Macpac Hollyford review

[sthughes]

Well I splurged out and got myself a new Macpac Hollyford when they were on sale a few months back. For the first few months it did a great job keeping the skies blue and hence not testing it at all. Now I have finally worn it in some rain a few times, though nothing heavy, I thought I might share my thoughts.

The positives:
I wanted a robust face fabric and it seems to fit the bill nicely. It feels very tough, although I am yet to do anything very abrasive with it.

It is totally waterproof and I have never been wet in it, apart from a bit of sweat. The "breathability" is definitely a lot better than my old Kathmandu NGX, but I have never used a gore-tex jacket so can't compare, but feels similar to my gore-tex overpants.

I like the colour scheme.

The hood feels good and doesn't pull badly with my pack on.

The wrist closures are quite effective.

It has two nice big pockets accessible with a pack on.

Once the rain has stopped and the wetted out face fabric (see below) has dried out, any sweat you have accumulated will evaporate and you dry out. That is assuming the weather is cool and your not doing anything too strenuous. So when it is not raining it is really quite breathable!

The not so good:

The whole reason I got it was the extra length. I had been looking for a long racket for ages and this was the best I could find, and the only available in Event. I even bought an XL to try and maximise the extra length (and to be sure it would fit as I was buying online). Anyway it is longer than most, though I wouldn't call it LONG by any measure. When I wear fairly short shorts it almost fully covers them, coming to about 100 to 150mm above the knee. This was disappointing, I really would have thought the whole point was to fill the niche market for a LONG jacket, but instead it is only marginally better than others.

The weight comes in 806g so no featherweight! (I put this in the "not so good" section because it is heavy, but for a big tough jacket I don't mind, if I wanted lightweight I would never have bought it).

There are no pit zips and as good as event may be you still sweat when working hardish.

The DWR is useless. Having only worn it less than 10 times, and I think 3 or 4 times in rain I really think it should still bead. I have washed and tumbled dried it (rinsing twice) every time I have used it, but still it wet's out very quickly. It's a shame because otherwise it just makes such a waste of the event membrane. In the pictures below I have compared it to a companion's Paddy Pallin Vista (GTX Pro shell) jacket which is much older and has never had the DWR "replenished". Both have been washed and cared for similarly and were put on at the same time on the same walk.

Finally a minor niggle is that the good, big pockets are a little hard to manouver your hand into. The have vertical zips that are located on the side of the chest nearest your arm. I think they would have been much easier to use with the zip located adjacent the main centre zip so that your right hand cold easily slide straight into the left pocket etc.

So overall I am happy enough with it, but a little dissapointed it isn't longer and that I will have to muck around re-applying DWR coatings already. Acceptable, but not brilliant for such an expensive coat.

Paddy Pallin Vista


Macpac Hollyford


Paddy Pallin Vista


Macpac Hollyford


And a couple to show the length:

IMG_1257.JPG (267.73 KiB) Viewed 15130 times

IMG_1472.JPG (307.48 KiB) Viewed 15130 times

[Nuts]

Yer, the DWR on the traverse was not initally that good, some explanation from macpac might help somewhere like this where people have expectations... I baulk at buying one to try, there is just not enough info on the website and things seem to be coming and going... whats the Zealot? Wheres the Hollywood? : http://www.macpac.co.nz/shop/en_nz/gear ... s-rainwear Good review sth, the pics say it all. I'd like to see macpac do well and like to try their jackets, just not convinced.. Does the Hollywood have reinforced shoulders?

[sthughes]

Ha ha - Hollywood - I like it.

No, no reinforcing on the shoulders. You do get thinner material under the arms however

[sthughes]

Hmm yes it has disappeared already from the Macpac website! That was short lived, perhaps no one bought it cause it was still not long enough!

[Nuts]

ar.. slip o the tounge.. rr, whats dones done i guess.. so.. perhaps that Zealot is the new hollyford, perhaps a tad longer?

[Nuts]

hey, maybe your failed dwr warrants an exchange

[Nuts]

Narr.. doesn't add up, that ones lighter..

[wayno]

macpac keeps changing it's range of garments regularly, the hollyford was a new addition to the eVent range and then disappeared.
they were making a large rainge of softshells and they've pretty much disapeared and been consigned to their online outlet clearance store.
Jan Cameron, previous owner of kathmandu is now onboard on Kathmandu, so who knows what changes re in store.

long raincoats are virtually non existant. the trend is to make jackets which combine with overtrousers. tamping in shorts seems to be something more unique to australiasians. most people seem to prefer some sort of long trousers.

[baldhead]

Mont have a range of 3/4 length jackets

[casey79]

Just because its not on the website doesn't mean that the jacket has been dropped from the line. If you bothered to call or drop into a store you would find that there is a full size and color range in both mens and womens.

[Nuts]

The whole reason I got it was the extra length. I had been looking for a long racket for ages and this was the best I could find, and the only available in Event. I even bought an XL to try and maximise the extra length (and to be sure it would fit as I was buying online). Anyway it is longer than most, though I wouldn't call it LONG by any measure. When I wear fairly short shorts it almost fully covers them, coming to about 100 to 150mm above the knee. This was disappointing, I really would have thought the whole point was to fill the niche market for a LONG jacket, but instead it is only marginally better than others.


And a couple to show the length:

IMG_1257.JPG

IMG_1472.JPG

This part would be disappointing. I agree, it might as well be short as 'not long' hard to tell without a local store here anymore isn't it.

Casey, I dont know who your comment was for but I personally was assuming, as mentioned by Cameron in earlier posts that everything in the store was still on the website.. I would think I wouldnt be the lone ranger there?

[wayno]

hard to know with macpac, sometimes stuff on the website is in limited supply in the stores and you can't get your size. normally companies leave their range online and just list it as out of stock so you know it's still part of the range, seems strange to just remove gear from the site it gets confusing since the online lineup changes so much, i can't be bothered getting in touch to find out just what their range is, i'd prefer to go to a company that you can tell at a glance what their range is. eVent isn't the most breathable fabric on the market anymore, omni dry dryq and neoshell are.

[sthughes]

My understanding is:
DryQ is Event.
Omni-dry is similar in "breathability" to Event, but lighter weight.
Neoshell is quite different to Event and looks to be kick *&%$#!.
All still rely on a DWR finish and all will still breathe bugger all if the face fabric is saturated!

The Macpac website is pretty rubbish, but that's hardly news.

[ULWalkingPhil]

It's a shame there still have to rely on a DWR Finnish, costing so much money I'm amazed we all have to spend money to keep them as they advertise. DWR products are so ridiculously expensive, were all getting ripped off.

[Tony]

Hi sthuges,

Thanks for the review, I have not had any problems with the DWR on my Macpac event jacket, I would be re-applying the DWR treatment to see if that improves things.

Here is a couple of charts on Breathability comparisons of Commercial Outer Shell layers by Phil Gibson, Materials Science Team, U.S. Army Soldier System Center and the full article can be sourced here, http://www.verber.com/mark/outdoors/gea ... bility.pdf from the chart Omnidry does not breath as well as eVent. This is an independent test, I am always wary of manufacturers claims.

[Greenie]

Are there any products with Neoshell out yet?

[Nuts]

Westcomb make a jacket greenie.

I dont think i'd want anything more 'breathable' than the macpac traverse i had. There's all sorts of compromises up to something that is again just long and heavy. Nice when the weather turns bad but for those with choice, mostly heading out for the weekend, able to choose what to generally expect of the weather (for that first day at least) less must be best? The difference could be half a kilo carted around with little use..

[ninjapuppet]

I came across somewhere that westcombe had the apoc jacket selling for $479

RAB also have their stretch neo, but I'm not sure its out yet.
most will be out in the US this spring. (our spring)

[sthughes]

Yeah I will be re-applying the DWR soon - hopefully it will fix it up nicely.

Those charts are getting a little long in the tooth, the new Omni-dry has only just come out and is not Omni-tech as shown on those charts.

I don't know of any Neoshell waterproofs on the market yet.

P.s. Yeah for a lot of overnight walks on clear tracks when I'm not expecting rain I will take my O2 Rainwear and save over a 1kg on my Event/GTX shell.

[wayno]

The rab neoshell is out.
You will be looking at shelling out about the $700 mark for the rab. And similar for other brands. Most other neoshells should be released soon in the northern hemisphere fall gear release. Not sure if any will be sold yet down under. Most brands using neoshell don’t distribute to shops in Australasia and some don’t sell online outside of their country of origin,
Some neoshells are fleece lined, and some aren’t,
The westcomb apoc and rab neostrectch don’t have fleece
There is also powersheild pro, a “highly water resistant softshell” it uses a membrane, making making it more water resistant than normal softshells. But it’s still more breathable than waterproof membranes. I don’t know of anyone selling it down under.
Review of it’s water resistance was very good but perhaps those reviwers idea of heavy rain are different to mine, it didn’t stand up long to heavy rain for me.. but if its just sporadic rain or showers you are in then it will do the job, but at nearly 700 grams you don’t really want to cart it around as well as a hard shell. I got a north face kishtwar, I had to get a friend in the states to ship it to me since the northface wouldn’t… they have no plans to sell it down under it was going to cost $600, they decided they wouldn’t sell enough.

[wayno]

backpacker magazine have done a review of four waterproof jackets
, reviewers gave their own rating of breathability based on their experience of using the jacket, several people reviewed each jacket
a goretex active shell had the highest breathability rating of 4.9
a columbia onmi dry got 4.3
the westcomb apoc neoshell got 4.7
a mountain hardware dryq got 4.2
bear in mind the active shell had the thinnest fabric which enhanced it's breathability
the westcomb was given the nod for the best all round jacket because of it's thicker fabric..

[wayno]

i was looking for the rab neoshell neostretch
i found a distributor in nz for rab and the stores that can order the neostretch
theRab Latok jacket is a similar cut to the neostretch for comparable sizing, it is a short jacket, i'm 5 11 and average build, the large was just big enough for me with a fleece underneath. because of that and the short length i prefered the XL size, all preference really I like loose shells.
nz stocksts of rab are
Snowcentre in Newmarket Auckland
Small Planet in Queenstown.
Outdoor Attitude in Taupo

Aus stocks http://rab.uk.com/stockists/internation ... =Australia

[Ent]

Hi

Great review Sthughes. Numerous debates have been had and will be had on the merits of long jacket versus shorter jackets combined with pants and the merits of the different fabrics. Such debates have more a religious fervour at times rather than accepting each to their own. It is just annoying that those of us that like long jackets that we have limited options at the moment. Even the much respected paddy Pallin Vista after over twenty years on the market has been removed and honestly it was not a 3/4 jacket unless you went a size or two up from what you normally wear or rather short to breath ratio in body make up. The Hollyford has reappeared at MacPac Launceston with the XXL sizing being available. Frankly it is not usefully longer (or probably even actually longer) than my PP Vista and Wilderness Wear jackets. Lets define usefully longer as covering my shorts like my old Japra did.

Why I like long jackets is twofold. A lot of Tassie rain comes through in fronts and it is much easier just to put a jacket on and take it off than muck around with pants every ten to twenty minutes. Besides on a wet track pushing through scrub your legs get drenched anyway. Plus to protect the pant legs you have to muck around with gaiters or expose the pant legs without the protection of gaiters. Only really wear the pants for wind protection or in snow and make that decision at the beginning of the day if at all possible to avoid changing. The second is size 49 boots mean it is very hard with a lot of pants to navigate the boot down the leg without covering the inside of the pants with mud. As for taking off and putting on boots this quickly loses it charm. Much easier to chuck on a jacket and then whip it off on the next hill if the rain stops.

As for the eVent versus Gore-tex versus other we are often more in the realm of marketing and personal opinion. I have quite a few jackets and in the search for a sub one kilogram outer rain shell that would not destruct at the first sign of scrub brought a Montane eVent jacket and Rab eVent pants very reasonably priced ex UK. I have my scrub special setup of a PP Vista and matching PP pants at around 1.3 kilograms. The Vista's DWR coating is excellent and the material is Gore-tex Proshell which gives brilliant strengths but with more flexibility than the Performance shell in the Gore-tex range. The DWR on the Montane is rather poor while on the Rab pants rather good. My wet weather gear generally used in cold weather so quite a significant temperature difference exists between inside the jacket and the outside. In these conditions honestly with the Rab eVent pants and the PP Gore-tex ones it is a dead heat on breathability. Both are very good. On jackets I will give it to the PP Vista probably because the jacket cut suits my body shape and the Montane's poor DWR means it is covered in a sheen of water while the PP Vista beads like mad.

The Hollyford is a a worthwhile attempt at filling a certain market segment but a longer and possibly slimmer fit especially around the waist would be great and some serious work needs to be done on the DWR coating. In fact the demise of the PP Vista means the Hollyford one of the few attempts at a long jacket in the hi end breathable fabric segment with a material grade tough enough for a bit of scrub work. By the looks of it, it is one of the few eVent jackets that comes in a tougher version of the material. One thing I like about the PP Vista is it use the one strength material through out so when pushing through scrub or skidding down wet rocks you have no weak points. The trade off is of course weight but having destroyed an expensive jacket before it is a trade-off that I am personally willing to make.

Cheers

[Nuts]

Goretex has a new fabric (has that been mentioned).. anyhow.. hey, what about short jacket and a matching skirt

[Stibb]

A skirt is actually a great idea + it can be used as a ground sheet or an outdoor kitchen cover too. sort of

[hikingoz]

The hollyford jacket is back on the Macpac website.

http://www.macpac.com.au/shop/en_au/gea ... ord-m.html

[Teej]

I've noticed several major problems with the macpac brand over the last 2 years. The DWR treatment on certain jackets has been low grade, the fabric durability on one prophet jacket design (since changed to much heavier taslanised fabric), and the general over-sizing (they have released an xsmall jacket to compensate). Most annoyingly is Macpac's seeming (and I say seeming as I'm yet to hear an explanation other than event breathability) blunt refusal to install pit zips on anything but their high end mountaineerin prophet......for when you're really sweating it up on K2 and need to get some nice cold........wait that doesn't make sense! Put some pit zips on the traverse at least, great though event is it's not a miracle, just an advance in a long line of breathable fabrics. These are not the kind of issues you expect when you see $500-$700 rrp on a jacket. I own a fair bit of macpac gear and would love to invest in one of their jackets should these issues be resolved.

[blacksheep]

pitzips are a solution to a problem that direct venting garments don't have! Have you tried one?

[norts]

Wouldnt extra venting be helpful when you jacket is dirty and you are still out bush and you wont be cleaning your jacket for a couple of weeks.
All the literature with your that I have seen is that Event needs to be washed regularly. Thats not always pratical,
When my Resolution jacket is nice and clean it breathes really well, but I am always trying to make sure it doesnt get dirty as the performance will drop. You dont want to be treating your bushwalking jacket with kid gloves.
Roger

[Nuts]

can I ask if you have reproofed your jacket Norts?, wondering how they go with Nikwax rather than macpac dwr..