Fjallraven Abisko Lite Jacket Review

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When it comes to jackets for the autumn and winter months, I’m all set. I’ve got jackets for snowy days in the mountains, jackets for rainy days and jackets for those days when there are gale force winds on the summits. In fact, I’ve got so many jackets for the colder months that I once arrived home to find that my wall-mounted coat rack had fallen from the wall due to the weight on it, taking a huge chunk of plasterboard and two very large screws with it.

It’s fair to say that I’m quite a fan of buying jackets for the winter months.

When it comes to summer, however, I’ve never really found the right jacket. We all like to think that we’re not really going to need a jacket for summer adventures. We daydream of endless blue skies and perfect hiking temperatures. But, I know that’s not going to happen. A summer jacket needs to be unbelievably versatile to cope with a typical British summer. It needs to be warm enough to keep me warm on a chilly morning or a wind-swept summit, but cool enough that it can actually be worn while being active. It needs to be water-resistant enough to deal with a sudden summer downpour, but breathable enough to deal with a sweaty stomp up a steep incline, and it needs to be windproof enough to deal with a summit gale, all while keeping you ventilated.

It’s a big ask to find a jacket that matches all of those requirements, which is why I’ve never found the perfect summer jacket. Until now…

Enter the Fjallraven Abisko Lite Trekking Jacket.

Features

• Durable, wind- and water-resistant G-1000 Lite Eco.
• Ventilating sections in stretch fabric over the back and under the arms.
• Spacious hand pockets with zippers.
• Adjustable hood.
• Velcro adjustments at the cuffs and drawcord at the hem.

Fjallraven Abisko Lite Jacket Review

For the last month, I’ve been wearing the Fjallraven Abisko Lite jacket for every walk that I’ve been on. I’ve worn it on frosty mornings and sunny afternoons. I’ve been caught in sudden downpours, battered by gale-force winds, and I’ve even been pelted by pea-sized hailstones in it. It’s safe to say after all of that, that this will now be my ‘go-to’ jacket until at least October.

Somehow, this jacket manages to keep me warm when it’s cold but cool when it’s warm; and dry when it’s raining but ventilated when I’m active.

The combination of G-1000 lite fabric and stretch fabric has created a jacket that gives great versatility. As with all of Fjallraven’s G-1000 products, you just know from the second that you pick it up that you are dealing with a high-quality item. The material is going to be incredibly durable and long-lasting. It’s the kind of jacket that you can stuff into a backpack when it gets too warm, be pulled out when it starts raining, scuffed against rocks when scrambling and rolled up and used as a pillow when camping.

It’s made to be a part of your adventures for many years, but with a price tag of around £245, it needs to be. Of course, it’s hard for me to comment on the longevity of this jacket having only had it for a month, but I can definitely recognise the quality of the material and will expect it to last many years without a problem.

It’s Fjallraven’s G-1000 lite fabric that makes this jacket so good. As well as being lightweight and tough-wearing, the fabric can also be treated with Greenland Wax to add additional protection from the elements. This isn’t something that I’ve tried yet, but it’s good to know that I have the option if I’m going to be heading out into some bad weather and want to give myself some peace of mind that the jacket will keep me dry.

The Bottom Line

At £245 for a summer jacket, this isn’t going to be for everyone. But, if you’re after a hardwearing jacket that is going to be versatile enough to deal with everything that a typical summer adventure can throw at you, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better jacket than this one. It’s warm enough to throw on when you reach a windy summit, but not so warm that you wouldn’t want to put it on on a summer day. It’s water-resistant for those summer downpours and can be treated with wax for even more protection.

It’s just a great all-round jacket and there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s the only one I’ll need this summer.