Red Ledge Elite Parka
Field Report – June 10, 2006
Tester Information:
Name: Jason Boyle
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 6"/ 1.68 m
Weight: 170 lb/ 77 kg
Chest: 42”/ 107 cm
Sleeve: 28"/ 71 cm (from the middle of my chest to my wrist)
Email address: c4jc "at" hotmail "dot" com
City, State, Country: Snoqualmie, WA, U. S.
Backpacking Background:
I have been camping and backpacking for about 18 years. My introduction to the outdoors started with the BSA and has continued as an adult. I have hiked mostly in the Southeastern and Northeastern United States. I am generally a lightweight hiker, but will carry extras to keep me comfortable. I have recently relocated to the Pacific Northwest and spend most of my time hiking and backpacking in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, but I can be found exploring the other wild areas of Washington!
Product Information:
Manufacturer: Red Ledge
Model: Elite Parka
Size: Large (received) also available in XS - XXL
Color: Firefly/Quart, other color options available
Year of Manufacture: 2006
URL: www.redledge.com
Listed weight: none listed
Measured weight: 12 oz/ 340 g
Fabric Content:
Lamination: T-Core LX®:25 layer waterproof/breathable with wicking/protective raised microprint
Seams: 100% taped
Shell: Diamond shadow ripstop nylon with DWR (durable water repellent) finish
MSRP: $119.99 U.S.
Country of Manufacture: China
Product Description:
The Red Ledge Elite Parka is a rain jacket, no doubt about it! It has the following features as listed on the hangtag that came attached to the jacket: Exterior storm flap, Pit zips, Detachable hood with peripheral vision, roll away function and adjustable drawcords, Micro-tricot lined collar, Two zip pockets with mesh lining, contoured cuffs with Velcro closures, Adjustable drawstring at the waist. The hangtag also has the size, warranty, and seam sealing process information. For more information please see my initial report.
Field Conditions:
The parka has been used 16 times over the past two months: The trips consisted of a three day snowshoe trip to Dorothy Lake, an overnight backpack on the Taylor River trail, and a day hike on the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie trail. These trips were in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. I also did a three day backpack/snowshoe to Greenwater Lakes in the Norse Peak Wilderness. All of the above trips are a part of the Mt Baker – Snoqualmie National Forest. I also did a three day backpack to the Tubal Cain Mine in the Buckhorn Wilderness in the Olympic National Forest and two day hikes inside Olympic National Park to Lake Angeles, and Halfway Rock. I also wore them while conducting trail work in Karkeek Park in Seattle and on a car camping trip in Cle Elum, Washington. I encountered rain, mist, hail, and snow. Temperatures ranged from 30 F to 70 F (-1 C to 21 C). Elevation ranged from sea level to 5500 feet (1676 m)
Summary:
The Red Ledge Elite Parka has performed well over the past two months. It does a good job of repelling the rain and snow that I have used it in; however, I easily overheat wearing the jacket during high aerobic activities, such as backpacking up hill.
Field Results:
The Red Ledge Elite Parka has proven to be durable thus far. All of the seams and zippers are in good working order and show no signs of wear. I have done several off trail hikes through brush and nothing has penetrated the jacket. I have been careful with what I rubbed against, as I know that thorns will pierce anything including this jacket.
The parka has done a good job keeping the rain and snow off of me, but it is not as breathable as I would like for it to be. When I open the pit zips to increase the ventilation of the parka, rain ends up running off of the jacket and soaking my baselayer through the pit zips. On a particularly rainy day hike, I would have water flow down my sleeves whenever I pointed up at something. As long as the temperatures are less than 50 F (10 C) I can easily backpack rolling hills with this jacket on and not overwhelm the jacket. If the temperature creeps above 50 F (10 C) or if I start gaining elevation I overwhelm the jacket’s ability to adequately breathe and I begin to sweat. I found that the parka’s fabric did dry pretty well inside of the tent while I slept.
I have found the parka’s features to be very useful. The pit zips are easily opened. I grasp the sleeve cuff on the side that I want to zip and use my other hand to pull the zipper up or down. The same for the front zipper and the pocket zippers; they all easily slide with no snags. I have not experienced any leakage with the zippers on the jacket, and believe that any dampness I have felt inside of the jacket was due to my sweat or from my base layers wicking water in through the pit zips. The hood has worked well for me. I do not like to pull it in close unless the rain is being blown around. I prefer to pull the hood over my ball cap and leave it loose so I can easily pull it up or push it off as the conditions change. This has worked really well for me thus far. I will test the hood articulation cords over the next test period even if the weather does not require me to use them. I really appreciate that hook and loop closures on the sleeves. It allows me to easily seal my sleeves against rain, wind, and snow that I have experienced. The purpose of the small inner pocket inside right side chest zip pockets still eludes me. I have not laundered the jacket yet but will soon or my wife will not allow it into the house anymore. It currently smells like a smoky campfire.
Improvements:
None at the moment
Test Plan:
I examined the Red Ledge Elite Parka on the following characteristics over the last two months. My answers are in blue
Durable:
- How durable is the RL proprietary 2.5 layer fabric in the parka?
- I tend to lean against whatever is available when resting be it a rock or tree. Do I need to worry about easily tearing or puncturing the fabric? I have not had any problems thus far.
- Do I need to be overly concerned with off trail hiking? I have not experienced any problems and don’t anticipate any unless I get into thorns.
Usefulness:
- It can be extremely wet here and rain for days on end. Is the parka able to take rain day after day? Yes, it dries out pretty well in my tent overnight. It is not perfectly dry the next day, but is drier.
- How breathable is the Parka? Not very good in warm weather or while doing aerobic activities.
- Can I hike uphill without getting drenched in sweat? Not really unless it is close to freezing.
Parka Specific Questions:
- How easy are the pit zips to open? Easy.
- Can they be opened with one hand? Not really. See my description above.
- How easy is the front zipper to open? Easy.
- Does it allow water to penetrate the jacket? I do not believe any precipitation has penetrated any of the zippers.
- Are the chest pockets waterproof? See above.
- Is the hood articulated? It has bungee cords to adjust the hood.
- Will it move easily with me while wearing a ball cap? It moves easily with me.
- Is it stylish enough that I can wear it around Seattle? Most definitely!
Thanks to BackpackGearTest.org and Red Ledge for allowing me to participate in this test.
Read more reviews of Red Ledge gear
Read more gear reviews by Jason Boyle
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