Salomon’s running team has been using the S-Lab Light Jacket for a couple of years now and the company has decided to bring the jacket to the marketplace and make it available for all. Various prototypes of this light-weight windbreaker jacket has been used in ultra and mountain running circuits during the 2011/2012 seasons. The main purpose of the S-Lab Light Jacket is for wind breaking although it appears to be a jacket ideal for water resistance. The objective here is to create something extremely light weight and compact when not in use.
The S-Lab Light Jacket is so compact that you can fit it into your pocket once you bundle it up. The jacket uses nylon/polyamid fabric which is very thin and very light-weight with the jacket only weighing in at 70 grams. The fabric on the jacket is soft to the touch and features a full zip closure but don’t expect to carry anything as there are no pockets.
The keep the weight down, the S-Lab Light Jacket uses partial elastic hem and partial elastic cuffs. The jacket is available in translucent white and dark grey while both jackets come with a red zipper and red stitching. Unfortunately, the jacket does not feature any DWR (durable water resistant) coating which means rain and snow will eventually soak through the thin material. If you plan on hiking out on a wet and windy day, this jacket will at least keep the wind at bay and since it weighs next to nothing, bringing it along is not a hassle.
I’m no outdoors man or an avid hiker but I think the S-Lab Light Jacket would have more appeal if it featured some sort of water resistant coating and perhaps a hoodie. The ultra-light Salomon S-Lab Light Jacket will set you back $80 and can be purchased at Amazon. You folks over in Chicago should really look into this.
