At this point pretty much every manufacturer have released their winter collection for 2011/2012. This season looks like it will be all about Gore-Tex Active Shell and Polartech Neo Shell. Announced early this year, Active Shell seems to work quite well in terms of breathability/waterproofing, as does Neo Shell.
Active Shell is already featured in some of the best jackets we’ve seen this year, like Moutain Equipment’s FireFox jacket or Berghaus‘ Velum. As you can see, this year will bring more flashy colours like yellow, orange, red, purple and green. If you don’t want to attract attention then that leaves you…black?
You’ll find Neo Shell in some good jackets too, one of the best being Rab’s Stretch Neo which received a few awards and looks damn good.
Neo Shell is a relatively new tech but it seems to offer great soft shell like jacket that don’t compromise on the comfort and breathability.
Also don’t miss out on Ultra Light A-Z, Hendrik Morkel’s nice video series about the principles of ultra light backpacking. We’re one of the project backers on kickstarter so you’ll probably hear more about it in the next few months. The series should be released before Christmas.
Last but not least, Berghaus’ Adventure Challenge is here again to back up you adventure. Just fill in the form and submit it on their website and you might be in for £1000 worth of gear and £1000 in sponsorship money for you next expedition.
