Find out why the Salewa Ortles Light 2 Down Women’s Hooded Jacket came recommended in Judy Armstrong’s review of the best down jackets for 2022.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve become a firm fan of mountaineering brand Salewa. Based in the Italian Dolomites, it has a low key but inspiring environmental and social conscience (check out ‘Our Headquarters’ on salewa.com). The clothing ranges are extensive and technical, and now include this, the lightest of the Ortles down family.
The Salewa Ortles Light 2 Down Women’s Hooded Jacket is a flattering jacket, designed with baffles on diagonals which makes for complex construction but an aesthetically happy outcome. The baffles are fairly narrow, so the puffy feel you get from loft is slightly reduced but it still provides good insulation levels. A panel of Polartec Alpha – minimalist synthetic insulation with an open mesh inner face – is positioned under the armpit, although it would be more effective as a heat/sweat sink if it extended a little further forward, in line with arm movement.
Zips are narrow coil on side pockets and an external chest pocket, while the one-way front zip has a tidy backing flap. The collar is wide enough to tuck my chin inside when zipped to the top; with the hood up, it sits at mouth height. The warm hood is well shaped with one-hand rear adjustment; it is elastane bound (as are the cuffs) and can be worn under a volume-adjustable helmet or over a beanie. The cut is long, covering my backside, with ‘free motion patterning’ for flexible movement. The Salewa Ortles Light 2 Down Women’s Hooded Jacket feels more like a spring jacket than for the dead of winter and is suited for active use as well as for some static warmth.
Read more: 10 of the best down jackets for 2022
