Thursday, 01 May 2014 12:12

Keela Zenita Pro Jacket

Written by Fiona Outdoors

The Keela Zenita Pro jacket sits in the softshell department, which makes it ideal for cold but mostly dry conditions. This makes it a good outer layer in dry weather or a mid-layer for wet conditions.

Keela say: “Using our redeveloped AirXtream fabric with fleece backing the Zenita is lightweight, breathable and weather resistant jacket making it the perfect all-round softshell.”

On first try on, the jacket scores very well on looks. It is nicely shaped for the female physique but without being overly tight. The jacket comes in red or black. The red is very bright and would make a perfect winter hill or mountains jacket. The black jacket would serve well for walking to the office or pub, as it looks a bit more casual smart.

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The jacket feels fairly light to wear. It’s not so light that it is flimsy and offers confidence in term soft wind and weather proofing. This is a jacket that will stand the rigours of being outdoors. The outer fabric feels hard wearing, while the lining is made of a strong but soft fleece.

And the jacket works well in cold conditions. I had a couple of long-sleeved merino wool baselayers underneath. On a dry wintry day I walked uphill and felt comfortably warm and unsweaty. The fabric is claimed as breathable and I found it was.

When I reached higher levels and it started to spit rain, the Keela jacket kept the wet out. Heavier rain and snow at the summit forced me to add a waterproof outer but I spent the majority of the day very comfortable in the Keela Zenita softshell jacket.

Other features that I like include:

·      One-handed drawcord at hem

·      Concealed hip pockets

·      Zipped Chest Pocket

·      Velcro adjustable cuffs

This is a versatile jacket and one that has been carefully designed. It’s a good score for the outdoors clothing company based in Scotland that uses Mountain rescue teams etc to test their products.

Price £64.95 from Keela



Note: This article was restored from the archives. It's published creation date is inaccurate.