I thought I'd post a full long-term review of the Keela Ventile smock based on some of my comments in another thread.
Keela are a Scottish outdoor clothing company, perhaps best known for their Munro jacket, used and abused by mountain rescue teams across the UK and internationally. Whereas most of their clothing uses purely 'technical' fabrics, their Heritage collection combines 'traditional' textiles, such as Ventile, Harris tweed and Millerain, with modern technical fabrics and design to give the best of both worlds. Keela describes the collection as
The smock follows a pretty classic design (similar to Paramo/Buffalo smocks), with a half zip at the front and side zips from the hem to the armpits, along with a large kangaroo pocket on the chest and a single microfleece-lined handwarmer pocket above the waist, which runs across the front of the smock. All the zips have storm flaps, and the neck flap has push studs on the flap for extra protection.
The hood has a wired peak, and is detachable with press-studs, although it can also be rolled up and stowed at the neck. The side-zips are two-way zips, allowing for ventilation. The cuffs are also adjustable with press-studs.
Ventile isn't quite the wonder fabric that some make it out to be. It isn't 100% waterproof, the fabric does allow some water through by osmosis: many manufacturers get around this by using a double layer of Ventile fabric, which increases the amount of time that it takes for water to penetrate through the clothing: this of course increases the bulk and weight and reduces the breathability of the garment. Due to the nature of how Ventile works, it also becomes noticeably stiffer when wet.
Keela have attempted to combine the best of 'old-school' Ventile and newer synthetic fabrics in the Heritage line: The Heritage smock uses a combination of a Ventile cotton outer with a laminated 'ADS' breathable inner fabric taken from their 'SDP' line of technical clothing: the Ventile provides a weatherproof outer shell, whilst the ADS fabric deals with condensation and water ingress from the Ventile, which when combined, should give a breathable, waterproof jacket.
Another plus is that both the kangaroo and handwarmer pockets have stayed dry, both in heavy rain and when working hard, a distinct benefit over the Paramo where the Analogy fabric would either wet through or pump all the moisture from inside the smock into the pockets, leaving them (and the unfortunate contents) pretty soggy.
The smock can be a bit warm for late spring-summer use, although the side zips and front zip do allow for quite good ventilation when you're working hard.
The one let-down of the jacket is the hood: it keeps you dry, and has a wired peak. However, the design is overly simple, with the only adjustment being a drawstring around the opening, and a storm flap with press-studs. The hood feels cavernous compared to the fit of the smock (despite my huge noggin
) And there isn't a way to reduce the volume. If you don't use the storm flap, it blows about in the wind and hits you in the nose, which can be annoying. The hood is however removable.
The pockets are huge, with the kangaroo pocket easily taking an OS map and a full-size pair of binoculars. The pocket isn't uncomfortable when full either, unlike some other jackets and smocks I've tried. The fleecy handwarmer pocket is also big and useful, and surprisingly secure when the zips are open. It's also positioned so you can use it comfortably, unlike the 'handwarmer' pocket on the Paramo.
The smock uses Keela's 'Explorer' fit, which is designed to allow layering underneath: the smock allows this with ease, and is cut in a way that isn't particularly baggy either. It isn't the lightest of jackets (Keela state it weighs 1058g), and the nature of the ventile means that it does absorb some water making it heavier when wet.
The nature of the ventile means that the waterproofness hasn't diminished, and you shouldn't need to reproof it as you would a Gore-Tex shell jacket or a Paramo.
The hood: as mentioned above, the hood is a bit of a let-down on a jacket this expensive, especially as Keela seem to have hoods with a lot better design and adjustability on their other jackets.
The price: at an RRP of £309.95 on the Keela website, the Heritage smock is expensive, at least in comparison to other waterproof smocks (such as the Paramo Velez Adventure, which has an RRP of £245, or the various waterproof smocks offered by Alpkit, that retail around the £100 mark).
In the context of other Ventile smocks, the Keela is slightly better value: comparable waterproof ventile jackets go for around £3-400 from Hilltrek (although these are double layered ventile), however a similar design of single layer ventile with a waterproof/breathable lining from Country Innovation goes for around £275. It should be noted that the Keela is available from other retailers for slightly cheaper, around the £285 mark.
It should be noted that despite the Heritage Smock not being included in the clearance section of the Keela website, most of the sizes seem to be unavailable direct from the manufacturer, so it's unclear if it will remain in production for much longer.
Keela are a Scottish outdoor clothing company, perhaps best known for their Munro jacket, used and abused by mountain rescue teams across the UK and internationally. Whereas most of their clothing uses purely 'technical' fabrics, their Heritage collection combines 'traditional' textiles, such as Ventile, Harris tweed and Millerain, with modern technical fabrics and design to give the best of both worlds. Keela describes the collection as
I've owned a Paramo Velez Adventure smock for several years, and this has been my primary outdoor jacket for everything, from walking the dog to hillwalking to year-round commuting to the train station by bike. Unfortunately, after many washes and reproofing, the jacket was starting to lose its waterproofing and I was in the market for a replacement that would equally flexible and pretty bombproof... I eventually decided on the Keela smock.
Features
The smock follows a pretty classic design (similar to Paramo/Buffalo smocks), with a half zip at the front and side zips from the hem to the armpits, along with a large kangaroo pocket on the chest and a single microfleece-lined handwarmer pocket above the waist, which runs across the front of the smock. All the zips have storm flaps, and the neck flap has push studs on the flap for extra protection.
The hood has a wired peak, and is detachable with press-studs, although it can also be rolled up and stowed at the neck. The side-zips are two-way zips, allowing for ventilation. The cuffs are also adjustable with press-studs.
Fabric
Ventile uses long cotton fibers that are spun and woven tightly together: when the fabric gets damp, the cotton fibres expand, tightening the weave further and creating a water-resistant fabric. The British military used the fabric during WW2 to make immersion suits for fighter pilots, creating clothing that when dry, was comfortable to wear for long periods, but when wet, was warm and impenetrable to water. It did this without any sort of coating or treatment, just 100% cotton.Ventile isn't quite the wonder fabric that some make it out to be. It isn't 100% waterproof, the fabric does allow some water through by osmosis: many manufacturers get around this by using a double layer of Ventile fabric, which increases the amount of time that it takes for water to penetrate through the clothing: this of course increases the bulk and weight and reduces the breathability of the garment. Due to the nature of how Ventile works, it also becomes noticeably stiffer when wet.
Keela have attempted to combine the best of 'old-school' Ventile and newer synthetic fabrics in the Heritage line: The Heritage smock uses a combination of a Ventile cotton outer with a laminated 'ADS' breathable inner fabric taken from their 'SDP' line of technical clothing: the Ventile provides a weatherproof outer shell, whilst the ADS fabric deals with condensation and water ingress from the Ventile, which when combined, should give a breathable, waterproof jacket.
Use and fit
I've used the smock in a range of conditions, from dreich winter all-day walks on Dartmoor and the North York Moors, to dog walking in late spring/early summer rain and general out-and-about wear, and on the whole, it's an impressively weatherproof jacket. The smock hasn't managed to wet through once in the time I've owned it, and it has been windproof. I haven't found condensation to be much of an issue, with the smock being quite breathable, more so than my previous Paramo. As noted above, when the outer cotton layer gets wet, it does feel noticeably stiffer, however this hasn't significantly impacted the range of motion when wearing the smock. The cotton outer also means that sparks/embers from fires shouldn't be too much of an issue.Another plus is that both the kangaroo and handwarmer pockets have stayed dry, both in heavy rain and when working hard, a distinct benefit over the Paramo where the Analogy fabric would either wet through or pump all the moisture from inside the smock into the pockets, leaving them (and the unfortunate contents) pretty soggy.
The smock can be a bit warm for late spring-summer use, although the side zips and front zip do allow for quite good ventilation when you're working hard.
The one let-down of the jacket is the hood: it keeps you dry, and has a wired peak. However, the design is overly simple, with the only adjustment being a drawstring around the opening, and a storm flap with press-studs. The hood feels cavernous compared to the fit of the smock (despite my huge noggin
) And there isn't a way to reduce the volume. If you don't use the storm flap, it blows about in the wind and hits you in the nose, which can be annoying. The hood is however removable.The pockets are huge, with the kangaroo pocket easily taking an OS map and a full-size pair of binoculars. The pocket isn't uncomfortable when full either, unlike some other jackets and smocks I've tried. The fleecy handwarmer pocket is also big and useful, and surprisingly secure when the zips are open. It's also positioned so you can use it comfortably, unlike the 'handwarmer' pocket on the Paramo.
The smock uses Keela's 'Explorer' fit, which is designed to allow layering underneath: the smock allows this with ease, and is cut in a way that isn't particularly baggy either. It isn't the lightest of jackets (Keela state it weighs 1058g), and the nature of the ventile means that it does absorb some water making it heavier when wet.
Longevity
I've owned this for around 9 months, and it has held up to frequent use really well. The cotton outer is hard-wearing and has shrugged off encounters with gorse and barbed wire. The cotton has started to wear in and develop a bit of a patina that I quite like.The nature of the ventile means that the waterproofness hasn't diminished, and you shouldn't need to reproof it as you would a Gore-Tex shell jacket or a Paramo.
The cons
The hood: as mentioned above, the hood is a bit of a let-down on a jacket this expensive, especially as Keela seem to have hoods with a lot better design and adjustability on their other jackets.
The price: at an RRP of £309.95 on the Keela website, the Heritage smock is expensive, at least in comparison to other waterproof smocks (such as the Paramo Velez Adventure, which has an RRP of £245, or the various waterproof smocks offered by Alpkit, that retail around the £100 mark).
In the context of other Ventile smocks, the Keela is slightly better value: comparable waterproof ventile jackets go for around £3-400 from Hilltrek (although these are double layered ventile), however a similar design of single layer ventile with a waterproof/breathable lining from Country Innovation goes for around £275. It should be noted that the Keela is available from other retailers for slightly cheaper, around the £285 mark.
The Verdict
Whilst it was an expensive purchase, so far, the Keela Heritage Smock has been pretty bombproof, comfortable to wear and impervious to the weather I've exposed it to. The hood is a bit of a let-down, especially for the price, but overall, I'd recommend the smock, and I'd probably buy another if I were to lose it.It should be noted that despite the Heritage Smock not being included in the clearance section of the Keela website, most of the sizes seem to be unavailable direct from the manufacturer, so it's unclear if it will remain in production for much longer.
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