Where better to put some new technical wet weather gear through its paces than Snowdonia in mid December?
Wind, rain and sleet and snow, we got the lot a few weeks ago on a trip along a section of the Cambrian Way to test out Cortazu’s new Mountain Hardshell and the Mountain Mid Layer which smartly integrates with it.
You might have already seen Cortazu featured on the Outdoors Magic pages. A bunch of their products have gone down well with our test team, most notably their original shell jacket which made it into our Green Gear Guide of 2020. It’s certainly been a successful few years for the Dutch brand since their formation in 2018, with their armoury expanding and one of the most coveted prizes in the gear industry, an ISPO Gold Award, added to the trophy cabinet.
The Mountain Hardshell is their latest launch. It’s a waterproof jacket that’s made for backcountry pursuits such as ski mountaineering, climbing and backpacking, but it also has a sleek, subtle look that would fit in on the daily commute.
Is this thing going to keep you dry and comfortable in the mountains? You betcha. Cortazu have used Toray’s high spec Dermizax material here, a three-layer waterproof fabric that brings a hydrostatic head of 25,000mm and breathability rating of 25,000 g/m2/24 hrs. If those numbers don’t really mean much to you, they basically put this jacket up there with the big hitters.
This material brings the feel of a durable, high quality Gore-Tex Pro jacket and it’s got just a touch of stretch to it too, so you won’t feel it’s hindering your movement at all.
That durability is increased at the shoulders as well, with a printed PU pattern providing an extra shield for the fabric against the type of abrasion you can sometimes expect from the straps of a heavily-loaded backpack.
