselayer (smelly helly) and coat, after some sweating i returned to base, and realised i was dry. There was a bit of moisture by the cuffs (of all places) but otherwise no probs.
Lovely and warm too.
Also reproofable. | | Weaknesses:
I like proper pockets to warm my hands, not the "handwarmer pockets", i'm always worried i'll keep my mobile and wallet in them and never seem them again!
*May* be too warm in the summer, but who the hell reasonably expects a jacket like this to perform in EVERY circumstance? I have other garments for warm days.
How often to reproof???? that worries me. | | Overall:
£110, can't go wrong (200 is a lot of moolah to spend IMHO, but YGWYPF).
Ethically produced.
Reproofable again and again.
Will be getting the cascada trews to match!
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| | | | Performance | | 100% | | Reliability | | 100% | | Value | | 100% |
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| | | | Posted: 29/01/05 | | 'WOW! NO MORE PLASTIC BAG FEELING!' | | Strengths:
Soft
Best fitting hood I've ever tried-keeps rain off glasses too (unless its horizontal rain)
You might get hot, but never soaked like with a lot of jackets-kind of like wearing a woolly jumper. | | Weaknesses:
It is quite heavy-not a good 'have in the bag just in case coat' for around town-but that's not really it's point.
Mine is a manky green colour which I hate. To be fair I could have got a nicer colour, but I decided to go green for my work. I guess it makes me blend in on the hill.
Fit isn't the best because the women's version wasn't on sale and I'm a little too thin for the small version, so it doesn't provide as much insulation (but I wear 3 jumpers anyway...).
Will snag more easily on bushes, thorns etc. than most other waterproofs. But at least if you have holes in the coat it still works. Still, it'd make me think twice about trousers in this material. | | Overall:
You might get hot, but never soaked like with a lot of jackets-kind of like wearing a woolly jumper-breathably hot! I personally only get hot because I am silly and wear three jumpers for standing around in the cold, but then don't take any of them off before cycling across town.
Very well made. It does look like a lot of effort has gone into the construction. All in all I can't believe I got this for £110! Most expensive piece of outdoor clothing I've ever bought, but it feels very protective, and if I wasn't so poor I wouldn't have felt miffed at the £200 price tag.
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| | | | Performance | | 100% | | Reliability | | 100% | | Value | | 80% |
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| | | | Posted: 01/05/05 | | 'BEADS LIKE A BEAST!' | | Strengths:
Well made and feels and looks like real quality, Bite tab cuffs, Removable foam insert strips for carrying heavy loads,
arm vents and dual purpose chest venting pockets. | | Weaknesses:
No pockets at waist line level, a little on the heavy side, runs a little hot with heavy loads despite opened vents, quite expensive. | | Overall:
Well first things first really in that it keeped me dry in some pretty hostile weather (you know that rain that comes in at a nasty angle an hits you in the face despite a hood type a rain) which was all the better considering i was carrying a 35lbs bergen and was afraid it might concede rain from pressure around the harness shoulder straps but it didnt to my relief, whats really impressive about the jacket thou is the beading on it is excellent even after a duration of saturation i was still bone dry which makes you feel very confident and able to tackle the rest of your journey with an increased impetus. theres also the hood which is a selling point in its own right to be honest, it stays put in one place and doesnt move around in high wind because of the wired peak and the strong pull cord release to shape the hood. The chest pockets are a decent size too for storeing odds and sods and also help make the jacket breathe because of the mesh liner inside them and theres also a small compass pocket concealed inside.
overall i have no complaints about the jacket apart from the price tag of course £200...ouch....although i did get mine on sale for £150, Despite that if your looking for a specialist waterproof for carrying heavy loads then look no further. |
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| | | | Performance | | 100% | | Reliability | | 100% | | Value | | 80% |
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