Paramo jacket

[Malcolm]

Thought I'd post a wee report on a Paramo jacket.

A few months ago my Berghaus Lightning started to give up the ghost after about 12 years of hard use.

I had already bought a double ventile jacket in a sale a few years ago but it's only really suitable for boat fishing or fishing rivers like the Endrick which are near to the car and can be fished in thigh waders or wellies. It's a cracker but no use for the hills.

After a bit of looking and asking around I finally plumped for a Paramo Viento and I have now had it out in extremely wet long days and cold dry days.

It's performance compared to Goretex for comfort and breathability compared to anything else I've tried is quite astonishing. Two examples:

Stuc a Chroin over Ben Each from Loch Lubnaig very cold and windy on the top: I wore it over two underwear layers but without a fleece. It never came off my back all day. It is interesting in that it has ventilation zips on the underarms and waist which are very effective if going uphill. Stopping for a cuppa just zip them up and the warmth is impressive. Interesting that at the end of a day out I had no sweat at all on my under layers, perhaps helped by the thin removable neoprene strips which must help to keep the rucsac off the back.

Second example: Brutally wet and windy day in December Up Glen Lochy   Six hours of unmitigated damp. One of those days where I thought the fine drizzle at the start of the day would clear up and that the single ventile trousers I had on would keep me dry. Wrong! it got heavier and heavier until I realised that the time for waterproof trousers had passed and a couple of hours later the ventile trousers let go big style. Anyway my top half was completely dry - no sweat no ingres of water.  Also I was still warm.

So is it all good news? Well no, at least not for fishermen. The material is much softer (and quieter) than the usual outer fabric and although it is supposed to be incredibly tough I wouldn't fancy it's chances against barbed wire or fishing hooks. Also it has thermal qualities which I suspect would make it too warm in high summer (Hah!) even with just a T-Shirt underneath.

The other thing which hasn't affected me yet isthat it needs to be washed and reproofed in the washing machine every few months. One of my colleagues who has one tells me that after about 8 years of use her's is still as good as the day she bought it with the regular care.

One other thing for the hill walking fisher is that the bulk is about the same as a Goretex Jacket

[Malcolm]

I got mine in a sale for ?120. I had a quick look on Froogle "Paramo sale" to see if there were any bargains around and there are although not for the exact jacket I bought.

Malcolm