Comments on Lafuma Product , tested during December Introduction Weekend

Adrian Yeo tested Lafuma's Active Vest, a sleeveless windbreaker vest during the recent Introduction Weekend. He gives the positives and negatives about the jacket, starting with his sweat:


Prior to putting on the vest, I had been sweating from the morning activities. I just put on the vest with my slightly damp t-shirt below. After the hike, I found that both the vest and the t-shirt dried. Even after the drizzle.

This proves one thing that the vapour from my damp tee managed to escape through the vest. It rained a little during the 8-hour hike and the vest still kept me dry. Good point. WindActive© worked well in Malaysian jungle.

The cutting around the arms was near perfect. Not too low and not too tight, just right. I did not experience any resistance throughout the hike up Bukit Kutu, with all the tree hugging and branch swaying action.

Even for a first trial wear on an 8-hour hike, I did not have any irritation I used to get from other new tops. Those neck labels, cloth hooks and etc, were all well positioned thus irritation free.

The logo was reflective material and I liked the apple green colour. Good colour selection, this colour will sell!

The little soft pully/tightening lock system made of foam was a downside. Firstly it looked 'cheap'. And once when I tried to tighten the lock, I burnt my finger, dragging them along the string (rather than holding on to the soft foam, my bad). Definitely improvement needed in this area to be idiot-proof. Possibly a bigger foam or a plastic lock? Good on the light weight and minus the annoying plastic "nut" feel but the foam just ain't the answer.

The pouch, another question here. Is it supposed to slip through your belt? What's the two loop hole on the pouch for? Who wears a belt for outdoors anyway? (Mine's a cloth type.) Again, it makes the product look cheap and reduces the appeal. [Lafuma claried that the pouch is an additional accessory. The vest can be folded and stored in the pouch for easy storage when not in use.]

To complete the test drive, I brought the vest home and threw it into the laundry basket together with the other camp clothing for a tough consumer test - my mum's laundry test. Two days later I found the vest in my cabinet and I inspected it closely.

After just one machine wash, the lock system was again the culprit as it began to fray. The threading for the pouch also frayed after the first wash. But the vest itself came back in good condition. It survived my mum's test.

So overall, in terms of function, this vest performed well for my usage throughout the IW. It kept me and my clothing dry despite the drizzle and dampness. It was irritation and resistance free, though room for improvement on the lock system and pouch. But mum will be happiest with the ease of washing.


[Besides the Active Vest, Lafuma also has a full sleeve Active Hood Jacket. For more information on Lafuma products, visit http://www.lafuma.com.my/]