SPEND AND SAVE - SHOP NOW!
0
My Basket (0)
GBP
£0.00
   
Brands

Climbing

Subtotal:£0.00 (excluding delivery)

Delivery charges: £0.00

Total:£0.00

George Fisher, UK, Halgofs LIM Comp Jacket, Keswick Lake District

Written by George Fisher

Image for article SIMPLIFY, THEN ADD LIGHTNESS*

Every once in a while, a new piece of kit comes along which gets us genuinely excited. For me, most recently, it was the Haglofs LIM Comp Jacket. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and, naturally, jumped at the chance to test one on the fells. 

George Fisher UK Haglofs LIM JacketGeorge Fisher UK Haglofs LIM Jacket

The jacket is made with the newer generation of GORE-TEX Active using their C-Knit backer inside (that's circular knit: lighter, softer touch and more supple than a standard woven backer) and a hard-to-believe-it's-really 30 denier face fabric, meaning it's light but will stand up to a bit of a beating while fighting through the shoulder-high bracken in late summer.

There's a well-fitted hood (none of this helmet compatible nonsense) with a laminated peak for stiffness which moves well with you, thanks to a face gaiter and elastic around the back of the head/neck. The main zipper comes up close enough to the chin to not gather a face-full of rain and leave you with a wet neck and chest. What I loved most, however, was the sound of big splodgy raindrops hitting the taut hood fabric; hard to explain, but immensely satisfying! Elasticated cuffs and two large A-line pockets with mesh inners for venting round up the features of this minimalistic yet well thought-out jacket.

So how does it perform?

I was genuinely surprised by the breath-ability. I've been testing it at a time when I'd normally forego a waterproof and settle for a wind shirt, if it's just showery, since my heavier jackets feel too stifling sometimes. Here I've kept feeling drier inside for longer, while the GORE-TEX fabric reliably keeps out any rain that can be thrown at it. The external water-repellency has impressed too for such a lightweight fabric. For the times when it's not raining the jacket packs down very small and light; if it's not raining, I don't want to wear a waterproof!

For £280 you expect a lot from a jacket, yet what you get here at first glance comes across a little insubstantial.

Essentially you won't see what makes this jacket worth the price tag, making a jacket lighter yet more durable is a costly endeavour and what impresses here is that Haglofs hasn't had to sacrifice features in the process.

*For all you car enthusiasts, yes this was Colin Chapman’s famous quote about Lotus design, but we think it works here too!

×