There's a bit of stretch to the outer fabric, and both sides of the jacket are soft to the touch and don't feel or sound too crinkly. In use you can instantly feel the difference between the two. Want to keep cool while working hard? Stick it on reversed, with the air permeable polyamide inner fabric on the outside, and you've a really well vented insulation piece. Want more warmth? Wear it the normal way round and the windproof Pertex Microlight layer is on the outside, allowing the insulation to work to the max. The most obvious feature of the Reversa, and the thing that sets this model apart, is its ability to be two different jackets in one. This low profile hood can be worn beneath a helmet instead, but it's not a great fit - particularly if the collar is zipped right up, when the helmet strap feels uncomfortably tight under the chin. It won't pull over a helmet readily, so the Reversa isn't great when worn in belay jacket mode. There's no volume adjustment or wire reinforcement, just a simple stretch rim, so in stormy weather the hood billows about. With the zip done up fully the collar rides up to mouth level to offer plenty of weather protection to the lower face however the rim of the hood sits high on the head, so unless you're wearing a hat underneath you do tend to get a cold forehead in windy conditions. The hood has a good sculpted shape that fits the head neatly. Thanks to some really good tailoring, and plenty of length in the sleeves, arm movement for climbing is very free and the jacket stays put beneath a rucksack hipbelt or harness, not tending to pull up when you raise your arms. Length in the hem is short-to-medium at the front, but drops lower at the rear to offer decent bum-and-kidney coverage. When things get wild, a shell on top is called for. However it also means that the jacket can billow in the wind a fair bit, and because there's no hem adjustment to cinch in tight - just a simple stretch binding - it's not the most storm-worthy of the jackets on test. The Reversa has a fairly roomy fit in the body - some might say boxy - which helps with fitting on top of other layers.
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