Review: 66º North Vatnajökull Jacket

I live in Andalucia, Southern Spain these days and at the time of writing (mid-October), the temperature in the south was still hanging around the 25-28 ºC mark during the day. This would not have been fair territory to test an insulated jacket I didn’t think. And so, off to the north of the country I went – to the Spanish Pyrenees. Here, with autumn in the hills, the days and nights were cooler and the temperature continued to fall as we ascended into the mountains.

We headed for Anayet a 2545m peak with a 2-3 hour rising valley approach to the base where a 1-hour scramble to the summit then begins. We stopped for a break before the ascent. Up to this point we were wearing just t-shirts. A cool breeze had begun to blow, now being well past 2000 metres with and having removed my pack, the sweat on my back quickly began to feel fresh. Vatnajökull jacket – it’s time.

With just the t-shirt on underneath it, the jacket took the edge off that sweaty chill as we moved higher. The sun came and went, one minute behind the building clouds, then next on our backs again. It was one of those days where nailing the right combination of layers was a constant challenge. But I kept the jacket on as we moved higher, not feeling as though I was overheating.

From 9ºC on the rocky summit of Anayet, to 23ºC in the valley, the Vatnajökull was tested across a pretty good range. Not quite cold enough atop the peak for anything more than a lightly insulated jacket but hardly t-shirt weather either. The temperature range suited this jacket perfectly.

A top the summit the wind was stiffer and well, I certainly wasn’t cold. We ascended and descended a scrambling line with fixed chains in place on the exposed parts. The item got a good scraping on the way up and on the down climb, especially on the elbows and sleeves, yet the material didn’t flinch against the rough rock.

The jacket wears well under an outer-shell, but for ultimate warmth when required, I like to wear both a down hood and an outer-shell hood at the same time – my head then ensconced within both down and waterproof cosiness. I would miss that with this hoodless jacket. Without the hood though, wearing a camera slung across me, it was far easier to remove the camera quickly for a shot without the strap getting tangled in the hood each time as I had got used to it doing with other jackets. Hardly a huge problem I know, but noticeably pleasing anyway.

66º North say that the Vatnajökull jacket is also water-resistant up to 5,000 mm/24 hrs; we didn’t have the opportunity to prove or disprove this part of the spec but the material being slightly shiny, does suggest that there would be some water resistance there, if only in the form of a DWR (durable water repellent) for now.