Montane Solution jacket tested and reviewed

At first appearance it looks like any other waterproof, with a pretty standard fit and weighing in at around 460g for a medium. When you drill down, though, there's a lot of work gone into reducing its impact on the environment. We've spend a few months putting it to the test in the Peak District and North Wales to see if this sustainable focus has any impact on functionality.

What Montane say:

The waterproof jacket that combines performance with durability, using recycled materials.

The Montane Men’s Solution Waterproof Jacket delivers PFC-free, second-life performance with a 100% recycled PERTEX SHIELD REVOLVE outer that has been solution dyed to save 50% water, and recycled zips and adjustments. We challenged ourselves to create a waterproof jacket where every development decision was made to reduce its impact. Hard-wearing fabrics combine with an award-winning, timeless design, including innovative dual-function front pockets whose YKK AQUAGUARD zips keep out moisture, while their dual sliders provide venting for increased breathability. Articulated sleeves move with your body when the trail gets rugged, and the front-adjustable, peak-strengthened hood can change gears with you, to go over a helmet or beanie.

Features:

Montane Solution on test:

There's no doubt that the big selling point for Montane's Solution jacket is its sustainable credentials with the outer layer, or face fabric, of its three layer construction being made from recycled material. The mid layer, the membrane, is 75% recycled and the inner, backing layer, is again 100% recycled. All in all that's pretty impressive, and its combined with a solution dyeing process that uses 50% less water. As expected the whole jacket is DWR coated for water repellence.

The fit is very "standard" rather than being tailored, but this is, again, part of the sustainability that's at the core of the jacket. The design allows the jacket to be easily disassembled at the end of its life. This is also why all the plastic toggles and adjusters are completely external rather than being embedded. The fit is a decent length with the hem falling well below the waistline, and is voluminous enough to allow a reasonably bulky mid-layer. Overall it could be described as a loose fit.

The two front, hand warmer, pockets are large, or very large compared to some, and have more than enough room to fit a map and like the main zip are combined with laminated zips. The main, front, zip is a classic YKK Aquaguard with an internal storm flap while the pocket zips have the storm flaps on the outside.

The hood is the only area where there appears much of a compromise to keep the price down with just a single set of front adjusters and no volume adjustment. There is, however, a decent stiffened brim and the adjusters do a decent job of pulling the whole hood in when needed.

The arms are pretty well articulated, giving decent movement without pulling the jacket body up and the cuffs have the standard Velcro fasteners for tightening. The cuff straps have a good amount of adjustment, allowing those bulky mid-layers mentioned earlier to fit without issue.

Overall, then, the fit and styling is pretty standard and what you'd expect, but this is in many ways a compliment. Given the sustainability credentials it's actually good to see it look so "standard" and with a price point of £250 you're not paying an extortionate premium to help out the environment. The fabrics feel, and on initial tests appear to be, pretty durable , making it the sort of jacket you'd expect to be a go-to for a few years use when you don't need something too technical.

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