First Look: Vaude Alpamayo

This jacket from Vaude is my first foray into using Polartec Neoshell.  The fabric itself  is very interesting, it’s soft to the touch, stretches a bit and is densely woven. Polartec has high hopes for it and reckon it outbreathes any hardshell on the market, given that it relies on convection rather than diffusion like other membranes. The theory is you get something that feels and breathes like softshell but is as weather resistant as a hardshell.  Sounds pretty ideal to me.

The jacket has been well thought out:  It’s three layer, with a nicely textured lining. My size medium weighed in at  602g.  The seams are ultrasonically welded, and in a stylish contrasting black.  The two front pockets are cavernous and harness-friendly, there’s a decent sized inside pocket for your phone or GPS and wee skipass pocket on the sleeve which also manages a compass or more importantly, a packet of energy chews.  Zips are water resistant but there’s no storm baffle. The zips have nice large rubberised toggles attached, so they can be easily handled with gloves or mitts on.

The hood is a good size and is adjustable. The adjustment toggle even has a garage on the back of the hood to keep the rain out. There’s an smaller inner hood around the top, which helps hold things in position when you’re moving around. The peak is stiffened but not wired.

One point of note is the pit zips. The most obvious thing is they aren’t anywhere near your pits. They’re on the back of the upper arms. I can see the sense in that you’ll get much more airflow up there than under your arm, but in my experience even the most water resistant zips don’t like wind-blown rain and can leak, which makes this a potential weak spot. We’ll see how it goes in the longer term.

This has only been out on one trip so far, so I can’t comment on anything other than fair weather performance, but wind resistance is excellent and it breathes very well when it’s dry. I’m looking forward to getting  this out on a wet day.

More shall surely follow.

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5 Comments

  1. I got the Rab equivalent here, also I can concur with the fair weather performance =)

    Pi-zips make a return, it seems. I got some on my Mammut Felsturm, and it makes me wonder just as much as here on yours: Why do you put pit-zips on a jacket, made of a material which claims to breath so well?

    Are you wearing your Rab Pulse Jacket in the last photo underneath the Alpamayo?

  2. Yeah, the pit/arm zips confused me too. If the material is so breathable, they shouldn’t be needed. I guess I’ll find out in a typical Scottish summer.

    I’ve got the Rab Vapour Rise Lite Alpine on as a mid layer in that shot.

  3. I did wonder what jacket you had on, looks nice. Really want to try Neoshell.

    The pit/arm zips are in a strange place but I am a big fan of under arm ventilation. I use pit zips to allow air in not let moisture out. Many a day have I been in a torrential downpour but needed the associated breeze to cool the inside of my shell when struggling upwards. I don’t care how breathable a shell is, whether it be active, neo or pro, nothing compares to a nice breeze around your torso when you’re working hard. They can always be closed off and forgotten about.

    Bring it for show and tell next time though 🙂

  4. Don’t worry Davy, I’ll bring it along at the end of the month, in a nice lightweight vaude rucksack…

  5. It suits you! Looking forward to hearing how it fairs in wet weather. If you need any stats, footage or anything let me know.
    Stephie – Polartec PR in UK

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