Wednesday 6 January 2016

Salomon GTX Active Shell







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Activities in the hills and mountains require conditioning, respect and preparation. Part of this ongoing learning is constantly seeking to find solutions that meets all the demands these endeavours bring. But finding a single solution is often impossible when trying to balance optimum performance and safety.  My own preference is one of minimalism, an ideology oft championed in this era of mountain trail running. And while minimalism brings advantages to the table as we can undoubtedly move faster and lighter, but to what detriment?
Clearly the first and most important consideration is that of safety.  As passionate as we can be, this is an activity for fun and fulfilment after all – albeit one that carries an inherent and manageable risk. And this is the point of managing risks in a sensible and responsible way that keeps both ourselves and others from harms way.
This brings me to the crux of the matter.  In our constant pursuit of speed and performance what is sacrificed? I often despair when I see talk on social media of going light on mandatory kit for mountain ultras. Individuals either completely omitting items or in some cases going as light as humanely possible. I‘m not here to preach from a pedestal, merely to share the experience of my own short-comings and the subsequent learning.

The best way to demonstrate my own learning whilst wearing an insufficient jacket for the prevailing conditions, is to reminisce a specific point of learning;

I’ve been berated numerous times by a good friend and mountain expert in the past for my blasé attitude regarding certain safety equipment. And it was during a recce for the Lakeland 100 earlier this year I had my reality check. It was a typical Lake District day, a relentless sheet of rain cascading into the hillsides, feeding the streams and rivers, manifesting into raging torrents. Dark clouds clung to the mountain tops with a tenacious grip. Despite the incessant weather me and my two running companions, Mark and Stu plied ourselves from the warmth of the car into the bitter and windy conditions. It may have been deceiving in that it was in fact early May and I expected some level of heat in the atmosphere. Of course moving quickly in most conditions allows the body to keep warm and stave off hypothermia. Which is fine until things go south and movement is limited or even ceases entirely. Although I was only wearing shorts, t-shirt and a feather weight waterproof jacket, I’d packed some waterproof over trousers and a spare dry long sleeved top. Confidence, or indeed arrogance held me to believe this would be more than sufficient. After all it was only late spring in the Lakes - it’s not like we were high in the Alps…


Some twenty miles in to our recce, we were sodden through to the bone, Stu had rolled his ankle to add to his injury woes of an ongoing dodgy knee. Yet still I marvelled at the astonishingly beautiful route. Even in such inclement conditions, the Lakes can shine through with its majesty. I can’t say I was particularly suffering at this point. We had been moving relatively well and at low altitude, although wet I felt warm enough in my flyweight jacket I’d often relied upon with its meagre insulating properties. However as we began ascending Black Sail Pass my situation evolved for the worse. With Stu’s injury and the ever steepening ascent we slowed to a crawl. The wind was driving rain horizontally in my face, battering my body and sapping me of all my heat. My jacket was unable to fend off the howling icy wind which penetrated through to my already damp clothes underneath.  I was rapidly losing heat from my core and shivering uncontrollably. I resorted to an improvised fartlek session up the mountainside, sprinting between large rocks for shelter from the wind. I could almost laugh at the hilarity of my plight, yet the impending sense of danger that pervaded me prevented this outlet.
As we crested the top of the pass and descended into the next valley, I informed my running party of my plight. Luckily as we descended I could see the lights on at the Black Sail YHA which sits at the top of the Ennerdale Valley. This proved more than fortunate as we could get out of the weather and finally get warm and dry. It was the spare, dry long sleeve top and water proof trousers that saved me that day and the lesson was consolidated. But what was prevalent was how my waterproof jacket had fallen short of the mark in keeping me warm and dry in such conditions.


























The jacket was fit for a purpose, and moving at a ‘race pace’ it has served me well in the past. Yet I’d found a situation which exposed its weakness, despite the advantages of being super light-weight with great breathability. It would be unfair to name the brand and model of the said jacket as under certain circumstances it has proved more than competent. And this brings me to my point, our ancillary items for our mountain sports need to be relevant to the specific activity or type of session we are engaging in.



My search for a waterproof jacket that would tick these boxes started and ended with the Salomon GTX Active Shell. Admittedly, a premium item but justified in its merits. Manufactured from GORETEX, the materials achieve impressive levels of breathability despite 100% waterproof properties. As regards weight the jacket comes in at 240 grams which throws it nicely in the very light, but not necessarily ‘fly-away’ category. This is fine because it still packs down into a small stuff sack (included) that is compact enough to fit in modern race vests. It also has glued seams meaning the waterproof properties are optimal and it’ll easily pass any kit check I’ve experienced.





Be under no illusions the GTX is made with the sole intention of keeping the runner warm and dry, but with the breathability of GORETEX ACTIVE to aid when things speed up. And this brings me full circle to specificity, there are certainly jackets that drop down into the (admittedly impressive) 150g range – but I don’t believe that’s the intention of the GTX. For me the GTX fits most situations where I need to have a contingency to keep warm and dry. If I want something lighter for shorter and warmer 
conditions, I can opt for other jackets such as the Salomon S-Lab Light (70g!) or the Salomon S-Lab Hybrid. But that’s not where I see the GTX fitting into the range. I’ve run in warm and humid but damp conditions and found it fine, although some underarm zips or venting to aid cooling might be nice. But again this flies in the face of the purpose of the jacket and that’s 100% waterproofing without compromise. As previously mentioned no single solution exists for every situation, BUT the GTX is the nearest I’ve yet experienced.



Functionality aside the GTX is a stylish item, one which I’d admit I often wear to keep dry on a casual trip out with family or friends. The fit is excellent, with a nice cut that promotes movement whilst running without looking loose in places. The sleeves are cut slightly long to allow the user to pull them over the hands a little when things get chilly. There's a small chest pocket that can be useful on for holding a couple of gels or even a pair of gloves. Another useful and well thought out feature is the ‘Skin fit’ hood which has an elasticated, vented mesh inside that stretches across your forehead. This effectively keeps the hood comfortably in place whilst running, even during high winds.




If you venture into the mountains I’d highly recommend the Salomon GTX. It’ll give you the confidence that you’re well protected should the weather ever take a turn for the worse. Be under no illusions though, this is a premium product, but one that'll reward your investment with comfort, style and performance unparalleled in my opinion.