Jöttnar Bergelmir Hardshell Jacket – The Tech

When UK brand Jöttnar launched a couple of years back – yes, it’s British, despite the nordic name – it adopted Polartec’s excellent NeoShell fabric both on performance grounds and, you have to think, as a point of difference.

They’re still using it and, performance aside, the heavy gauge 80-denier version used on the Bergelmir, is lovey stuff. A sort of thick, soft, slightly stretchy, almost soft shell-like material that feels great.

Sound of Silence

It’s virtually silent in use – a bit of a contrast to crunchy Gore-Tex Pro – but its main attribute is a class-leading level of breathability. It keeps you cooler and more comfortable for longer and, if you do get a little damp, the fug clears faster and under-layers dry out quicker.

Great stuff and one of the few waterproof fabrics that’s almost as breathable as a windproof or some soft shells.

Downsides?

Is there a downside? Long-term NeoShell users we’ve spoken to reckon that it’s not as long-term durable as something like Gore-Tex Pro with heavy, sustained use. And that if you don’t look after it with regular washing and reproofing, its level of waterproofness does fall off.

Ultimately we suspect that heavy users like professional guides may be better off with a more durable fabric, but for normal use, if you’re prepared to be careful, a heavier grade NeoShell, like that used here, should do fine.

Jöttnar Bergelmir Hardshell Jacket – Verdict

We keep going on about the NeoShell fabric, but it really is very good if you run hot and the soft, tough feel and near silence in use is a bonus too, albeit not one that often mentioned.

Otherwise as, to be fair, you’d expect from a £450 jacket, the Bergelmir is pretty damn good. The hood gives great coverage and protection with or without a helmet, the YKK Vislon zips are the current benchmark for smoothness and water resistance and the pockets work just fine with or without a pack and harness in place.

There are two internal ones too if you want to stow a phone or GPS away. Our only slight quibble is over outright durability, but for most non-professional users and with a little care, we reckon it should do just fine.

A very good technical mountain jacket made from a very nice fabric albeit with a stiff price-tag. Not least because that fabric is far from cheap.

More Information

See jottnar.com