Klättermusen Allgrön 2.0 jacket review: a premium three-layer waterproof shell with green credentials

First impressions

The Klättermusen Allgrön 2.0 jacket comes in a number of colors, but all of them green… ecologically speaking, that is. Many Scandinavian outdoor brands are known for their focus on producing sustainable gear, and Swedish climbing brand Klättermusen (the name translates as ‘climbing mouse’) is no exception.

Their Allgrön 2.0 waterproof jacket utilises a bluesign-approved and fluorocarbon-free 3-layer Cutan fabric, which is made from 50% Ultramid biomass balanced nylon. So, despite being a petrochemical-derived synthetic fibre, the nylon is at least partially produced using renewable resources, namely bio-naphtha or biogas derived from organic waste or vegetable oil. This considerably lessens the environmental impact of the production process and of the finished garment. Bluesign approval also guarantees responsible and sustainable manufacturing throughout the supply chain.

Lastly, that fluorocarbon-free promise should alleviate concerns about the presence of potentially harmful PFCs, which have been shown to be persistent in (and damaging to) the environment. Most brands are now phasing them out, though they are still present in the DWR (durable water repellent) factory finishes used on many waterproof jackets.

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Basically, this means the Allgrön 2.0 is a jacket that not only looks good but you can feel pretty good – or at least better – about wearing it too. And it certainly does look good, with a clean and unfussy design that offers both technical prowess and contemporary, understated Scandinavian style.

The jacket offers plenty of practical features too, from the voluminous helmet-compatible hood to the two-way main zip, which is backed with both internal and external storm flaps. Build quality is similarly solid. It feels robust and well-made, employing high-performance components. The fabric has a lab-tested performance in excess of 20k/20k hydrostatic head and moisture vapour transmission rate respectively; the industry standards for waterproofing and breathability. This compares favourably with most in-house PU-based membranes from the big outdoor brands and isn’t far off Gore-Tex numbers either.

When it comes to fit, this jacket has a fairly trim cut with plenty of length in the arms and torso, which will suit lean, rangy climber types. It also allows you to stretch for holds when climbing and scrambling without any hem lift or the cuffs riding up. In fact, flexibility and overall freedom of movement are excellent, helped by the slight stretch in the fabric. It’s a pretty impressive bit of kit, which seems to merit its premium price.

In the field

The Klättermusen Allgrön 2.0 feels reassuringly protective, and it certainly did its job of keeping us dry in some pretty fierce conditions up in North Wales. The softer fabric doesn’t quite have the armour-like stiffness of a Gore-Tex Pro shell, but it is still completely windproof and is also far quieter than most three-layer fabrics, with minimal swish and rustle.

Thanks to the huge two-way pit zips and mesh-lined pockets, it also offers good ventilation, allowing you to dump heat and excess moisture if you’re working hard. This offsets the somewhat limited breathability of the fabric. Don’t get us wrong, it’s as good as most others out there, but in our experience didn’t perform quite as well in terms of clearing that sweaty fug as fast as premium three-layer fabrics like eVent or Polartec Neoshell.

It’s an extremely comfortable jacket to wear, though. It looks and feels almost like a softshell, and if it weren’t for the taped seams throughout, you might not know this isn’t the case. We particularly appreciated the fabric’s in-built stretch when scrambling up gullies and navigating steep ground on a classic ‘big hill day’ in the Moelwynion range of central Snowdonia.

Otherwise, the jacket nails most of the features required of a technical shell. It has two large hand pockets, placed high enough so as not to obstruct a climbing harness or rucksack hip belt. They’re big enough to take an OS map or chunky winter gloves too. There’s also a zipped inner stretch mesh pocket. The two-way main zip makes it easy to get to aforesaid harness or hip belt, and double storm flaps guard against any water ingress. The hood is also nicely shaped and can accommodate a climbing helmet, with good rear volume adjustment and double drawcords to cinch in it tightly around the face. We would perhaps have appreciated a wired peak for extra face protection, though it didn’t flap around too much, even on exposed summits.

It’s worth noting that the cuff adjustment is slightly unusual. and will likely prove a ‘love it or hate it’ feature. As many outdoors users will attest, standard velcro cuff tabs are common failure points on many jackets – after hard use they can rip or tear, and in addition they can clog with debris as well as with snow in winter. Presumably for these reasons, Klättermusen have done away with velcro in favour of a drawcord-type arrangement. It does work but feels slightly awkward and also leaves two elastic cord loops at your wrists, which can get in the way, particularly when climbing or belaying.

Still, that idiosyncratic design touch aside, we were highly impressed in terms of overall performance. It’s a jacket that we’d happily wear in tough conditions, even in the depths of winter, being burly enough to take bit of punishment and protective enough to take on most UK conditions. It’s also equipped with a RECCO reflector for safety, a feature worth thinking about if you’re going winter mountaineering in avalanche-prone regions. At just over 600g in a men’s medium, it’s no lightweight, so might prove overkill on summer hill days, but if inclement weather was expected this is still one we’d reach for.