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Testing Location
Overview: The hiking environment of the south-west of Western Australia
allows for hiking and backpacking from coastal plains to forest.
Elevation ranges from 0 to 585 metres (0 to 1,920 feet). Within this region, I hike in varying
conditions from forestry roads, to sandy tracks to single-purpose walking
trails, to rock hopping, to beach walking to completely off-track walking
through open and dense country.
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Weather Conditions: During the summer period, daytime
temperatures average 30 C (86 F), whereas from March through to December the daytime average temperatures range from 15 C to 26 C (59 F to 79 F). During the
autumn, winter, and spring periods the normal weather pattern is fairly
wet with frequent heavy rainstorms evident. It does not normally snow in
Western Australia.
According to The Times Atlas of the World (Concise Edition - Revised 1997)
our weather is described as being "Mediterranean - rainy climates with mild
winters, coolest month above 0 C (32 F), but below 18 C (64 F); warmest
month above 10 C (50 F)." The atlas depicts the coastal area north of
Los Angeles as having the same climate.
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Field
Experience:
As is becoming the bane of my testing
... get a piece of rain gear to test and it stops raining. Well not quite
but the rain and my outdoor activities (or rather opportunities) don't
seem to coincide as ideally as I would like. That said, since posting the
Initial Report in June 2004 I have taken the jacket on my weekend
backpack, "Mumballup Pub Plod" (near Collie in Western Australia) and on a
second weekend backpack, "Avon Valley National Park Explorer." On the
Mumballup walk it did rain! Mind you most of that was overnight, however,
I did get to use the jacket around camp in the morning and for about 5 km
[3 mi] up and down on track walking carrying a heavy pack [estimated at
about 20 kg/44 lbs] (was carrying gear for Anne as well as myself).
The remainder of my wet weather usage has been on local walking
(approximately 5 km/ 3 mi without a load) or riding my deadly treadly to
and from work four days a week. The later has been the predominate
use. The following comments are therefore based on the above
experience.
In my initial report I outlined a
number of concerns that I had, given my initial inspection of the jacket,
along with various aspects that I wished to test. My field
experience comments are framed in the context of these concerns/test
focus. I noted three specific concerns:
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I am concerned about
the lack of a draw cord for the collar. My initial impressions suggest
possible exposure to rain leaking in through the neck.
Of course the lack of draw cord
remains, however, my experience to date suggests that my concern of
possible rain leaking in through the neck area have been unfounded. I have
found that with careful adjustment of the hood draw cord (found at the
back of the head) and pulling the zip up fully, I can get a reasonable
"seal" around the neck. That said, while focused on the hood, I have
found the brim of the hood less than satisfactory at keeping the rain off
my glasses. I find this particularly annoying, read bad when riding by
bike. That said, this is a walking jacket so my preceding comment may be
unfair.
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I am also concerned
about the durability of the material in West Australian bush which can be
aggressive.
My walking where I have had an
opportunity to expose the jacket to the Australian bush has been during
fine weather! Ugh! So I have not had an opportunity to really put the
durability of the jacket to the test. That said, the jacket is not showing
any signs of wear from my "day to day" usage of it.
-
I am concerned about the durability and
ease of use of the zips. They just seem too small to survive the rough and
tumble of life in the bush.
In terms of durability of the zips, no
worries. These zips have performed fine and I have even got used to the main
zip being on the wrong side! :-) I have found them much easier to connect
and zip than I initially expected. It should be noted that I have not used
them with gloves so I can't comment on the functionality of the small zip
handle in that context.
As well as examining my concerns as
noted above, my
testing has focused on the following:
-
Durability of the DWR
(Durable Water Repellency) finish of the jacket, particularly after
washing.
As I haven't as yet got the jacket
dirty, I haven't put it to the washing machine test. I will be exploring
this aspect during the long-term testing phase.
-
Overall waterproofness
of the jacket and waterproofness of the pocket zips.
In terms of its main function of keeping
me dry, I have been quite impressed with the jacket's performance. It
works well for me when the rain is relatively cold, irrespective of if I
am backpacking, exercise walking or riding my bike. However, on the
Mumballup Plod walk, a combination of warmer temperatures and rain
and a few hills and a heavy pack did lead me to building up my body
temperature and I found the jacket in this situation to not breath well. I
really did get quite damp from perspiration and questioned the value of
wearing the jacket. I have also found the front zip flap effective
in sealing that area of the jacket.
In terms of the pocket zips, I have not
had any problems. They appear to be quite effective in their sealing. I am
now quite happy to carry my mobile phone in my top pocket when riding my
bike even in torrential rain.
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Ease of use of the hood
particularly in terms of getting it out and putting it away.
Bottom line from my experience, a pain
in the proverbial. I find that once I have the jacket on accessing the
hood to either get it out or put it away is just not possible. I never expected this
to be easy, but I have found the very small zip on the hood pocket makes
this task impossible for me. I have to remember to either pull the hood
out in advance or take the jacket off to get it out if I need it. I have
often found myself not using the hood as the hassle of getting it out just
does not make it worth the trouble.
-
Functioning of the hood in terms of
providing wet weather protection and keeping rain off my glasses;
See my comments earlier in the report.
Overall I have found the jacket ineffective in this role.
-
Ease of use of the hem draw cords.
I have found the hem cords easy to use
on the few times I have bothered, but I must admit I tend to not bother
with them, not really finding any need to use them.
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Concluding Comments:
Overall I am quite happy with the performance of the
Cirrostratus Jacket by Red Ledge. It has proven to be effective for me in the
conditions that I have used it. That said, I have three things I don't like
about it: the functionality of the hood, the hood stowage pocket and the length
of the jacket. I have not commented on the later as I understand that this is a
USA design style so not a criticism of the product, but it would be nice if it
was a bit longer a.k.a. Australian and New Zealand jacket designs.
I will be continuing to use the jacket over the remainder of
this test and hopefully some backpacking rain experience!
Read more reviews of Red Ledge gear
Read more gear reviews by Andrew Priest
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