Fjallraven Keb Eco-Shell Jacket Evaluation

Specs at a Look

• Greatest Use: Trekking, Backpacking, Backcountry Snowboarding, Climbing
• Materials: 100% polyester/local weather compensated – 3-layer Eco-Shell
• Breathability: 26,000 g/m2/24h
• Water Column: 30,000 mm
• Waterproofing: PFC free DWR on outer, Aquaguard zippers, welded material seams
• Pockets: 2 Napoleon chest pockets with inside cellphone safety holders, 1 higher arm, 1 inside mesh
• Hood: Absolutely adjustable, helmet-compatible, visor wire
• Air flow: Torso aspect zips
• Weight: 21 oz

Jacket Reduce and Match

The Keb Eco-Shell is hard the place it must be and supple in all places else.  The jacket has an athletic match that layers nicely.  It doesn’t really feel clammy in opposition to naked pores and skin, it doesn’t crinkle while you transfer, and in lots of respects feels extra like a shirt than a jacket. Each seam within the jacket is welded or seam-taped and the again of the neck and chin areas are lined. The Keb has adjustable Velcro cuffs on the wrists so you’ll be able to slide the arms as much as the elbows for added air flow, whereas a drawcord wire waist and drop hem permits you to seal out drafts from under.

Hood and Excessive Collar

What makes the Keb Eco-Shell really particular is its fully-featured hood. Whereas it’s helmet-compatible, it has a rear quantity adjuster and neck toggles so you’ll be able to fine-tune the match even in the event you don’t put on one. The hood has a wire brim to maintain rain, snow, and wind out of your eyes, a function that’s not often discovered on US-made arduous shells and extra widespread on European ones. The excessive collar supplies superior wind safety when it’s not raining and means that you can let off some warmth by the highest of your head whereas conserving your collar space, chin, and your whole neck heat and protected against the weather.

Torso Zips

Whereas the Keb has top-notch breathability and waterproof specs, it additionally comes with aspect torso zips that you should use to shed extra physique warmth while you’re working arduous. These run from the waist all the way in which to the underside of your armpits. Perspiration can shortly overwhelm the flexibility of any breathable jacket to vent water vapor in the event you’re backpacking, ice-climbing or skinning up a mountain, so having vents like these is crucial for self-regulating your warmth output.

Napolean Pockets

There are two very massive Napoleon pockets on the chest which might be bellowed to extend their quantity so you’ll be able to carry maps, meals, further gloves, hats, climbing skins, and electronics in them. Napoleon pockets are nice as a result of they don’t intrude with a backpack hip belt or climbing harness. Every of the pockets additionally has a mesh interior pocket massive sufficient to carry a cellular phone, a pleasant contact that doesn’t favor right-handed or left-handed folks over each other.

The Keb additionally has a small pocket on the left higher arm that’s large enough to suit a small knife, automobile keys, compass or ski go. A big inside mesh pocket additionally comes with headphone ports.

Zippers and Pull Tabs

The jacket comes with waterproof Aquaguard zippers and pull tabs to allow them to be opened and closed whereas carrying gloves. I respect this consideration to element and

Fjallraven’s Eco-Shell Material

Eco-Shell is a 3-layer waterproof/breathable material that’s easy, light-weight, mushy to the contact, and really stretchy. It’s coated with a PFC-free DWR that repels water, rain, or snow from the face of the material. All Eco-shell merchandise are made with recycled polyester and the manufacturing and distribution course of is local weather compensated to offset the inexperienced fuel emissions related to its manufacture.

Efficiency within the Area

Since I’ve owned this jacket for over a 12 months, I’ve been in a position to area check it in all 4 seasons, and I’ve discovered that it may possibly successfully deal with excessive swings in temperature and climate – scorching to chilly, cool to heat, excessive winds, rain, sleet, snow…

• Within the Winter, I exploit this jacket for all of my out of doors actions like snowboarding, climbing, and snowshoeing.  Whether or not the temp is frigid minus 20F or 36F levels and melting, the Eco-Shell adapts nicely over thicker layers.
• In the course of the Spring and Fall shoulder seasons when the temps fluctuate from scorching to chilly and again once more and rain turns to snow, sleet, or simply stinging wind in your face and fog, the Eco-Shell shortly adjusts to altering wants for heat and moist safety.
• And within the Summer time, when it’s hotter however heavy rains can carry a chill, the Eco-Shell breathes whereas conserving you dry over the thinnest of base layers.

Suggestion

Fjallraven’s Keb Eco-Shell is a 4-season hardshell jacket that checks all of the bins a tough shell ought to verify and really excels in changeable climate in technical backcountry conditions. Produced from a 3-layer recycled polyester material, the Eco-Shell is local weather compensated, light-weight, mushy to the contact, stretchy, and adaptable. With a hood that adjusts to any head or helmet, aspect air flow zippers, adjustable cuffs, and enormous pockets the place you want them, the Eco-Shell supplies extremely breathable waterproof safety from the wind, snow, and the rain.

Disclosure: The writer owns this jacket.

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