Mountain Equipment Garwhal Jacket Review

• Buy now for women from Mountain Equipment (£190)
• Buy now for men from Mountain Equipment (£190)

The Mountain Equipment Garwhal jacket is a lightweight version of a classic mountain jacket. The jacket is designed, says Mountain Equipment, to be “comfortably worn all day when the weather dictates but packs away unnoticed when not required”.

Jump straight to product specifications

First impressions

The Garwhal looks and feels just like a waterproof designed for battling the weather in the UK’s mountains, but with a lighter material and slightly pared-down design.

How waterproof is the Mountain Equipment Garwhal jacket?

This jacket is definitely waterproof. It was tested on an apocalyptically wet day on Dartmoor, the kind where if you step out of the door unprepared you are instantly soaked. I stayed dry. The hydrostatic head rating of at least 20,000mm is an estimate from Mountain Equipment based on their own tests of this sort of fabric.

How breathable?

This jacket is fairly breathable, although if you are going very fast – or working up a sweat for a long time – it could benefit from underarm venting. Again, the breathability rating listed here is an estimate based on tests of the fabrics. Really this is a jacket designed for slower movement and focussed on repelling the elements.

Fit and design features:

The Alpine fit makes it slimmer than other mountain jackets in the test, like the Rab Downpour Eco and Patagonia Torrentshell, but not restrictively so – there is still room for fleeces underneath.

The hood is excellent, with a broad stiffened peak and three toggles (two front, one back). It stays close to your face and is deep enough to hide in away from the elements. The arms are long enough to cover wrists and some hand, with hook-and-loop cuffs for adjustment. The wrists are wide enough to cuff over a glove. The hem has two single-handed toggles – meaning you can just give them yank, rather than fiddling about in gloves trying to find the right bit of the toggle to press.

The two chest pockets are long and narrow, utilising most of the front panel of the jacket. In a women’s size 8 the pocket was just wide enough to get a waterproof OS map in and out. It will probably be easier the larger the jacket size. The pocket zips start at chest height so are nicely compatible with a rucksack harness.

The main zip is chunky and easy to use with an internal storm flap. The pockets do not have storm flaps and, as already noted, are not 100% waterproof in the very worst of weather. Arguably no external pockets are.

Best for: Hiking and other slower-paced outdoor pursuits

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Looking for more options? Check out our roundup of the best lightweight waterproof jackets on the market!