What's It For?
Montane says the 'Halo Stretch Jacket is designed for the high energy outdoor athlete who demands low weight, supreme breathability and maximum freedom of movement in a waterproof shell'. The helmet-compatible hood means that it should suit both walkers and climbers / mountaineers and while our test jacket weighed more than the claimed 350g, at a genuine 410 grammes, it's hardly a porker.
The Techy Bits
There's lots going on with the Halo. The main body fabric is a super lightweight eVent material with a microgrid rip-stop pattern to add strength. We like eVent, in our experience it's the most breathable conventional waterproof fabric out there and the best choice for anyone who runs hot with a noticeable edge over comparable materials thanks to its direct venting structure.
That's just the start though. Montane has combined the blue eVent body fabric with stretch panels made from a fabric called ENTRANT in two varieties. There's a tough, durable version on the forearms and hips to resist wear and a lighter, stretch variety in the underarm and across the back. ENTRANT is used because there is no stretch version of eVent itself. It has a slightly lower hydrostatic head than eVent but in practice should be fine and is also respectably breathable.
The jacket uses water-resistant zips both for the main zip - backed up with a storm flap and for a single map-sized chest pocket. Reassuringly, the twin venting chest pockets with their mesh liners have a double storm flap over a conventional zip for added water resistance.
How It Performed
We weren't blown away with the cut of the reincarnated SuperFly that we tested last year, but the Halo Stretch is much improved with longer sleeves and a cut that's neat but still leaves enough room for a microfleece mid-layer if needed. It's also long enough - on us anyway - to give some welcome crotch protection which makes it a reasonable walking option.
As usual we were impressed with the breathability of eVent and the ENTRANT stretch panels don't seem to compromise that either. The bottom line is that you can go harder for longer before you get all hot and steamy and we'd definitely recommend the fabric as first choice for anyone who runs hot and hard.
As far as the stretch goes, we're always a little cynical about claims for added mobility. In our experience sleeves seem to pull up before panels elongate and stretch is a better aid to fit than anything else, but in this case, the panel across the upper back and down the trunk does actually seem to work when you reach forward, which was a surprise, but a not unwelcome one, particularly if you have broad shoulders and find other jackets restrictive.
Other features generally work well. We like having the mesh-lined pockets for extra venting options and the storm flaps seem to keep the water out the rest of the time. You can also just about roll up the sleeves for cooling, though anyone with beefy forearms should check before buying as the lower sleeve is quite tight despite the stretch panels.
The hood's not bad at all. Worn without a helmet, it cinches down nicely protecting the lower face well and moving easily with your head. Stick a helmet on and it's still pretty good, not in the same class as Berghaus's new Raptor hood, but with a Black Diamond Half Dome, it covered helmet and lower face and still allowed head movement, though the chin was slightly snug. Again best to try before you buy if you have mountaineering on your mind.
What else? Reasonably light weight and small pack size for what's effectively a mountaineering jacket are both good. The small reflective spots on the underarms and sleeves of the jacket seem like a bit of an afterthought though and there's nothing on the back for country lane drivers to spot. Then again, many waterproofs don't feature reflective at all.
We like the neat little Montane zip-pulls with gummy logo thingy.
Finally, although the hips and forearms are reinforced with tougher stretch ENTRANT, for some reason, the tops of the shoulders aren't and we're not sure how the eVent® Super Lightweight 3 Layer fabric will stand up to pack use in the long run, though short term, it's been fine.
Verdict
A good lightweight, decently-cut and very breathable all-rounder that should do nicely for walking, climbing and backpacking though it's cut a little long in the body for running or biking. The hood takes a helmet and - this is something of a minor miracle in our experience - the back stretch panels do actually seem to work, which is great if you have broad shoulders.
We do have slight misgivings about the lack of shoulder top reinforcement and whether the jacket will cope with prolonged pack use, but for now, we'll give it the benefit of the doubt. If that's an issue for you, take a look at Rab's Super Dru which does a similar job but does have shoulder reinforcement as well as looser-cut sleeves.
Buy if... you run hot and want a versatile lightweight waterproof jacket that can accommodate a hood and is long enough to give protection for walking as well as climbing.
