When we popped up to meet the guys from MtnHaus - the crack Berghaus design team - the other week, in addition to hearing the story behind the lightweight Mount Asgard Smock, we also talked a bit about other products and what's new for autumn 2011

.Hydrophobic DownThe idea is that the down is pre-treated with a special water repellant, so that when it gets wet three main things are claimed to happen: one is that the down resists wetting for a longer period of time than untreated down. Next, it's claimed

We're just back from a wet and drizzly Snowdonia and, for once, we didn't mind one bit because we were there to try out the new, lightweight waterproof fabric from Gore-Tex.It's called Active Shell, it's reckoned to be the most breathable waterproof

, Altberg uses Sympatex. 'So what?' you might say, we live in a wet country, surely waterproof liners are a good thing.Sweaty When Hot?Cue the sounds of a can opener operating on a large tin of squirmy worms, because actually there are plenty of people out

Vango Velocity 300 TriedVango Velocity 300 TriedWe're just back from the Lakes where we took part in a very wet and windy two-day mountain bike challenge - the Lakes Epic, more about that tomorrow - but also got the chance to try out Vango's new Air

I've just paid a flying visit to the lovely people at The North Face in a very wet Staveley, mostly to do a quick update on what's new from the brand this winter, but also to pick out anything I missed from spring 2012 at the recent Friedrichshafen

for washing waterproof fabrics, soft shell garments and anything else that's on the delicate side.  It retails for around £3.00 per bottle and each bottle should give around 15 washes, which makes it significantly cheaper per wash than technical cleaners, even

necessary.There's a Shoc-Pad in the heel to add cushioning, while the uppers feature flexible armour in key wear areas. Finally Teva is using the all-over Ion-Mask water repellent treatement, we think for the first time, to improve wet conditions performance

bulk slightly. At £150 it's a cracking alpine shell that just needs the addition of a lightweight waterproof when things get really nastily wet.New Javelin HoodyThe Javelin's a hooded evolution of the current Arrow Pull-on. It uses the Exo1 soft shell

Okay, I'm going to be straight here, normally I wouldn't nancy around wearing calf-length, furry topped boots with waterproof membranes and Thinsulate linings. Normally these Hi-Tec Capri 200 WP would raise a grin and an eyebrow and the odd shake