Arc’teryx Tenquille Hoody: £130 / 290g

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Craghoppers Pro Lite Jacket: £45 / 380g

Review

Reduced from £60 to £45, the Craghoppers Pro Lite uses an own brand membrane fabric that’s fully windproof and close to waterproof too. The downside of that is that it can get quite sweaty when you’re working hard, but you get excellent weather protection even in short bursts of heavier rain.

Unfortunately there’s no hood, so you’ll still need to resort to a waterproof. That said, for £60, Craghoppers has a hooded version available, and that’s the one we’d suggest going for if you are after a very protective softshell on a tighter budget.

Other stuff to be aware of is that the jacket seems to be cut quite long and pack waist belts foul the hand pockets which also sit low. It also seems to have the opposite of a drop tail and felt slightly longer at the front than out back, which is the opposite of the norm.

Verdict

Good weather protection and a very appealing price, but the Pro Lite can feel hot and clammy on the move and is compromised by an overlong cut and the absence of a hood. We’d suggest the hooded version of the jacket as a better alternative for £15 more.

More info: www.craghoppers.com.

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Fjällräven Abisko Lite Jacket: £155 / 480g

Review

Swedish brand Fjällräven likes to plough its own, unique, slightly retro furrow and the Abisko Lite epitomises its left field approach. The hood, sleeves, shoulders, chest and main-zip storm-flap are all made from the brand’s signature G-1000 waxed polyester and cotton mix, while the rest of the jacket uses a closely woven stretchy Polyamide – Nylon to you and me.

The advantage of the stretch Nylon sections over full G-1000 jackets – there are plenty of those in the Fjällräven range – is a saving in weight and that forgiving stretch if you tend towards a cheery Scandinavian hunter physiology. The cut is medium and on  the long side rather than super fitted, but the stretch gives you leeway.

In use we really liked the jacket. It’s decently wind resistant all round and the more water-resistant G-1000 areas are sited so that they take the brunt of light rain – you can also up the wax content at home if you want to add even more water resistance. We found the jacket fine in light to moderate rain.

The built-on hood has adjustment for the front opening, but not for overall volume and as a result can sometimes obscure peripheral vision – particularly as it doesn’t move reliably with your head – but still gives reasonable protection. Ideally we’d like more stiffness to the peak as well.

Verdict

We love the look and feel of the Abisko Lite along with its combination of breathability and reasonable weather protection. Touches like the distinctive leather zip-pull and ‘fox’ badge are neat too and we liked being able to roll up the sleeves for additional cooling. The hood isn’t perfect, but it does a reasonable job and the looks are smart enough to wear out around town as well as on the hill.

More info: www.fjallraven.co.uk.

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Helly Hansen Paramount Hooded Accelerator Jacket: £130 / 480g

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Mammut Ultimate Hoody: £210 / 500g

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Montane Sabretooth Jacket: £175 / 570g

Review

Like the Mammut Ultimate Hoody, the Montane Sabretooth is a full-on mountain softshell using a membrane-type fabric, in this case Polartec’s impressive PowerShield which is pretty much windproof and very water resistant, but trades the last few points of ultimate protection for increased air permeability which means more comfort, less fug.

You can actually feel the difference sat in a room – it’s simply less clammy than Windstopper – and it translates to more comfort working hard on the hill, particularly if you run on the hot side of the fence.

The fabric has a little stretch and also a thin fleece backer, which makes it too warm for most summer use, but adds additional warmth and comfort on cooler days. It’s also classically well featured with four harness-friendly pockets, adjustable and rollable sleeves and a fully adjustable hood complete with a small but perfectly formed wired peak. We found it sat neatly under a helmet or  under one giving good protection and movement.

Alternatively, there’s enough adjustment to stick it neatly over a bare head with plenty of lower face protection. Finally the hand-pockets do vent a little, but for warmer use, some additional options might be nice.

Verdict

A really nice colder conditions mountain softshell that gives high levels of protection, but with just a little traded for better comfort. Probably our favourite membrane-type softshell fabric in a we’ll thought-out design.

More info: www.montane.co.uk.

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Paramo Bentu Windproof / Fleece Combo: £100 / £115 – 390g / 410g (£215 / 800g)

Review

The fleece/windproof combination isn’t entirely new to Paramo, but this version along with the more technical Enduro variant, is. The fleece uses a dense fabric with water repellent finish that’s more wind and water resistant than normal fleece. It has a marled finish and a slightly felty texture with a simple jacket design with a main zip and two zipped hand-pockets.

The added wind resistance and DWR means you can wear it in blowier conditions than normal fleece making it a bit more versatile. Where it gets really interesting is when you team it up with the matching Bentu Windproof.

This is a more featured design with an adjustable hood, four pockets and full Nikwax Analogy waterproof linings to the hood and shoulders. That means it’s either a handy mountain windproof with extra water resistance up top – not the lightest option, but it has the features you’d expect from a full waterproof jacket – or…. drum roll…

… team it with the matching fleece and its the equivalent of a functionally waterproof, Nikwax Analogy jacket. In practice it mostly seems to work pretty well. The cut is medium – not fitted, but not sack like – and both components work decently alone.

Together they also seem to do the job, but with one major downside, the combination – for us at least – is a little bit too warm for milder conditions where we’d normally not use a fleece. In winter, as with standard Nikwax Analogy, we suspect it would work really well in the UK, but for milder weather, unless you run quite cool, it’s actually warmer than a standard Nikwax waterproof jacket.

Verdict

We like the simple fleece used alone and likewise, the windproof, while the not the lightest out there, does a really good all-mountain job with a decent, and waterproof, hood thrown in. What we found problematic was the two garments in combination. It’s not that they don’t work as advertised, but they’re simple pretty warm which in summer conditions limits the combination’s usability. It’s also, at around 800g in total, a little hefty.

More info: www.paramo-clothing.com.

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Paramo Enduro Windproof / Fleece Combo: £145/£100 – 440g/390g

Review

If you’ve already looked at the Bentu review on the preceding page, you’ll have some idea of what’s going on, but the Enduro is the more technical version of the fleece and windproof combo, aimed squarely at climbers. Use them separately or combine them for a waterproof solution is the gist of it.

The Enduro fleece is a hoody with a double-ended half zip, pit-zips and an under-helmet hood. It’s a dense fabric with a water-repellent treatment that shrugs off light showers and has more wind resistance than standard fleece. Surprisingly usable on its own, particularly in stiller conditions.

The cut is close and neat too, though there’s not much stretch in the fabric, so you might want to try for fit before buying. Meanwhile, the Enduro Windproof is a jacket design with windproof, wired and helmet-friendly hood plus pit-zips which match nicely with the ones on the fleece.

The one thing we don’t particularly like or get on the Windproof is the non-adjustable, elasticated hem. We just didn’t like the way it sat and, for the sake of a few grammes, we’d have preferred an adjustable, shock-corded hem. It’s personal preference, and to be fair with a harness or pack it’s less obvious, but we’d still have liked the option.

Otherwise it’s a capable mountain windshell, though without the Bentu’s handy waterproof hood and has handy pit-zips which work well to keep temperatures low. The hood’s characteristically decent too, helmet compatible with a wired peak and plenty of facial side protection though at the cost of a little peripheral vision.

Where it gets interesting – again – is if you combine the two layers. As with the Bentu, the combination of fleece and windshell is pretty warm, too warm in milder conditions even with the matched-up pit-zips. And then there’s the hood. The fleece hood will jus about go over a helmet, but feels restrictive so you have the choice of leaving it off or doing an over/under gig where the fleece sits under the helmet and the windproof goes over the top.

In any case, it does make the waterproof combination a little too warm outside winter for us at least.

Verdict

An ingenious idea, but as with the Bentu, the combination of fleece and windproof was a little too warm in milder conditions for us. We also disliked the elasticated hem of the windproof, though that’s personal preference. In cooler conditions it makes a lot more sense – use either garment separately or combine when needed, but on balance we’d choose the full on Paramo Enduro Nikwax Analogy jacket over these two in combination.

More info: www.paramo-clothing.com.

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Rab Vapour-Rise Alpine Jacket: £140 / 330g

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Salomon Ranger Jacket: £99.95 / 470g

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The North Face Summer Hooded Jacket: £110 / 440g

Review

The Summer Hooded jacket – try saying that after a few pints – is a simple, no frills, no membrane, active use softshell. There’s no adjustability to cuffs, hem or hood, but somehow they all sit just right and the stretch fabric is cut close, neat and streamlined.

It works well in windy and mildly damp conditions too and breathes well enough to do double duty on the bike or on mountain and moorland runs. There’s nothing gimmicky or novel about it – in fact it reminds us of one of our favourite old Haglöfs softshells – it just works.

And while some think that The North Face is too ‘high street’, the reality is that when it wants to, it can do pure outdoors kit very well indeed.

Verdict

A really nice, no frills, no membrane, simple softshell jacket that fits well and comes in a very fetching shade of green. we like it a lot.

More info: www.thenorthface.co.uk.

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VauDe Larice Jacket: £140 / 520g

Review

VauDe’s Larice softshell comes fully loaded with handy features: there are long, stretch cuffs with thumb-loops built-in, zoned construction with a lighter, slightly less wind-resistant fabric under the arms and down the sides and a neat close-fitting hood. It also incorporates extensive pit-zips which can be used either as under-arm ventilation or core vents – or both.

The main – blue – area of the fabric is a Nylon-based 100% windproof stretch fabric, while the black side panels and centre back area use a lighter, stretchier material that’s still 80% windproof, but more breathable than the main material. It means you’re getting a lot of wind and rain protection, but with a little more breathability than a non-zoned jacket and it does seem to work up to medium levels of activity anyway, at which point you can reach for the venting zips.

The jacket gives good protection against wind up in light to moderate rain, though you’ll still need to carry a lightweight waterproof for more serious downpours.

The fit is close and streamlined, no compromises here, but there’s plenty of stretch and you can – for example – happily roll up those sleeves for a little more cooling. Finally the hood is a non-adjustable, close-ish fitting number that’ll also just about stretch over a climbing helmet or, if you prefer, sit under it. No peak though.

The looks, we suspect, you’ll either love or hate, the bright colour combinations definitely have a distinct Euro / alpine vibe. We liked them, but you may feel a little out of place just going to a gentle Sunday roll over Helvellyn say rather than on more technical terrain.

Verdict

We love the close fit and decent protection levels of the Larice and it’s good to have those huge vents and rollable sleeves for when things get hot and bothered. The thumb-loops we could live without, but they’re not intrusive and, if you’re a fan, they’re proper ‘cover most of your paws’ items. A really nice alpine-style softshell with looks to match.

More info: www.vaude.com.

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Verdict – Our Best Buys

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