Mountain Equipment Squall Hooded
J.C. Dubeau on Gold Rush, a classic Western Maine mixed climbing test piece.
Overall Rating: ★★★★★
MSRP: $189.95 USD
Manufacturer: Mountain Equipment
Would I purchase this product again? Yes
Is this something I keep in my day-to-day kit? Yes
Review:
The Squall is a piece of the kit that I got for last season to be my dedicated jacket for those hard mixed leads where you need a full range of motion, but you’ll probably also get a bit wet, so the softshell fabric is a perfect choice. Because the jacket is such a good fit and a decent weight I found myself bringing it out for lots of ski touring days, and then have kept it in rotation for those chilly alpine climbing days through the summer. Now that we’re coming into fall here in New England, I find myself throwing it in the pack as well!
I think for those people that are tall and rather trim the Mountain Equipment lineup is a great choice to consider. That’s my body type so I’m definitely finding myself looking at some more Mountain Equipment pieces for next season! The Squall comes in a few different colors, I have it in a mustard color (appears discontinued for this season) and J.C. has it in Cardinal Orange (pictured above).
Pros & Cons:
Pros:
Tall enough that it stays tucked into your harness.
Packable in the chest pocket, with a clipping loop for your harness.
Offset sleeve cuff length helps to keep extra material away from your thumb while climbing.
CONS:
A double zipper seems unnecessary on this piece. I’ve found the bottom zip sometimes comes up a bit and occasionally makes it a little wonky to get the jacket off.
Getting the jacket into the storage pocket is a little finicky, it’s not as quick to store as I would like.
Nitty Gritty Details:
Weight: 320g
Size: Large
Material:EXOLITE 125 stretch double weave soft shell fabric with FC free DWR
Durability:9/10
Final thoughts:
I really like this piece as a lightweight softshell, previously I’ve done a lot of my hardest winter leads in a hardshell jacket, which just feels a little overkill when it’s not one of those super wet days. I also like that this jacket has held up a lot better than most of my hard shells have with abrasion resistance from the rough granite. If the Mountian Equipment fit feels right to you, then I would definitely recommend looking for one of these jackets!
