Waterproof Jackets

Montane Solution Jacket | Review

Montane’s most sustainable jacket to date; one that showcases an innovative new fabric from Pertex

Montane’s Solution Jacket showcases some impressive sustainability efforts by the British outdoor brand. Released alongside the Montane Solution waterproof trousers, both products are made from a new three-layer fabric called Pertex Shield Revolve. This is a polyester face fabric, membrane and backer that’s derived from recycled materials (100%, 75% and 100% respectively). Alongside this, a solution dyeing process is used in its creation. This means that the fibres used to form the garments are dyed before they’re woven together instead of being woven then dyed. What’s good about dyeing before is that it’s less water and energy intensive and it also results in more colourfast garments.

OM editor Will using the Montane Solution Jacket and trousers in Pembrokeshire. Photos: Dave Macfarlane

Pertex state that Shield Revolve is also designed to be easy to recycle. I noticed, however, that Montane do not mention recyclability on their website. I approached the brand on this and was told that while the jacket is technically recyclable, they’re conscious that the recycling industry currently lacks the facilities to actually recycle garments such as this at scale. To address this they said that they have “deliberately given this a timeless design to ensure durability and a long life” so that by the time it needs to be recycled the recycling industry “should have established the appropriate facilities in the UK and elsewhere for customers to be able to recycle garments such as this”.

As well as using fabrics that can be recycled, Montane has also thought about the components too. The toggles on the hood and hem, for instance, aren’t embedded within the fabrics – as you often see these days – which makes the jacket easier to disassemble when it comes to the end of its life. It also makes them easier to replace should a problem occur.

Montane Solution Jacket Performance

Anyway, onto the functionality. I’ve found this has good wet weather performance and the kind of breathability that you’d expect from a 3-layer waterproof jacket. The water repellency held up well over the course of my initial few uses but it started to wear away a little, particularly at the shoulders and cuffs where moisture-harbouring dirt and oil from my grubby hands and backpack straps have gotten onto the fabric. Fortunately there’s always Nikwax that can come to the rescue here. I have actually come to expect to have to regularly treat most waterproof jackets these days as the eco-friendly DWRs they use just don’t have the staying power of the nasty chemical-heavy ones that used to be used.

The Montane Solution Jacket has got a very durable feel to it and you do get the sense that this thing is built to last. That durability does come at a cost though, because at 460g this isn’t that light. If I was expecting a pretty rough day out in the mountains I don’t think I’d mind carrying this jacket, but if I knew the weather was going to be fair and it would spend a lot of time in my pack, I’d probably opt for a lighter layer.

Fit

I’m 5 foot 10 and tried this in my usual size which is a size medium. I really like the fit as the hem comes down nicely below the waist to keep below a backpack hipbelt without riding up and there’s plenty of room for a midweight down or synthetic insulated jacket underneath too. The arms are also well articulated so the hem doesn’t lift up when you’re reaching up for a hold.

Details

The hood only has adjustment cords at the front. When I saw this I was a little worried about how well it would hold in strong winds, but I actually found it to be reliable and you can really cinch it right in. The peak is slightly stiffened, it covers the face well and it can be folded away when it’s not needed. It hasn’t got the volume to accommodate a climbing helmet but the absence of any adjustment on the back of the hood makes it possible to wear a helmet over the top of it comfortably.

All of the zips are laminated for water resistance. The main zip has an internal storm flap while the pockets have external flaps. I haven’t noticed any moisture ingress from any of the zips.

The pockets are very large – easily big enough to fit an OS map. They are lined with mesh on the inside so they can double as air vents, with the two-way zips giving you control over how much airflow you want. The main zip is only one-way.

The hem has a basic toggle (again, this is designed to be easy to remove or replace) and the cuffs have Velcro tabs. I found the overall volume of the cuffs to be quite large – large enough to allow you to pull the jacket on while wearing large gloves.

Montane Solution Jacket Verdict

Montane deserve credit for thinking about the overall environmental footprint of this jacket from its point of manufacture to the end of its life. Also, the price is pretty fair. While £250 isn’t cheap, you do tend to see ‘eco-friendly’ jackets that cost a lot more – the Patagonia Super Free Alpine (£540), the Ortovox 3L Deep Shell (£650) for instance.

The fabrics are very durable and I like the fairly loose fit and longer cut too. To me, it’s slightly too heavy for summer use or for backpacking, but I can see it being useful on those days when you need to wear your coat all day. Overall, it’s not a particularly technical jacket, but I’d say it’s a good workhorse.