Ben Rees
Reviewed: 11 February 2003
GOOD BUT NOT BRILLIANT
Lightweight and easily compressable - folds neatly into its own hood.
A nice fit - not tight or restrictive and no folds of redundant cloth (I'm 5'8" and stocky build and the medium size fits me nicely).
Seamless shoulders and taped seams elsewhere. Windproofing: very good. Waterproofing: good but not very good.
Has waist and hem drawstrings, velcroed cuffs and reasonably sized pockets.
Zips, buttons and seals can be opened and shut with the minimum of faffing about. A godsend if you are wearing thick gloves or have cold fingers.
The hood is not generous and has no wired peak. I had to turn my face almost completely out of the wind to avoid getting stung by wind-blown rain.
For some bizzare reason the map pocket is right inside the main zip so you have to undo the jacket to the middle of your chest in order to reach it. I do not own nor have ever owned a jacket with this nonsensical feature.
Breathability is poor. After a day of walking in North Wales there was a lot of condensation inside the jacket. I don't know whether I overestimated the jacket's breathability or underestimated by own sweatiness, but I would have expected better breathability than that.
The fabric is thin and has no reinforcements so this jacket would get scuffed and torn if used for climbing or scrambling.
I bought this jacket because I read good reviews of it and because there was a gap in my wardrobe between my full-on winter technical jacket and my lightweight summer waterproof. To be fair to the jacket it did the job required of it, and having bought it second hand I could hardly complain about the price that I personally paid for it. However, my summer waterproof, which is cheaper than the Lhotse's RRP, has many of the same features plus a generous hood and a sensibly placed map pocket. For more money I would have expected those same features and better breathability in the Lhotse.
In conclussion, for day trips in very bad weather or multiday trips in mild/moderately bad weather you may want to give this jacket a try, but bear its weaknesses in mind.
