This is not a new jacket – the 66° North Snaefell is flaunted by this top-quality Icelandic brand as the most versatile jacket in their whole range, with plenty of justification – but it has just been rereleased (May 2024) with a significant material upgrade, which I will go into more detail about below. At 1,833m, Snaefell is the tallest peak (a volcano, of course) in Iceland, and this new version of the popular (or at least much-coveted) jacket comes with some very high expectations to meet. That’s not just because of the premium price it comes at (although that obviously comes into it); it’s also the reputation of the brand and the Polartec material used in the jacket, plus the fact that the original version was a classic.
My first impressions are that the design remains excellent, albeit still with no pit vents, which is something I always look for, especially in a jacket that claims to be as versatile as the Snaefell is. This grumble aside, the jacket is stylish and comfortable to wear straight out of the packet, has all the features required to make it super functional in the hills and peaks, and the look and feel doesn’t appear to have been negatively impacted by the use of the new material. It’s still a nice quiet jacket to wear, despite the high level of waterproofing it offers, and there’s plenty of stretch in the garment.
But, would it live up to expectations during proper field-testing, and how does the redesigned Snaefell compare to the ? I wore it.
