Review: Ferrino Masherbrum Rainproof Trekking Jacket (conclusions)

(the first part of this review, which includes pictures, is here)

In the last years I’ve always brought the Masherbrum with me, on hikes lasting from one to four days. The overall virdict is that it has limits, but is still a good purchase for my needs. The greatest advantages of the Masherbrum are of course lightness and size: a jacket like this fits even in the pockets of the smallest daypack and the weight is almost unnoticeable. It is also quite comfortable to wear. I never felt restricted in any way I could notice. As light as is, the Ferrino Masherbrum is also windproof enough that I could quickly feel the difference in comfort when adding it to a pile on a very cold and windy winter day.

The side pockets may seem too low for being usable while wearing the jacket under a pack with a big, padded belt, but I had no problems from this point of view. Things may be different, however, for people with a different build from mine. I confess I cannot report anything about the actual resistance to water of the arm pocket, because I never felt the need to use it. That’s because, as long as rain is light, I keep my camera in the main pockets, but when it pours I feel safe only after it’s gone inside a plastic bag into the backpack.

Another characteristic that may be inconvenient is the way the carrying pouch is built. It basically is an envelope built sewing together two rectangular pieces of fabric: one is the same used for the jacket, the other is the black mesh used for the internal part of the side pockets. This means that if you put the wet jacket inside this pouch, it will occupy little space and dry faster, but will also quickly wet whatever else it will touch.

The handle of the zip slider of the arm pocket is too small to be usable as is with gloves, but even the others may require a piece of cord or string to avoid problems. The Masherbrum is built to be light, not robust, and it shows. It wouldn’t last long in continuous bushwacking or climbing, that is brushing against rocks or bushes, but this is OK as that isn’t its vocation.

Waterproofness… could have been better. The bigger issue here is that the main zipper and those of the two side pockets are not waterproof. This is bad, especially when looking at the main frontal zip. The storm flap has no velcro or buttons to keep it in place, so it’s basically for show. Evapora-Tex is good enough that I never experienced water enter through it. However, if you walk under constant rain and just enough wind to make the flap… flap, as it happened to me, you’ll quickly feel some small points of your chest getting wet. This doesn’t make the jacket useless and didn’t create any serious problem to me. However, it still is an annoyance. All in all, I think the Ferrino Masherbrum is a good jacket, with a good price/performance ratio, which can be very useful unless you plan to walk whole days under heavy rain.