Kathmandu Surna XT Hooded Fleece Review

The Surna XT Women's Hooded Technical Performance Jacket is a fleece from Kathmandu. Designed for wind resistance and effective moisture management, it's a technical jacket made from high performance materials with challenging, changeable conditions and alpine adventurers in mind.

Though less well known in the UK until recently, Kathmandu are of Australian origin and pride themselves on the innovative use of materials that allow outdoor adventurers and travellers the freedom to explore without unnecessary bulk.

I took my Surna XT Jacket off for a two-week trial in the Swiss Alps. With alpine walking, sledging, cross-country and downhill skiing planned in deep snow and sub-zero temperatures, the trip promised to be a sound test of the Surna's technical credentials.

The first thing that strikes you about the Surna XT jacket is its colour. Currently only available in 'Malibu Blue', the jacket is an intense, vibrant colour. This is very much in keeping with the zesty, bold shades so in vogue right now for running, cycling and other technical sportswear, although if you based a purchase on the softer ice blue shade of the main image on Kathmandu's website you might be disappointed.

Luckily I loved it!

The outer shell of the jacket is covered in a subtle grey 'X' print in reference no doubt to its place in Kathmandu's technical X series of clothing. I'm not normally one for prominent branding but the pattern is discreet and adds style where other brands might typically opt for bland block colours in contrasting sections.

Putting on the Surna XT jacket for the first time felt a like slipping on a soft, fleecey skin. From the smooth, abrasion-resistant outer to the flat taped zips, barely-there pocket openings and minimalistic seams, everything flows together well.

Close fitting cuffs with thumb loops to keep the jacket in place, an adjustable hem, and the main zip continuing up into the integrated hood to allow it to fit snuggly around the face and neck all help to exclude drafts and contour the jacket to your body.

The tailoring makes for a clean, comfortable fit, although for some reason my photos don't show the jacket looking quite as fitted as it felt. I found it clung a bit more than I had expected around the chest, although not to the extent of it being uncomfortable or poor fitting.

If you are very curvy on the bust and are intending to do much layering under the jacket, then I would recommend considering a size up from normal.

Putting anything in the concealed but surprisingly spacious mesh pockets was a small gripe. Tissues or a compass were OK, but storing my phone or anything larger made the jacket lose its figure hugging, streamline shape by dragging it down.

The rest of the jacket fitted well though, even when padded out underneath with those extra layers that bad weather days require.

For the environmentally minded, the Surna XT jacket also has solid green credentials, with 50% of its fleece coming from recycled plastic bottles. Fleeces are traditionally fairly petrochemical intensive so this is a step in the right direction, although of course they still require fossil fuels in their manufacture.

Before I even made it as far as Switzerland the Surna XT jacket was making a positive impression.

At around 500g it is fairly lightweight for a fleece jacket offering such a long list of outer-layer credentials and an integrated hood. Inevitably it is not quite as light as sole-purpose garments such as a standard pull-over mid-layer fleece, or a non-insulated wind-proof shell.

I was grateful for lack of excess weight and bulk when despairing over my bulging plane luggage though. It folds smaller than a traditional fleece, though a concealed stowing pocket would have helped to compress it further.

In Switzerland we were met with thigh-high snow and post-breakfast temperatures of -10°C. The Surna jacket held its own despite the freezing temperatures. Out walking at these kind of temperatures I layered it with a thermal base and a mid fleece half-zip layer underneath. The jacket was effective against wind chill, and when keeping moving, worked well without any additional outer.

During the second week of our stay, the weather changed to bright sunshine and balmy temperatures a few degrees either side of zero. During these conditions I got away with just a good thermal base layer under the jacket, even when standing still for two hours to watch a local carnival parade!

On any particularly bitter days I added an extra outer layer and used the Surna jacket as a mid-layer. The high collar and close fitting hood did make me look a little like a blue penguin when it was up, but importantly were great at keeping my neck and head covered and warm without need for a balaclava or Buff.

The clever way that the material for the hood has been cut eliminates a number of issues I've found with other jackets, such as exposed skin, a hood that refuses to stay in place, or an overly constrictive zip finish at the neck.

The Surna XT performed particularly well when used for aerobic outings. It's definitely a garment you need when hiking uphill in cold temperatures - when you are working up a sweat and need to strip off any extra outer layer but can't afford to get chilled.

I can see myself using the Surna just as much for summer mountain hikes as I can for future winter snow trips.

The jacket also performed well as an outer layer for cross-country skiing, giving the sport-specific Odlo shell I borrowed as a comparison a run for its money.

The Surna XT was warmer with its soft fleecey lining, and dealt well with the physically intensive moisture management demands of cross-country skiing. The Odlo had the edge in terms of ease of movement on the arms and waterproofing. But having said that, I wouldn't wear the Odlo cross-country jacket for mountain walking.

The Surna achieves much of its wind-proofing through the use of Polartec® Wind Pro® technology which works by using a highly compact knit of the yarns in the fleece. This creates wind-proofing up to four times more effective than a normal fleece, and because the yarn does not have to be specially treated by laminating it, the jacket keep around 85% of its breathability.

The use of Polartec fabric also helps give the jacket its resistance to water and snow. It's not a jacket that would stand up to torrential rain, but if you got caught out in a light shower you'd be OK. In a downpour you'd have long enough to dig your waterproof shell out your bag.

The fleece stood up against light snow showers and, on our return to the UK, kept me dry in the drizzley rain that welcomed us home. Any exposure to damp generally resulted in droplets forming on the hydrophobic hard-shell of the Surna which you could just brush off.

The jacket also out pretty quickly once out of the elements – a great feature for multi-activity days.

The addition of a Polartec® Hardface® treatment on the outside helps enhance the water resistance of the jacket. It's this coating which gives the Surna its strokeably smooth outer finish - and kept the jacket free from snags and bobbles caused by abrasion from rucksack straps and carrying skis. It also magically kept dirt at bay.

After two weeks of near constant use, my jacket's outer remained looking pristine. Sadly, the narrow grey piped edges on the cuff and around the thumb holes did not fare quite so well. Those areas looked a bit well-worn and bobbly by the end of our trip but, on the upside, the choice of grey for the seams did mean they hid the dirt pretty well!

Talking of dirt... the obligatory post-trip laundry cycle saw my jacket coming out none the worse for its freshen up. A machine wash at 30°C (without fabric conditioner) and a quick line-dry and my jacket was ready to go again in half a day.

Overall, the Surna XT jacket is a versatile layer which I have used just as much for short walks and trips into town in the UK since I got back as I did in the Swiss Alps. It is good for tackling changeable conditions and is particularly useful when you need good protection against wind chill without excessive layering or bulk.

The Surna's £129 price tag makes it a considered purchase, but there are only a few very similar items on the market – notably Rab's Shadow Hoodie fleece which retails at £140 and also incorporates both the Polartec® Hardface® and Polartec® Wind Pro® technology.

The pocket zips on the Rab jacket are positioned vertically rather than horizontally which may help with stowing heavier items like a torch or phone but otherwise there's not much to justify the extra cost of the Rab model.

There are cheaper fleeces offering some degree of wind-proofing on the market but these tend to be much more bulky and heavy. Even amongst the same price bracket the Surna holds clear advantages. For instance, the Taiga fleece from Paramo retails at £145 and has the advantage of large pockets designed to fit an OS Map. It weighs 790g though - around 400g heavier than the Surna - and is nowhere near as sleek and good looking. It also relies on an external coating for its wind-proofing.

Of course, those on a budget could opt for the traditional layering route. A good quality breathable mid-layer fleece jacket retails for between £50 and £90. Add a good quality waterproof and windproof shell and perhaps an extra base layer, and you could bypass the Surna. Given no self-respecting outdoors enthusiast would leave the house without a good quality waterproof shell anyway, going the traditional route is perhaps more economical.

What you'll be missing out on though is the versatility the Surna XT jacket offers. The extra time and convenience of not having to stop and switch layers on and off as conditions change, and the extra room in your backpack.

If you're abroad then you also gain a good-looking high-performance coat which can double up for casual use about town and through the airport. I'm a fan.