Helly Hansen Men’s Ekolab Jacket,White/Steel, Large
- 3-layer waterproof breathable protection with fully taped seams
- Oko-tex certified Helly Tech XP
- Pit zips
- Powder skirt
- Includes 2 for 1 lift ticket (see product description for list of participating resorts)
Product Description
ekolab is Helly Hansen’s R&D project addressing environmental sustainability. The Ekolab Jacket top grade Helly Tech construction with a new PU membrane that eliminates the need for PTFE, fluorocarbon-free DWR coatings, … More >>
Helly Hansen launched the Ekolab R&D project in 2008 to try out new ideas, discover ways to address environmental sustainability and reduce its impact on the planet. They eliminated harmful PTFE from the waterproof breathable membranes, introduced fluorocarbon-free DWR coatings, incorporated recycled fabrics and pursued minimalist design practices that reduce the need for excess resources. The Ekolab collection is the starting point for the company’s long-term environmental initiative.
The Ekolab jacket is constructed with a 3 layer waterproof breathable Helly Tech® econylon fabric that is colored with environmentally sensitive dyes. Performance features like pit zips were incorporated without adding any unnecessary metal and plastic parts. Other features include a Powder skirt, an Attached Hood and Water resistant zippers.
In all honesty I wasn’t even in the market for a winter jacket as I just purchased 2 new winter jackets during the latest Patagonia sale however I just cant say no to amazing deals and Amazon had this jacket on sale for amazing price. I was actually unaware of Helly’s Ekolab line before I purchased this jacket. I am very serious about the environment so the fact that this jacket was apart of Helly’s environmentally friendly line was really one of the main reasons I pulled the trigger. I was extremely impressed with the fact that this jacket has a fluorocarbon-free DWR as its extremely hard to find jackets that have fluorocarbon-free coatings.
As for the jackets performance, I haven’t had a chance to really give it a serious test however it appears to be a first rate jacket in every possible way. I did give it the shower test and it passed with flying colors as it kept me perfectly dry. Its getting colder by the day now so ill have a chance to really test it out very soon and ill update this review once I am able to do that.
Bottom line – A first rate, Environmentally sound jacket that also looks great. It has all of the features one looks for in a high quality winter jacket.
Edit….
I have now had a chance to really put this jacket to the test as I just spent 8 days visiting one of my friends out in Golden Colorado and we spent most of that time hiking in the Rockies. I took 2 jackets with me, My Patagonia Primo Down jacket and my HH Ekolab jacket with an Ibex Mid Layer. Overall this really is an outstanding jacket but I have adjusted my review score from a 5 star to a 4 star rating as this jacket does have one thing going against it. It simply doesn’t breath as well as a lot of other jackets on the market. This wouldn’t be as much of an issue skiing but hiking is a different story. There were a couple of occasions where the inside of my jacket really became quite clammy. Unfortunately this jackets small pit zips simply weren’t enough to cycle out that humid air. Dont get me wrong the pit zips help, they just didn’t completely solve the problem as even with the pit zips open there were times when it was still clammy.
While letting moisture out is definitely one of this jackets weak points, keeping moisture out is definitely one of this jackets strong points. There were a couple days where the conditions were just wet. It went from snowing to raining to snowing to raining all day long. This jacket performed remarkably well as it kept me bone dry the entire time. This was actually one of the things I was worried about since the jacket doesn’t use a traditional DWR coating. Well no more worries as again it was flawless in this regard.
The bottom line – While I did revise my overall score for this jacket, I still consider it an outstanding jacket. It just doesn’t breath as well as I had hoped. If this characteristic is extremely important to you then you might want to look as something else or make sure you wear wool as a base layer and keep those pit zips open!
4 Stars
Rating: 4 / 5
I would recommend this jacket. I usually like Helly products as they are well designed and crafted. I have the white version of this coat and it gets dirty easily.
Rating: 4 / 5