M's Azog Hooded Jacket

(No relation to Stu above)Left off a review of this until I had worn it for a season and forgot to do so, so its now a few years old. Fits well. I am 42 in chest average build and a medium fits exactly. Its very expensive but very well made. I use it for Himalayan trekking up to 5000+ metres and it does the job. The air temperature is a few degrees above freezing in bright sunlight but drops badly in cloud or high winds. I bought it for a main layer over a t shirt. I find it too hot on its own in sunlight and use it mainly as a throw-on when I stop or as an underlayer with something windproof or watertight in bad weather.

The thumb loops are great, the equivalent of light mittens which allow gloveless work on packs, tents etc and really add to the feeling of warmth. They do tear easily though – mine have been patched several times although I do wear rings which probably doesnt help. The rest of it has worn extremely well. The full front zip allows good ventilation and the neck fits snugly- if you roll the hood up to act as a neck scarf, you wont need a Buff or simliar. The hood itself is useful, I usually dont need anything warmer than that unless its snowing.

A small chest pocket would improve it – lipsalve, sunscreen tend to fall out of the side pockets. My main gripe is the side panels which are more permeable than the front and back. I suppose the idea is ventilation for sweaty exercise, especically running. , but this doesn’t work on cold dry trekking. I can sweat buckets up there but find that the side panels end up being cold spots – big ones - when the sun goes in and the wind springs up, the front panels are pretty wind proof so if the whole thing was made like that it would improve it for me.

So I revert to old tech fleece-lined Pertex which works better in wind at ½ the price.

But as a layer for stops and/or evening in the tent or lodge its great. I automatically goes into the pack for summer and winter.

I love this jacket. It saw more use last winter than any other I own. It was definitely my go-to for nordic skiing. Warmth to weight ratio is decent; warmth to bulk ratio is superb. The main fabric has some wind resistance, but very little meaningful water resistance. The side panels are noticeably more breathable and less warm--which is the idea. As a consequence, the body is less warm than the Xenolith Sweater, but the arms are warmer. It works well to add a vest over this jacket to add warmth.

The high collar is perfect, and the little roll-up hood is very convenient. The buttons hood buttons seem like a good idea, but are too hard to undo with the jacket on. However, the hood works just fine tucked down the back of the collar (without buttoning).

The fit is very trim and seems thermally efficient. The sleeves are extra trim--I have to take my watch off to put the jacket on or take it off. Surprisingly, I can actually fit the Xenolith Sweater under this jacket. It's a bit tight, but it's a very warm combination.

I got one of these in XL when launched. First impression was it packs small and seemed to be more comfortable than my 200 weight fleece jacket. I've worn it out walking on the hills, and around town. It's a very useful bit of gear. It's a good fit , very warm, so the full length zip helps with temp control and the sleeves are quite tight fitting. The thumb limbs are great and when in use keep the chill from running up your sleeves. They also roll up out of the way quite neatly. I've made limited use of the hood and found it a decent fit and that it stayed up in gusty weather. If I was to be picky the body length on me is just a cm short, but I do have a long back and despite this haven't felt chill winds coming in. In summary a great bit of kit that moves well with you. You can get extra layers beneath up to 260 weight woolens and it still breathes under a hard shell and I'm tempted to get the blue version too.