Review – Montane Featherlite Smock
Thursday, August 28th, 2008
I have been the proud owner of the top for a year now so have managed to give it plenty of testing! It really has took some abuse. Functionally it does what it needs to do. It is extremely lightweight, breathable,holds off showers and stops cold winds whipping in and sucking the energy straight out of the body. It is billed as weather resistant so is not meant to be fully waterproof.
It feels paper thin and I remember thinking that it would not last 5 minutes of running through bracken or getting snagged on trees but a
year on it is still going strong. The fabric feels soft and smooth against the skin so fine to wear with just a t-shirt underneath. The
cuffs are elasticated and not too tight so you are able to pull the sleeves above the elbow and it is breathable enough to put a hard effort in and not suffer too much.
For the weight weenies (I am a self confessed weight weenie myself) it weighs less than 100g and is one of the lightest windproofs out there on the market despite it also being one of the originals. But I suppose if you get it right first time then there is not much else you can do to it?
I have not re-proofed it in over a year and it is now taking its toll and it now easily soaks up water but is still does its job as a windproof. The only downside was the quality of the stuff sac. The stitching came undone and was ruined but that has been replaced by a netting washing machine bag (which I suspect makes it even lighter but I am not quite sad enough to weigh it)
This is a jacket that I rarely leave the house without. It could be a run or bike to work or a long day out in the hills, or even a quick trip to the shop in a windy day.
It is now available online for around £20 and at that price there is no good reason not to buy it.
