The Mountain Hardwear Women’s Plasmic Ion jacket offers full waterproof protection.
You have got technologies that obviously protect you from getting wet from the outside, but
you have got some revolutionary technology in the fabrics on the inside that keep you
cool and dry from the inside out.
First thing to talk about with any rain jacket is the material, the fabric and how it protects
you from the elements.
So you have got Mountain Hardwear’s Dry Q Evap fabric.
This is a fully seam taped, fully waterproof piece.
So it is going to keep you dry from the out-side.
But the real technology here is actually on the inside of the fabric.
The Dry Q Evap is really revolutionary in that there are small channels that allow any
moisture or anything like that that would build up on the inside to evaporate really
quickly.
So basically spreads out the moisture, makes smaller beads of water or smaller beads of
moisture so they evaporate really quickly.
You have a really nice dry feel on the inside of this jacket.
So not only does it keep you dry from the outside, but any clamminess or any moisture
that would build up from perspiration on the inside is going to dry out quickly and keep
you very comfortable.
The material here is very durable.
It is 70 denier nylon, so it is very abrasion resistant.
But it is also pretty lightweight.
So you can pack it down to be pretty small.
If you are back-packing with it or hiking with it you can pack it down and throw it
in your backpack.
You won’t notice it is there when you don’t need it.
But then when the clouds roll in, you take it out, put it on and it is just an excellent
protection piece.
It is also a great every day piece.
So I can see this being great from day to day.
As you can see, we have got the hood tucked into the collar up here.
So I don’t have the hood out.
You can wear this as a windbreaker.
If you are just using it as a day to day jacket, you can tuck away that hood and have a nice,
clean look there as well.
The other features here are streamlined and simple.
You have a full length zipper and a nice storm flap behind that zipper so if water were to
sneak its way in through the zipper it is going to be protected there.
Down at the hem you have a draw cord on either side.
You can cinch that down just to really keep out the elements there.
So stretchy draw cord.
That is pretty lightweight.
If you are wearing a harness or you are wearing a backpack with hip belt, you can cinch down
bottom so the bottom of this jacket doesn’t flare out.
You have got two hand level pockets here.
They are pretty small pockets, just small items you want to get your hands on quickly.
So those are kind of hidden away.
When you have them zipped up there is a nice clean look with those pockets.
Down here on the cuff you have adjustable Velcro cuffs.
So that makes it really nice if you need to batten everything down, water, it won’t
sneak its way in through the cuff there.
And then, again, we will talk about the hood.
We have got it packed away right now, but behind the collar, if you have this all the
way zipped up, it is a nice fleece mate-rial there.
It is not going to irritate your chin.
I have untucked the hood from the collar here.
And something I really appreciate and love about this jacket is when you have the hood
out, you can still just zip up the collar and the collar is a little bit separated from
the hood there.
So you don’t feel like you are claustrophobic if you just have the collar zipped up.
But the hood is fully adjustable and it is a really nicely shaped hood.
You have got a little brim on the front of the hood so that is going to protect against
water dripping down on you.
And there is adjustability on both sides.
So you can cinch that down and you are really protected.
It is a nicely shaped hood.
It fits really well around your head.
It is not oversized.
So, you know, if you are just wearing it with a hat or over top of your head it fits really
well.
It is not necessarily a helmet compatible hood, but definitely nicely shaped for wearing
day to day.
The fit of this jacket is spot on to what I would expect from Mountain Hardwear.
I am wearing a small right now and I have a little bit of room here.
I just have a lightweight t-shirt on underneath and I could put some more layers in there.
So in the cool ... coldest of temperatures if you need to layer up underneath of it,
you could certainly do that and have enough room to move.
I have got room here in my arms and in my shoulders.
So, you know, as you are moving you are hiking, backpacking, maybe even climbing with it,
it is definitely going to work well.
You have got a nice clean look with this piece so, you know, the zippers kind of tuck away.
This is a great every day jacket.
So it is just as at home in the backcountry with those technical features, but with the
fun colors and good style lines, it is at home downtown as well.
It is the Women’s Mountain Hardwear Plasmic Ion jacket.