ROHAN Icepack Overhead

RRP: £155 Target price: £155 This half-zip ‘smock’ is new this season, so you won’t find it for much less than the RRP – but that is still a superb price for what you’re getting. For instant but well-regulated warmth, the Icepack was the cosiest of the lot for me. It uses a synthetic filling, with a thicker weight around the torso and a lighter one on the sleeves. On a cold, blowy, hardwalking day on Hadrian’s Wall, it performed perfectly. There are clever features everywhere: doubled cuffs to lock out draughts, a hem-side zip for venting, adjustable hood and three huge pockets: two handwarmers, and a kangaroo pocket that is unaffected by your rucksack belt. The outer is DWRtreated and doesn’t mind hard rain. The smock version is only for men, but the Icepack also comes in a jacket version for both sexes. The smock’s virtues are a) uninterrupted warmth across your torso, and b) the kangaroo pocket. And in smock stakes, it gives Páramo’s popular Velez a run for its money: warm, weatherproof, and built to move. Plus it’s slightly baggy, so it fits over a bulky mid-layer when it’s really cold. NH

INFO: Sizes: XS-XL Weight: 463g Insulation: Rohan Insuloft (synthetic) Colours: Olive/charcoal only (jacket in black). Contact: 0800 840 1412, www.rohan.co.uk + Midweight warmth, highly adaptable, loads of features. – A bit baggy; smock style doesn’t suit social use. BEST FOR: Total confidence on cold, damp days, especially up high.