Moved from the kit chatter area.
Urban field test
FurTech Claw2 jacket and trousers.
It was one of those things, my accountant was screaming for a hard copy of my P60, it was snowing, local transport was down and the car was buried. Even if I could have got the car out the end of the road was blocked by a lorry which was fast going nowhere.
Many of you will have heard of Paramo, but not so many will have heard of FurTech. Now I have always been a Goretex kind of guy but a recent walking holiday up near Ben Nevis brought its limitations into sharp focus. When it’s raining outside the jacket and the humidity is the same inside the jacket all you get is wet, and when you are walking through flooded streams and up to your ankles in mud and peat, you stay wet. Before you ask, yes I did have the appropriate base layers, but the old Goretex was just not up to snuff. This was all made more irritating by the fact that Rod of Green-School was looking rather smug in his Paramo! It was time for a rethink in the wet weather gear department.
So getting back and drying out, I came across some FurTech jacket and trousers, going for a knock down price. FurTech and Paramo work in similar ways; they are based upon the way an animal manages to keep dry. Basically they wick the water away from the body quicker than the water can enter. So in a way they are not ‘water proof’, I would describe the action as ‘water shedding’. Even if you do get wet by falling into a wet peat bog, the 'shedding' action dries you very quickly even in a Scottish gale.
So back to the snow and cold.
Put on my silk base layer, two fine Marino wool sweaters threw on the jacket and lined trousers, bunged on the German Para boots and set out on a 12 mile round trip.
First thing I noticed, was cold arms.. Oh sod it thinks I, and then I remember that I have not closed the underarm and body vents! Zipping the vents up proved easy when on the go and was not 'fiddly', even though I had a rucksack on, it improved warmth no end. The jacket actually took a little while to settle around me, but within ten mins it was an easy and comfortable fit. About an hour in to the walk my legs began to over heat, so leg vents were opened and with a little experimenting legs were kept at the gentle cool/warm range ideal for walking.
When I stopped I cooled rapidly, but again playing with the vents retained warmth and I was pretty warm when static, cool by choice when walking. By this time the snow was coming down hard and I was covered with a thick layer wet slush but still dry as a bone. FurTech comes from the Alpine climbing school of thought, so there is a great attention to detail with toggles and ties. Ties are at the side of the jacket so they don’t get caught up with your packs waist belt. The jacket is cut long, almost semi-parker length so that you get good coverage over your buttocks. This was well appreciated as the temperature gauge on my rucksack was now registering minus - 4 C.
So dropping my stuff off at the accountants, I got warm and the snow melted onto the jacket…still dry. Walking out and back still dry and warm after 12 miles of heavy snow walking along cannals, up over abandoned parks up and down slopes and five hours walking in sub-zero conditions. That’s a pretty good test.
Summary.
Well designed, well thought out it has a natty little plastic peak in the hood that protects but does not obscure vision.
Warm, comfortable
Good details
Lightweight
Very waterproof
It’s a bit pricey and I have no idea how it would stand up to the woods, snagged by twigs etc. Jackets come in lurid colours or Ninja black (my choice), It would be nice to see some neutral colours, sage or brown.
As they say does what it says on the tin. Cold, wet, snow.
Highly recommended for those with the cash.
http://www.furtech.co.uk/scripts/pro...?idcategory=20
No connection et, etc., just a satisfied customer.
Urban field test
FurTech Claw2 jacket and trousers.
It was one of those things, my accountant was screaming for a hard copy of my P60, it was snowing, local transport was down and the car was buried. Even if I could have got the car out the end of the road was blocked by a lorry which was fast going nowhere.
Many of you will have heard of Paramo, but not so many will have heard of FurTech. Now I have always been a Goretex kind of guy but a recent walking holiday up near Ben Nevis brought its limitations into sharp focus. When it’s raining outside the jacket and the humidity is the same inside the jacket all you get is wet, and when you are walking through flooded streams and up to your ankles in mud and peat, you stay wet. Before you ask, yes I did have the appropriate base layers, but the old Goretex was just not up to snuff. This was all made more irritating by the fact that Rod of Green-School was looking rather smug in his Paramo! It was time for a rethink in the wet weather gear department.
So getting back and drying out, I came across some FurTech jacket and trousers, going for a knock down price. FurTech and Paramo work in similar ways; they are based upon the way an animal manages to keep dry. Basically they wick the water away from the body quicker than the water can enter. So in a way they are not ‘water proof’, I would describe the action as ‘water shedding’. Even if you do get wet by falling into a wet peat bog, the 'shedding' action dries you very quickly even in a Scottish gale.
So back to the snow and cold.
Put on my silk base layer, two fine Marino wool sweaters threw on the jacket and lined trousers, bunged on the German Para boots and set out on a 12 mile round trip.
First thing I noticed, was cold arms.. Oh sod it thinks I, and then I remember that I have not closed the underarm and body vents! Zipping the vents up proved easy when on the go and was not 'fiddly', even though I had a rucksack on, it improved warmth no end. The jacket actually took a little while to settle around me, but within ten mins it was an easy and comfortable fit. About an hour in to the walk my legs began to over heat, so leg vents were opened and with a little experimenting legs were kept at the gentle cool/warm range ideal for walking.
When I stopped I cooled rapidly, but again playing with the vents retained warmth and I was pretty warm when static, cool by choice when walking. By this time the snow was coming down hard and I was covered with a thick layer wet slush but still dry as a bone. FurTech comes from the Alpine climbing school of thought, so there is a great attention to detail with toggles and ties. Ties are at the side of the jacket so they don’t get caught up with your packs waist belt. The jacket is cut long, almost semi-parker length so that you get good coverage over your buttocks. This was well appreciated as the temperature gauge on my rucksack was now registering minus - 4 C.
So dropping my stuff off at the accountants, I got warm and the snow melted onto the jacket…still dry. Walking out and back still dry and warm after 12 miles of heavy snow walking along cannals, up over abandoned parks up and down slopes and five hours walking in sub-zero conditions. That’s a pretty good test.
Summary.
Well designed, well thought out it has a natty little plastic peak in the hood that protects but does not obscure vision.
Warm, comfortable
Good details
Lightweight
Very waterproof
It’s a bit pricey and I have no idea how it would stand up to the woods, snagged by twigs etc. Jackets come in lurid colours or Ninja black (my choice), It would be nice to see some neutral colours, sage or brown.
As they say does what it says on the tin. Cold, wet, snow.
Highly recommended for those with the cash.
http://www.furtech.co.uk/scripts/pro...?idcategory=20
No connection et, etc., just a satisfied customer.
Last edited:
, worked when i put it up, but you know how it goes.