Ferrino Valdez Jacket

[stepbystep]

I was supplied this jacket by Rico at Adventure Friends for an impartial review. I have no financial connections with Ferrino or Adventure Friends. The review will be done in the form of a series of mini trip reports with a video of the features.



Features:
Double hood adjustment
Detachable hood
Vent zippers
Napoleon pocket
Inside pockets
Watertight side pockets
Velcro fastening on cuffs


First Impressions:

On receiving the jacket I instantly liked the look of it. It’s predominantly a fire red with black panels and silver embossed logos. Upon putting it on the cut is perfect for me. I am 5’9.5” statistically an average height for Australian men, so many jackets have arms that are too long for my height and this has always annoyed me. The jacket is an ‘athletic’ cut lengthwise, coming half may down my bum. For bushwalking particularly in Tasmania most walkers generally want a longer cut and this was my thinking also upon trying it on.
The materials are not lightweight but at 580 grams the jacket is not the heaviest either. The jacket has a nice robust feel to it, reassuring for Tasmanian walking. The breathable HighLab(HL) membrane is new to me and I was dubious as to it’s effectiveness.

Testing:

Due to the stunning Autumn we have had down here ☺ the first couple of walks I took it on saw no rain. I took it on a trip to the Tasman Peninsular but the weather was too mild to consider putting it on other than for making this short video.

I did however put it to good use on the summit ridge of Mt Mueller. Despite the clear day it was quite windy and pretty chilly if standing around so I used the jacket as a wind barrier. It was on this walk I realised the jacket wears ‘warm’, certainly warmer than my old Mont jacket, however I used the very long side vent zips and was very comfortable throughout. I noticed the jacket allowed better movement while scrambling due to the higher cut length than my old jacket.

Finally I lined up some free time and some foul weather which gave me the chance to really put this jacket through it’s paces. I wore the jacket for 6.5 hrs straight on a daywalk on the West Coast Range. The first part of the walk is very steep and through some mild wet scrub, the ambient temperature was around 12 degrees with little wind and I noted quite ruefully how warm the jacket was again. I ascended fairly quickly but generated a lot of sweat even with vents open. After reaching the plateau area of Mt Jukes things became more pleasant, a little breeze and a temperature drop to around 8 degrees saw me walking comfortably and the jacket was performing well once again negotiating the many boulders as I travelled to the western peaks of the Mt Jukes plateau. Upon reaching the stunning bowl under West Jukes I stopped for a drink and the rain began…. For the next 2 hours I was lashed by rain and sleet in moderate to gusty wind until I got back to the car, the jacket kept the rain out, but I was wet with sweat and there was no way I would be dry in any jacket, it was at this time I was now thanking the thermal qualities of the jacket. I was warm despite the conditions, this is a very important quality in Tasmania. I was left feeling a little dubious about the breathability of the HL membrane however.

The next 2 days saw a mixture of scrub bashing in rain and hail up Mt Inglis, rock hopping on the vast boulder field that is Mt Emmett and climbing amongst the impressive clifflines of Barn Bluff and my observations effectively confirmed what I had already noted.

Pros:

Removable hood – in light rain and mizzle I prefer to wear a hat and the jacket feels excellent without the hood attached.
Robust outer material.
Length – Good for athletic type manoeuvring in boulders or climbing.
Aesthetics – Looks good for urban wear also.
Sealable and numerous pockets.
Vent zips.
Price.


Cons:

Length – For on track walking I’d prefer a longer more traditional cut.
HL Membrane – although it performed ok, it is not as good as Event, Gore-tex or Hydronaute lining.
Weight – For many a high cut jacket would be lighter than this one.
Hood – I don’t particularly like hoods without a mouldable wire.

Conclusion:

I like this jacket and will use it as my go to jacket for scrambling and scrubby trips. It is robust enough to hold up for some time although I don’t doubt the Tasmanian scrub will damage it in good time. My reasoning comes back to the price, at $280 it is far cheaper than many other name brands and I’m sure will be cheaper from time to time as Ferrino have sales. Like all bushwalkers there is no perfect piece of gear for all situations but the Valdez jacket is a nice addition and will stay in my kit. I good pair of overpants is a must in foul weather.

Can I also say a big thanks to Rico for putting his gear out there for testing, quite a few forum members have received various bits and pieces now, and Ferrino is as a result another brand to consider when filling a hole it the gear list.

[Rico]

Hi SBS,

thanks a lot for this review, and for the professional video (my wife tells me that you look great in the video and I am trying to convince her that it is only because of the Valdez ). As I told you in private I own one of those jackets as well, but I used it only as hard shell in a recent overseas trip where I was well below zero degrees, so it is very interesting to read your opinion.

Ferrino describes this product as a:
4-season, 3-layer, multipurpose jacket with extremely comfortable fit. Detachable hood.

and about the fabric used:
3-LAYER fabric to guarantee excellent resistance to abrasion, as well as being
waterproof, breathable and compressible, thanks to the HL MEMBRANE
coupled with 50 Den high-tenacity polyester. Exceptional characteristics in a fabric
with limited weight. Soft touch.
• Water column (ISO 811): 18,000 mm
• Breathability: RET 10 - Water vapour transmission coefficient: 10,000
• Water repellence: DWR treatment • Weight: 105 g per m²

I wouldn't consider a breathability value of 10,000 as highly breathable, but this is a tough fabric perfect for a hard shell. Used on top of a down or wool middle layer, the Valdez is made to keep the ugliest weather out. There is definitely a mountaineering influence in the design of this product, as you can guess from the athletic cut.

As we are going to write a product description for our web site, would you consider the Valdez as an expedition jacket ideal for off track winter walks, but also great as Urban cold weather and Ski resort jacket?

On receiving the jacket I instantly liked the look of it.

Italian Design


Rico

[stepbystep]

Haha yes the Valdez improves my looks by a solid 50%.

As we are going to write a product description for our web site, would you consider the Valdez as an expedition jacket ideal for off track winter walks, but also great as Urban cold weather and Ski resort jacket?

Yes! I'm looking forward to using this jacket this winter as I was highly impressed with it's ability to retain warmth and it has a bombproof feel to it. In what was quite cold and foul weather on the 24th(it was hailing as we climbed Mt Inglis) I was not cold for a moment and only had a single layer walking shirt underneath. I imagine it will serve me very well in the snow.

I will update this thread as more testing occurs.