FIELD TEST
SIX OF THE BEST
For hillwalking and mountaineering in the winter months, an INSULATED JACKET is a welcome addition to your kit, delivering a great big dose of warmth whenever the cold starts to bite.
I'm no polar explorer, but I’ve had a fair few cold-weather adventures over the years: ice climbing in New Zealand and Iceland, mountaineering in the Cairngorms, trekking in Scandinavia and up in the Pacific Northwest. But the coldest I can ever remember being in the mountains was in the UK – on Helvellyn, back in January 2017. The Lakes had got a good dump of snow, and most of the fells were in full winter condition. That day, Ellie and I were scrambling along Striding Edge. It was a bit breezy with a fair bit of clag, but occasional breaks in the cloud revealed glorious glimpses of frozen fells, blanketed majestically in their ermine coats. However, as we came off the ridge onto the summit plateau, the wind picked up dramatically. It soon turned properly savage. Just putting one foot in front of the other was tricky, even in crampons.
In the biggest gusts, we were forced to drop to our knees, plunging the spikes of our ice axes into the snow and hanging on grimly with both hands. We eventually reached Helvellyn’s cross-shaped summit shelter with genuine relief. We crabbed around to get to the lee side, where we found another pair of walkers huddled together. “Bit blowy, eh?” one remarked, with wry hillwalker humour. We nodded in consent, sinking down next to them. We pulled belay jackets from our packs, teeth chattering. Finally out of the wind, and wearing every layer I had, I slowly started to feel a little warmth spreading through my core. El fished a flask of hot chocolate from her pack, and we shared it between us, waiting for the wind to drop as we sat and watched the spindrift whirling beyond the tips of our crampon points. That day alone proved the value of a warm winter jacket when you’re out in the hills. Somewhere between a suit of armour and a cosy cocoon, they’re well worth the investment. Here are six of the best to hunker down in.
Mountain Equipment Shelterstone £220
This midweight synthetic insulated jacket is essentially a lighter, more packable version of ME’s classic climbers’ belay jacket, the Fitzroy (Alpamayo for women). But rather than using Gore-Tex or PrimaLoft fabrics and fill, the Shelterstone employs ME’s own 40D Drilite Loft ripstop nylon shell and 100% recycled polyester Polarloft sheet insulation to keep the price tag slightly more affordable.
The jacket is windproof and water-resistant, coping
