Why We Chose The Montane Lite-Speed Jacket: Increased breathability and stretch, lightweight, versatile feature set.
Montane have a 25-year history of pushing the windproof jacket game – starting from the get-go for the company. The British brand first turned heads following the creation of the Extreme Smock which, at the time, offered unrivalled protection from the wind and all-round hardiness. Tested by mountain rescue teams across the country, it’s still a favourite to this day.
That Extreme Smock served its purpose as a heavyweight softshell jacket that offered the highest level of protection and warmth – but this meant that it unsurprisingly came in at a equally heavy weight of 1120g.
“Wind Barrier Dynamic is said to add vast improvements in stretch over Pertex Quantum.”
On the other end of the windproof spectrum was the development of the Featherlite jacket. Also developed 25 years ago, that item also became a classic in Montane’s range, offering a super lightweight (94g) and packable windproof smock for emergency protection.
The reason we’ve introduced those two jackets is because this brand new Lite-Speed takes the minimal construction of the Featherweight yet also borrows some of the burly genes of the Extreme range to offer improved protection along with a versatile feature set. Updated with a new, stretchier and more breathable fabric for 2019, it offers the light weight of just 175g.
