Haglöfs Fang Jacket Review – A Scandinavian Saga (Part 2)

In Use

When I first picked up this jacket a couple of months ago I was very excited at the prospect of putting it through its paces. However, as we were in non-walking mode at the time, I thought it might be a while before I’d get that chance so I contented myself with an initial appreciation of the product.

HERE

As you can see this is a serious garment, probably the most technical piece I have ever owned. As a “softshell” it definitely falls into the top end bracket (with a top end price tag to match), combining high levels of weather proofing with comfort and loads of nice features – so much more than simply a fleece with a DWR!

I originally bought the Fang with a view to bolstering my winter layers, particularly as a mid layer. And according to Haglöfs it is aimed primarily at winter use. However, thanks to the peculiarly wet and cold spring we seem to have been having, I found myself reaching for it to try it out. Not just once, mind, but again and again.

The first thing I noticed when putting it on was just how comfortable it is to wear. I did have to go up a size to get the right fit meaning the sleeves are a bit long, but these are easily and comfortably adjusted using the Velcro cuff tabs. The fabrics used offer plenty of stretch in all directions, and the cut and body length are just right for me too – it manages to feel quite close fitting yet roomy enough for a baselayer and thin insulating layer (such as a microfleece) to be worn underneath if needed.

At around 702g in size XL it is not the lightest jacket around, and I can hear backpackers groaning from here. But so good are the stretch, comfort, cut and fit that it feels far lighter than that when on. It also feels really durable and well built, too, and I expect it to shrug off the many years of hard work it will undoubtedly have to endure.

In use, I have nothing but praise for this jacket. It has easily resisted 75 minutes of steady rain without a hint of water ingress, kept chilly winds effortlessly at bay, and – when the temperature did bother to rise – demonstrated excellent breathability and a multitude of ventilation options to postpone the leave-it-on / take-it-off conundrum.

The hood is helmet compatible but cinches down well for a close fit with adjustment at 3 points – at the back of the head, at the nape of the neck and beside the face. Obtaining a snug fit is therefore simple enough. The stiffened peak is nice and solid too, not budging in the wind and helping to keep the rain off my glasses. I have pondered before about the inclusion of a hood on a softshell jacket, often simply adding to the weight and being no substitute for a proper hardshell hood anyway. But when a garment is as weatherproof as this I can see it makes a lot of sense – you will often need nothing other than this as your outer layer unless subjected to prolonged, heavy rain.

The two main hand-warmer pockets are raised to accommodate a rucksack hipbelt or a harness. Again, attention to detail is the byword – they feel intuitively in the right place and are plenty big enough to hold an OS map.

One point to note: the zips are excellent, too. All run freely, including the water-resistant main zip and the generally difficult to reach pit zips. This is something that often lets other types of waterproof zip down – how awkward they are to use even in the unthreatening environment of the shop, let alone on a cold, wet and windy hillside.

Conclusions:

This jacket is beautifully made with a great attention to detail and plenty of well-thought-out but unobtrusive features. It is very comfortable to wear, with good ventilation and breathability, yet weatherproof enough to keep out the wind and repel rain in all but the worst conditions when a waterproof hardshell will be needed.

In the end, though, it comes down to this. The Fang is a very comfortable, very versatile jacket that I want to reach for again and again, and whose many features and attention to detail are unobtrusive until needed. I would have no qualms about recommending it, or buying something similar again, or looking at any of Haglöfs’ other products in future.

In short: it is hard to find fault. Top drawer.

Comfort: 10/10

Performance: 10/10

Value: 10/10

Overall: 30/30

Haglöfs Fang Jacket Review – A Scandinavian Saga In 3 Acts

This is the first piece of outdoor clothing by Haglöfs I have ever bought. It’s a brand I have been interested in trying for some time – in fact I’ve tried jackets on before and quite liked what I’ve found, but somehow I’ve ended up choosing something else. I must also confess that despite a growing interest in trying their stuff I’ve found the prices slightly scary being, as they are, towards the upper end of the range.

However you do often get what you pay for. Their products look good and garner positive reviews in product tests, so when I was looking for a soft shell jacket and saw this model substantially reduced, I decided to take the plunge and give it a go.

RRP = £240

Price Paid = £140

Because of our current “not walking” status, I’ve decided to do this review in 3 parts: first an overview of the jacket with product stats and technical features, followed by a more detailed report on the jacket in use when I get the chance, then a final appreciation after a decent period of test time.

Act 1: The Technical Stuff

Initial Impressions:

First off, the Fang is a good-looking jacket whose style and use of distinctively coloured fabrics make it stand out from the crowd. Now I know this might not be to everyone’s taste, but personally I find the usual gamut of garments in monochrome red, blue, grey or black to be rather utilitarian and uninspiring. For the sorts of prices asked, what is wrong with wanting a garment to be attractive as well as functional?

Anyway, whatever the merits (or otherwise) of the colour options available, it comes down to quality in the end, and this is what I want to cover in this first appreciation of the product.

The term “soft shell” has an enormous range of meaning these days, and an equally enormous range of products and prices to match, ranging from products that are little more than an alternative to the basic fleece to those that are much more technical altogether, offering high levels of breathability, durability, weatherproofing and comfort. The Fang definitely falls into the latter category, probably upping the “technical quotient” of my gear collection by 50% in one fell swoop, and has a wealth of features to examine.

Features:

The salient points of this jacket (as listed by the manufacturer) are summarised below:

· A versatile Windstopper® Soft Shell® jacket for winter related activities.

· Two different weight fabrics used to balance features with low pack size.

· High degree of stretch for comfort.

· Completely windproof.

· Excellent breathability.

· DWR treated surfaces provide excellent weather resistance.

· Helmet compatible 3-way adjustable hood.

· 2-way main watertight front zip with wind flap & chin guard.

· Highly durable woven face fabric provides excellent abrasion resistance.

· Offset seams in key areas to prevent bunching and chaffing.

· Articulated sleeves with underarm pit zip ventilation.

· 1 zipped chest pocket.

· 2 zipped hand pockets, placed for use with a harness.

· Velcro adjustable cuffs.

· Single-handed adjustable waist draw cord.

· Weight in g: 705 (L)

That’s quite a lot of features, so it’s perhaps worth enlarging on them to explain some of the benefits.

The use of more than one type of fabric in a garment is not a new idea, but one that seems to have been gathering pace in recent years. Usually, this type of zoning is done to concentrate attributes in the places where they are needed, rather than all over, and this is the case here, too. A lighter, less bulky fabric is used for the underarm areas to increase breathability, enhance movement and reduce pack size, whereas as a heavier, more robust fabric is used for the rest of the jacket providing additional durability in heavy wear areas and increased weather protection.

At 702g in size XL (as per my electronic scales – a shade below the stated weight for size L) it’s not the lightest of jackets, but I’ve found it very comfortable to wear. The cut is excellent (for me) and on the couple of occasions I’ve worn it so far (so no stylish pictures of me modelling it ... yet) I’ve found it to stretch nicely with my movements and, although it might sound like an odd claim, it doesn’t feel as heavy as stated once it is on.

One minor gripe here, though, is the sizing. Although Haglöfs is a Swedish manufacturer, the sizing appears to have been based on some other, more petite nationality altogether. You will almost certainly have to go up a size – I did, needing an XL to get the right fit rather than the more usual L in regular clothing – particularly if you intend to wear anything other than the most minimal of base layers. Haglöfs are not the only culprits in this respect – there are several others – but why some outdoor gear manufacturers feel the need to do this, I don’t know, unless (in this age when so many reviewers dismiss a product on weight alone, regardless of how good it might be – something that annoys me greatly) they want to make the weight per size appear as low as possible.

As far as many of the other features go, I have yet to discover the full benefits. But early indications show that the pockets are well placed, the zips all run smoothly, the cuff adjustment is simple and effective, and the fabric and build quality makes for a really durable product. Testing so far has been very limited, but so far it has successfully blocked out a cutting breeze and effectively turned a light shower.

The 3-way hood adjustment works very well, with adjusters placed at the side of the face, the back of the head and the nape of the neck. Even without a helmet (or much in the way of hair) it is possible to get a nice, snug fit without acres of loose fabric to flap around in the wind or inflate.

Haglöfs market the Fang as a jacket for winter-related activities, and I had this in mind when choosing it. I was looking for a versatile layer that would bolster my winter layering (as a mid-layer, providing more protection than a standard fleece against wind and weather) and that could also be worn at other times of the year as a more versatile outer layer, with more weather protection than a fleece and more breathability than a waterproof. In this respect, I think it will suit perfectly well.

Fabrics:

There are two main fabrics used in the Fang:

WINDSTOPPER® 3-layer, 94% Polyamide, 6% Elastane, Soft Shell stretch face fabric with 100% Polyester Micro Fleece backer and ePTFE membrane.

WINDSTOPPER® 100% Polyester Soft Shell fabric with knit backer and ePTFE membrane.

For those who are interested in more details on the fabrics, further information can be found on the Windstopper website:

HERE

In summary, though, the fabrics aim to offer “total windproofness and maximum breathability, combining the comfort of a soft mid-layer and the water resistance of a shell in one garment.” It is also DWR coated, so it will be interesting to see how this performs in tough weather conditions, but the benefit of total windproofness (preventing chilling after exercise) is likely to be a massive boon compared to traditional fleece products.

Initial Conclusions:

I’m pretty impressed with this jacket so far. Admittedly it is still early days, but it seems a comfortable, robust, well-thought-out jacket that has been designed with a clear purpose in mind, and I have no concerns about it’s ability to perform as suggested.

I was going to post a link to the product as well, but this model seems to have been phased out. I contacted the very helpful people at Haglöfs UK to find out the latest situation. This is what they said:

“The Fang … was a Fall/Winter 2011 item and does not carry over into the Spring/Summer 2012 range as it is more of a winter jacket … in the UK you could use it all year round with our weather.

There is nothing the same as the Fang in our SS12 range … the closest would be an Eryx Hood … this is lighter and will not be as warm as the Fang … the only difference I can really notice between the two is the Fang is warmer and heavier. Some MRT have been using the Eryx Hood and their feedback has been very positive.

Fang Jacket RRP £240 Weight on a Men’s large 705g

Eryx Hood RRP £275 Weight on a Men’s large 520g

See this link for the Eryx Hood:

ERYX

For FW12 the Fang does not carry over but … there is more choice with the new Fin Hood £220 (closest match to the Fang), Pelamis Jacket £220, Eryx Hood – new colours £275, and the top of the range … Suta Hood at £350 – more snow sports orientated … I have no links for these … as they are not available till around late August / September.”

So there you have it - so far .....