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Montbell Storm Cruiser Jacket Review - “It strikes the perfect balance of great features, lightweight and durability”

Posted by Danny Pearson on Nov 06, 2023

Picking a waterproof shell jacket can make your head spin. The lightest jackets will be ideal to keep pack weight at a minimum but how will they hold up when used under a backpacking rucksack with several days of food? This was the conundrum when deciding on a jacket to use for the TGO Challenge. It needed to offer dependable protection for a crossing of the mountains of Scotland in Ma …
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Mountain Equipment Firefly Gore-Tex Jacket Review - ''An excellent choice for anyone looking for a basic, lightweight, high performance shell''

Posted by Mathew Garbutt on Aug 21, 2023

Hailing from Cheshire, Mountain Equipment should know a thing or two about wet weather and protecting you from it – and they do. One of the pioneers of British outdoor manufacturing, Mountain Equipment were one of the first outdoor brands to experiment with a new fabric membrane - Gore-Tex. Quickly gaining cult status in the UK outdoor scene, M.E became known for their burly Gore-Tex sh …
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Montane Phase Nano Gore-Tex Jacket Review - “Ticked all the boxes, my top pick for the year so far!”

Posted by Chris Futers on Apr 17, 2023

High Street - Lake District Eastern Fells and my Border Collie Gaston The newest addition to the Phase range from Montane, the Phase Nano is the lightest and most breathable Gore-Tex Jacket from  Montane. Aimed at trail runners and anyone looking to move fast and light, the Phase Nano has a lot of features to offer, for such a lightweight jacket, two hand pockets, …
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Rab Firewall Jacket Review - “An all-encompassing, reliable jacket, that you will get years of use out of”

Posted by Andy Neil on Sep 20, 2022

I was lucky enough to be spending 2 whole weeks in Scotland hiking, two weeks, in Scotland, in May, you know you are going to rely heavily on your waterproofs, and the unpredictable nature of the Scottish weather meant that I could definitely predict rain. So, I was after something robust, light, and capable of shielding me from some truly awful weather. So, when Rab’s newly updated  …
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Haglofs Roc Gore-Tex Jacket Review - Ultralight Outdoor Gear

Posted by Chris Futers on May 31, 2022

The ROC GTX Jacket from  Haglof’s is perfectly suited to Hikers and Backpackers a-like due to the simple design that will stand the test of time with a rucksack on your back. First of all, this is not a shell that you will pop in your rucksack for the off chance of rain, but a jacket for trips/days out where rain will definitely be a factor. The 3-layer Gore-Tex will take all th …
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Rab Kinetic Alpine 2.0 Pant Review - Trek Scotland

Posted by Trek Scotland on Apr 19, 2022

Having previously tested and reviewed the original Kinetic Alpine pant we were eager to see what alterations Rab had made to the newly updated 2.0 version. It’s instantly noticeable that Rab have not held back with making changes and have instead nearly completely redesigned the Kinetic Alpine. We often use our original pair, so having them side by side gave us a great insight into …
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Trek Scotland Review - Mammut Kento HS

Posted by Trek Scotland on Sep 20, 2021

The Mammut Kento HS claims to be a hard-shell jacket that is ready for changing conditions in the mountains. Weighing in at 452 grams in a size medium this can be considered a mid to lightweight jacket. It packs down small so made for an easy addition to our kit for days when the weather could not quite make its mind up.

Trek Scotland Review - Montane Alpine Resolve

Posted by Trek Scotland on Nov 16, 2020

The Montane Alpine Resolve sure packs a punch straight out of bag. Coming in the striking Citrus Green design, it certainly ticks the first box for a winter shell jacket. Bright and bold, it will stand out in contrast to the shorter days and bleak white mountain tops of the winter season.

Trek Scotland Review - Rab Muztag GTX Jacket

Posted by Trek Scotland on Sep 14, 2020

Rab’s new range of waterproof shells are more than just a slight tweak in design. Throughout the years Rab have become common place for use of fabrics such as eVent, Pertex, NeoShell, including a few of their own such as ProFlex which we reviewed last year. What is surprising is this is Rab’s first partnership with Gore-Tex bringing out a range of high-performance clothing. This is a bold but brav …
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Trek Scotland Review - Rab Pacer Jacket

Posted by Trek Scotland on May 11, 2020

Featured as part of Rab's new Skyline range the Pacer Jacket was built to be a very lightweight and compact option for fast movement in mountain environments. At 240 grams it certainly fits the brief and packing small into its included stuff sac it is almost unnoticeable amongst our pack.

Trek Scotland Review - Rab Kinetic Alpine Jacket and Pants

Posted by Trek Scotland on Nov 11, 2019

The instantly noticeable feature when receiving the Kinetic Alpine jacket and pants is certainly the fabric. Rab’s own Proflex fabric has the feel of a softshell yet claims to be fully waterproof. Rab explain “the outer and inner layers of Proflex are engineered” with high gauge knits – “the outer treated for water repellency and the inner wicking to move moisture.” It’s certainly true that the Ki …
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Cairngorm Treks Review - Outdoor Research Foray Jacket

Posted by Cairngorm Treks on Oct 14, 2019

The Foray Jacket comes in at 390 grams for the size medium, which puts it into a bracket of being a midrange waterproof. To the touch it certainly isn't as rugged as it is with a heavier 3L mountain jacket but it also isn't as flimsy as a super light active sports waterproofs. The Foray hits the 'go anywhere' category and it is instantly clear that OR have created a waterproof jacket tha …
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