Paramo Aspira, Love or Hate?

There aren’t many words in relation to outdoor clothing that will evoke as much reaction as ‘Paramo’ when mentioned in facebook groups and forums alike. Some seem to love it and others wouldn’t be seen (they definitely wouldn’t be heard in it, but more on that later) dead in the stuff. I sit in the former category but it does have it’s limitations and depending on the activity, may not be my first choice.

For those that don’t know Paramo is a UK based company that make all different types of outdoor clothing but they are most know for their different take on creating waterproof layers. They don’t rely on using a waterproof membrane such as Gore-tex or Pertex Shield to keep moisture out, they instead use Nikwax’s Analogy fabrics to keep you feeling dry. Now I said keep you feeling dry as opposed to keep moisture out because in my experience it’s almost inevitable some moisture will make it through to the inside of the garment, but on the rare occasion this does happen due to how the Paramo system works its rarely a problem.

The Analogy fabrics works in a similar manor to animal fur, it priorities managing moisture in liquid form as opposed to water vapour. This leads to a much more efficient transfer of moisture out and away from the garment from moisture coming from both the inside (sweat) and outside (rain, snow, waterfalls..). The fabrics use a layer of extremely hydrophobic fabric to effectively ‘pump’ moisture out of the garment whilst maintaining excellent breathability. This differs from membranes such as Gore-tex that require moisture to be turned into water vapour for it to pass through the garment to the outside. A real world application of all this is if you were wearing a wet t-shirt (either from rain or sweat) and then put a Gore-tex type jacket over the top and walked around for a bit, then repeat the test with a Paramo jacket, the t-shirt under the Paramo will be dryer than the one under the Gore-tex 95% of the time. Anyway, if you want to read more on the technologies used by Paramo, follow this link.

The Aspira smock is discontinued by Paramo but it is probably most similar to the classic Veltz Adventure smock that’s still available. The fit is definitely on the larger size, I have size large and could easily fit a medium. The cut is nice and long in the body, it easily reaches the tops of my thighs and dips even further down the back of my legs too. The cut also allows good movement, not quite as good as a specific high output jacket but still good enough to not ride up or feel restrictive. It also features adjustments at the waist and hem to fine tune the fit. The sleeves are a great length for me but are a little wide and can flap in the wind - especially with the arm vents open. The adjustable cuffs are great and feature a tunnel construction to provide a very neat look when open and the press studs plus velcro add security when tightened.

Now for the important bit, does it keep me dry? The answer is yes… most of the time. Through the 2 and bit years I’ve had this I’ve found 2 factors that will lead to me feeling moisture coming through, they are; being stationary in heavy rain and wearing a heavy heavy rucksack for long periods in very heavy rain. If you’re after a jacket to stand around in and keep you dry all day then I’d probably recommend you look at something that features a membrane or if you’re really stationary, a rubber type waterproof worn by fishermen.

I’ve found the Analogy fabrics to perform best when I’m moving pretty consistently, this can be stop/start activity too like filming on the fells but there needs to be some sort of movement to keep the moisture moving out the smock. It’s great on those ‘4 seasons in a day’ days as it breathes as well as a soft-shell type garment but is a lot more weather proof, so you don’t have to keep stopping to take it off and then put it back on. This is good because it also stops you carrying it in your pack because its not a light jacket by any means, especially when compared to membraned waterproofs. However, the weight is slightly justified by it effectively being a hard and soft shell in one (plus a warm layer at a push in the summer months due to its thickness), but yeah definitely not one for the ultralight folks out there.

Aside from its moisture management another major plus of Paramo’s tech is the smock is virtually silent to move in. The outer fabrics are hard wearing but woven in a way they remain soft and supple and with no membrane providing that crinkly sound you can move around very quietly. This was one of the major selling points for me as I wanted an outer layer for photographing wildlife in, something that with the additions Andy Rouse has added for this edition (mainly the reinforced forearms for leaning on damp logs and walls when taking pictures or chatting shite out on the fells) it performs brilliantly at. The drab colour schemes and silent fabric has meant Paramo has been a favourite of wildlife watchers for years, plus any heavy prolonged rain normally means tea and cake in a cosy wildlife hide.

I have had my Paramo on in some pretty wet and wild conditions and its performed brilliantly, a day at Eyecott Hill nature reserve springs to mind, a full 5 hours of that classic Lake District autumnal horizontal rain later and I was greeted to a bone dry fleece when I took it off in the car.

The hood on the Aspira is brilliant, it has great coverage and can be configured in different ways to prioritise coverage or visibility. It can also be rolled away and you can squeeze a helmet under it too if you have a small head. The chest pouch is huge and great for items such as a map or gloves, it will also comfortably take heavy items such as a spare lens or binoculars without feeling unbalanced. This pocket isn’t the most waterproof though, it only features a standard zip all be it with a storm flap (all the zips on the smock are non-waterproof so you will get slight ingress all over but I’ve found this moisture is quickly dealt with).

One thing I would like would be addition of hand pockets on the outside of the smock, just to help keep the wind off my hands without needing gloves or for dog treats. The hand pockets on the Aspira are inside the jacket and are access through the main side zips via a 2 zip system. I’ve found this means items in these pockets do stay dry but to access them you have to ‘break the seal’ of the jacket which can allow rain and especially wind into the smock. The smock does feature 2 chest pocket that are great for storing smaller items such as a compass or camera batteries, they feature plastic tabs and velcro closures, you can easily attach cord to the tabs for important items such as keys or compass.

Something to bear in mind with the Aspria and Paramo in general is that too keep them working as they should you need to regularly wash and reapply the DWR to the fabric. The DWR is key to the jacket working as it should and stopping the moisture management layer getting overwhelmed, I typically reproof every two months with the wash in Nikwax products. Another benefit of the Analogy system is the fact it can be easily repaired, with no membrane to fail you simply tightly sew up any rips or tears and the fabric continues to work as it should.

Overall I would recommend the Aspria to anyone looking for a general walking jacket that’s very versatile and keeps you dry. Yes there are better jackets out there for more high output, mountaineering focused endeavours but there’s a reason you’ll see a large majority of the The Ramblers groups out there still clad in their early 2000s Paramos.