Review: Haglofs Ozo Pullover

24th April 2010

The new Haglofs Ozo pullover is an updated version of their Oz jacket, one that was well regarded by those who like to travel fast and light. It is part of their ‘Intense’ series, a range of clothing designed for ‘high pulse activities’. I don’t know about you but my pulse tends to get pretty high at times on the fells! Weighing in at a featherweight 180g it works out at a not inconsiderable £1 per gram so the less you get the more you pay it seems!

Although I suppose this is designed mainly in reality for runners and athletes, the more discerning fellwalker can benefit from the lightweight aspect of this type of clothing, and I for one am a big fan of travelling as light as possible. I find the unnecessary clutter of traditional jackets a hindrance with all those extra pockets and flaps being completely pointless and they end up being just an extra leak path for rain. What those 'extras' also bring is weight and that means that you have to expend extra effort lugging all this gear around the fells for little or no benefit.

Features

With all that weight saving, features are of course kept to a minimum. The hood is billed as being 3-way adjustable - from what I can see it is adjustable at either side of the neck by pulling elasticated draw cords and there is an ingenious and novel adjustment on the hood itself with a one pull cord to adjust the fit around the back of the head.

Hood detail.

There is a single chest pocket which is stitched in and taped and is big enough to take a GPS, mobile phone or my preference of a folded up PC printed map with a watertight zipper similar to the that on the one third length body zip.

Zipper detail - body zip left and pocket zip right.

The sleeves are articulated making for easier movement and are long with the cuffs having an elasticated thumb grip although I’m not sure how useful that feature will be.

Elasticated thumb grip.

The back of the jacket is longer than the front, a useful feature borrowed from cycling gear I think and the shorter front allows for easier movement whilst the long back stop you getting your backside wet.

Longer back, shorter front.

The jacket is constructed from Gore Tex Paclite and I don’t doubt its ability to be fully waterproof and windproof and coupled with the small weight and its packability, it seems to be an ideal choice for summer walking.  Of course during warm weather you can get as wet on the inside as the outside and this is one area that Paramo win over Gore Tex garments – their ability to be fully breathable. The fit is perfect for me, my normal size Large not being too tight and the jacket initially feels and looks good but only time will tell.

Further updates to follow when I have worn it!