HELLY HANSEN Lifaloft Hybrid

RRP: £160 Target price: £110 When you win a Red Dot Award, you’re doing something right. Red Dot is an international gong recognising brilliant design, and the Lifaloft Hybrid clinched one a few months back. As the name suggests, it’s a hybrid of insulation around the torso (namely Lifaloft, a combination of Lifa fabric and Primaloft’s synthetic insulation) and smooth, stretchy soft shell fabric down the arms. It’s not the warmest by any means, but it adapts to any level of cold and can reliably function as your outer layer on cold days, especially if you’re a fast mover. The crinkly, shiny face fabric might not be easy on the eye, but it does its job. And unlike most of its peers, it doesn’t use DWR because the Lifa fabric doesn’t absorb water. That doesn’t make it fully waterproof, but it means a sudden shower isn’t too much of a hassle. There were plenty of days during this test where I was forced to take off whichever jacket I was wearing due to milder air and high-energy hiking. But not this one. Once on, this jacket barely ever needs to come off, no matter how intensely you may be walking. NH

INFO: Sizes: S-XXL Weight: 322g Insulation: Lifaloft (Primaloft synthetic) Colours: Black, blue, navy/charcoal. Contact: 0800 142 2210, www.hellyhansen.com Great warmth-to-weight ratio, + adaptable, good water repellency. Not the warmest on test; no – chest pocket. BEST FOR: Reliable top layer to early winter; a fab mid-layer in January.