KEELA Sherpa Jacket

Straight away I gain respect for this KEELA Sherpa Jacket as, having spent time in Nepal, I have great esteem for the Sherpas, writes Mike Gormley.

 

That said, I would have very much liked to have had the KEELA Sherpa with me when we trekked to Everest Base Camp. We would have had some better photos as well.

 

This is one of those really versatile jackets and has been my ‘go to’ jacket for some time now. Working very well as a standalone top for a trip to the pub on a chill evening or as a top/mid layer for days ‘on the hill’. Adding to the Sherpa’s versatility it has concealed zip-off arms so converts to a gillet if required.

 

As insulation KEELA have used Primaloft Gold which is about as good as it gets in this department. Not only providing warmth, it is also highly water-resistant in its own right. All this and it is extremely lightweight and packable. The outer shell is Flylite Ripstop. Even after a load of use it shows no signs of wear and it never ceases to amaze me how these modern fabrics put up with real use. Apparently frail and lightweight, they seem to put up with a lot of hard use and even resist the likes of brambles and hard brushes with unforgiving rocks. All this and the KEELA Sherpa is wind-resistant and amazingly water-resistant.

 

The jacket itself, which is available in Black, Red or Blue, has a very useful zipped chest pocket and two zipped side pockets. Drawcords are provided on hem and collar. There is a generous amount of cuff adjustment with rubberized Velcro tabs. Notably there is no hood on this jacket, but, KEELA separately offer a standalone Sherpa Convertible Hood which pairs with this and/or their Belay Jacket and it works well on its own.

 

The first day I had this jacket I went to a pub meet of our Moorland Training Group and had to be extremely mindful to ensure it was not ‘proffed’ by someone.

[ images © Jean or Mike Gormley ]