Mammut's Castor jacket is a waterproof / breathable Schoeller jacket with hood and pitzips. Features of this amazing piece include: 4 way stretch, Helmet compatible hood, Reinforced shoulders, 2 pockets and under-arm ventilation with spray-proof zips, Preshaped elbows and a tailored cut.
Fabric Schoeller Dynamic DRYtech Extreme 2 layer, bi-stretch, 52% Cordura (PA), 42% PA, 6% Elastan Schoeller Keprotec, 78% PA, 16% Kevlar, 6% PUE
STW - Feb 11, 2004 1:59 pm - Voted 4/5
Untitled ReviewThe first thing that struck me about this jacket was the softness of the exterior fabric. It is really soft and 'quiet.' It is also very stretchy. Seems even more stretchy than other soft shell jackets I've tried/worn. This combination of soft fabric and stretch makes the jacket a pleasure to wear and to climb/ski in. And, although it has a nice soft 'hand', it has held up extremely well. Very durable.
The other thing that struck me was the snug fit in the torso. The shoulders and arms are comfortably loose, but the torso and waist areas are quite snug. This is nice when climbing because there is no extra fabric flapping around blocking your view of the gear racked at your waist. It also works well tucked under your climbing harness. This might be a problem if you wanted to layer a lot under it in really cold weather.
It has two big handwarmer pockets, pit zips, one hidden vertical pocket, a nice hood (fits over my climbing helmet), micro-fleece chin warmer, keprotec reinforcements on the shoulders. A nice feature list without being too gadgety.
It is certainly not a 'lightweight' jacket, but it's not too heavy either. Its weight is in line with other rugged soft shell jackets.
And, you get the benefit of the fact that this soft shell is actually fully waterproof instead of just water-resistant. Downside is breathability. After a recent uphill slog with pack on a warm day, the interior of the jacket was pretty wet. Now that would be the case with any w/b shell, but I was hoping for better breathability out of this jacket (pit zips help, but don't solve the problem). It is not as breathable as my Patagonia Dimension jacket for example. But the Dimension jacket is not waterproof (no w/b membrane). So, it's not rocket science. When you add a waterproof/breathable membrane to a garment, you loose breathability but gain waterproofness.
One minor complaint: it uses a 2-layer construction. That is, it has a separate, floating mesh liner inside. I prefer 3-layer construction (bonding the protective liner to the fabric to form a sandwich). It's not a huge problem. I can certainly live with it.
All in all, a very impressive, functional, bomb-proof alpine shell. Outstanding comfort, waterproofness and wearability while climbing/skiing.