LabMountain Hardwear Swift Jacket
Mountain Hardwear asked
us to test its Swift Jacket in Gore-tex Paclite - at just 380gr the
lightest and most breathable shell in it's extremely technical clothing
range. We used it from icefalls in the Dolomites to the "best" driving
rain the English Lake District and SW coast had to offer. And we
understood not only why these areas are so evergreen, but also why we
liked the Swift jacket so much.
Functional and essential
The
Swift Jacket is a jacket marked by it's bare-bone, essential nature, by
the fact that all its functions we conceived for a precise reason.
Starting with the only two pockets, placed at the front and relatively
high up so as to be accessible even with a rucksack on and waist strap
closed tight. The zips are obviously waterproof and never showed signs
of wear and tear, just like the underarm ventilation zips. The chin
guard is lined in Micro-chamois so as to keep the chin smooth. The
cuffs can be closed with a thin velcro strip, and the waist can be shut
by using the hemcord.
There's not much more to the Swift
Jacket than this, apart from the beautifully large hood (which easily
covers a helmet) with its laminated brim. The hood can adjusted with
just one hand and when not needed can be rolled up into the collar.
From our point of view this is the only "superfluous" feature and,
clearly, this boils down to questions of taste.
The waterproof Paclite soul
Waterproof
and breathable are the buzzwords for outdoor clothing and, as mentioned
above, the Swift Jacket uses Gore-tex Paclite (a laminated combination
of an internal Paclite membrane and an external Paclite Ripstop) that
the weather stays out not in. Paclite has a series of advantages of 3
layer Gore-tex: unlike traditional Gore-tex it does not need a separate
internal lining, meaning that the jacket is 15% lighter compared to
similar 3 layer jackets whilst being more compact. Furthermore, Paclite
has the advantage of being far more breathable (40% according to
Gore-tex itself) - this is an important factor during long aerobic
activities. Obviously all seams are heat sealed with the Gore-seam
technology to ensure that seams are 100% waterproof. How does all this
perform outdoors? Extremely well - total protection from the elements,
from rain to snow, hail and strong winds. And since the jacket was so
light and packable, it followed us wherever we went: when the weather
was good in remained stowed in the bottom of our pack, ready for action
whenever necessary.
Cuts a figure
Like all Mountain Hardwear
jackets the Swift Jacket is sophisticated and profiled and we found the
fit was fairly narrow. Since it has no lining it will be worn over
several layers in cold conditions; be careful not to wear too many!
Robust
We
used the Swift Jacket for almost a year, in all seasons and in
practically all mountain sports. It doesn't have any reinforced areas,
but despite this the Swift Jacket, with its Ripstop shell, shows no
sign of wear and tear. This robustness pleasantly surprised us and is
further confirmation of the valor of this ultra-light, reliable jacket.
If
you are searching for a simple, functional, lightweight and robust
jacket then look no further than the Mountain Hardwear Swift Jacket.
