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On test: Marmot's PreCip Jacket, £80 |
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Written by Bryn
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Wednesday, 14 December 2011 14:01 |
 Marmot has been around since 1974 when the company was started by three college students in Colorado. They made a name for themselves in the outdoor clothing world when their Golden Mantle jackets were worn in the film The Eiger Sanction (that one with Clint Eastwood when he’s chasing baddies on the Eiger). We’ve got the Marmot PreCip in for this review – a lightweight waterproof jacket that features Marmot’s own PreCip Dry Touch technology to help keep the wet stuff out.
In terms of ventilation the PreCip offers two large hip-belt friendly mesh-lined handwarmer pockets, both of which are big enough to take an OS map, along with nice, big pit zips. If you’re a fast moving sweat-a-lot who’s looking for ventilation over waterproofing then the pit zips are great, but if you’re looking for a jacket that’ll keep you 100% dry you may prefer one with larger, more substantial storm flaps. The two handwarmer pockets feature adequate storm flaps which are Velcro fastened in the centre, but the way these have been made means that if any water does get in it’ll pool up at the bottom of the zip rather than run off, and the seams around the storm flaps haven’t been taped.
The PreCip Jacket has a drawcord adjustable hem to help block out cold drafts, although it can’t be operated with one hand. The cuffs are Velcro adjustable.
The jacket’s hood works well when you’re wearing a helmet, but if you’re not it can be quite frustrating. There’s no toggle on the back of the head so you can adjust the volume, the peak isn’t stiffened and the hood didn’t turn with my head while I was wearing it. Adjuster toggles are also left to dangle free in the wind and we’d prefer them to be secured in place so they don’t hit us in the face.
In terms of weight and packsize, the PreCip is good – it packs up very small and weighs in at a pleasing 395g, so you’ll have no problems getting it in your pack. So our main gripe is with the hood on an otherwise good jacket that’s the cheapest in the test.
In a line: Great lightweight jacket that packs up small, poor hood though
Marmot's PreCip Jacket, £80, www.marmot.com
AT scores
Ventilation: 8
Hood: 4
Weight and pack size: 9
Value for money: 8
Overall: 8 |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 December 2011 14:25 |
Gear