Brooks-Range Cirro Jacket
Brooks-Range Cirro Jacket – lightweight, synthetic mountaineering jacket
This is a guest review by Zac Robinson.
It has been a wet spring here in Utah. With snowfall totaling over 700″ for the season, it looks like it will be easy for those folk who want to try to lay some ski tracks every single month of the year. Unfortunately, I packed the skis into the basement a few months ago and dug out the climbing gear.
I’ve still gotten out every weekend in spite of the looming rain clouds. The Brooks-Range Cirro-Jacket has become my go-to piece each weekend for a multitude of reasons. On our trip down to Moab, I made sure I had it since we were trying our hardest to ignore the impending weather forecast that said nothing but rain. For the climbing trip to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, I knew I needed a light and small jacket that I could ignore all day until we got stuck at a chilly belay.
We got to Moab with enough time to crank out a tower on Friday evening. We woke up Saturday to a light rain and enough clouds to keep things wet all day long. No more climbing for us the rest of the weekend. A synthetic jacket is a must have on these rainy weekends since it will continue to provide some warmth even if it gets wet. Down will simply leave you feeling like a wet dog. The Cirro Jacket has a huge range of usable temperatures. I can toss this jacket on when I get a bit chilly with a 60 degree breeze or with some appropriate layers, I would take it down to 25 or 30 degrees without any concerns.
It’s got zippers on both pockets as well as a higher zippered chest pocket. Zippered pockets seem to be a matter of preference; some people love them, others can’t stand them and I am on the fence with this one. I catch myself feeling grateful for them on multiple occasions, but a little voice in the back of my head keeps telling me that if I really wanted a super-lightweight jacket, I would not bother with extra pockets and especially not extra zippers (just seems like extra weight). But I ignore that little voice all the time, so for now, I will keep the confidence that I get from knowing that my car keys will stick with me through the entire day.
The Cirro Jacket rolls up nice and small and the chest pocket inverts and includes a separate internal zipper so you can pack the jacket inside itself and hide it in a small daypack. We were climbing in the Black Canyon and were able to tuck this jacket in a small daypack along with 2 pairs of shoes and snacks for the day. The sun was on our side that day and we never had to dig out the jacket. But we were able to successfully ignore the fact that we carried it around with us the entire day. That was pretty much ideal this weekend. It may not be as light as a similar down jacket, but I will sacrifice that extra weigh to carry for the huge gain in waterproofing and continued comfort in the rain.
Aside from the performance aspects, the Pertex outer shell just looks good. It is a really tight weave and so far appears to be tear and abrasion resistant so even after a few rough weekends, I can still sport it to work and pretend that I am wearing my ‘dressy’ puffy.
The Quick & Dirty
Where you can find one:
Brooks-Range Mountaineering
Why they rock:
- Lightweight and breathable mountaineering jacket
- Retains warmth even when wet
- Available with or without a hood
- Insulated with Primaloft One®, 60g/m2
- Shell Fabric: 15 denier Pertex™
Looking to buy? Here’s where you can get one:
Brooks-Range Mountaineering