ME Changabang gets redesign for 2010 as it loses top billing

Winter 2010, well September in the shops, sees another incarnation of the Mountain Equipment Changabang, formerly their top of the range mountaineering hardshell. The Changabang has seen a few changes down the years, especially with its hemline which has risen and fallen almost annually, but the Winter 2010 sees some radical changes - and a superficial one or two for good measure.

The Changabang has been a firm favourite with OT from its first appearance 7 or 8 years ago, and still gets regular use. The new version is still a full 3 layer GORE-TEX® hardshell but now uses the Pro Shell Ascendor fabric with 3-layer GORE-TEX® Pro Shell Tenacity fabric reinforcements. The new fabric has all the durability and water resistance of the old fabric but loses the "sheen" familiar with hardshells as well as being softer to the touch. The 2010 model is 2cm longer and now has a removable snow-skirt that zips out when not required.

The whole jacket uses ME's Stealth technology to reduce air drag over seams and present a more aerodynamic shape, a technology extended to the Mountain HC Hood - which is fully helmet compatible as with previous versions. Although superceded by the new Kalanka jacket the Changabang is still a serious winter mountaineering jacket and designed for extreme conditions. A 2 way YKK zip up the front keeps the water out, whilst the pit zips allow excess heat and water vapour out to help the 3-layer GORE-TEX® maintain good breathability. A nice touch for this year is the "Mountain Cut" assymetric sleeves which are slightly shorter on the inside than outside, giving a much more comfortable fit and less fabric to be held in by the velcro cuff adjusters.

We've yet to put the new version to the test but it looks and feels to be an improvement on the older one, without going up in price, and for those with multiple Mountain Equipment jackets it has a nice embossed name on the inside of the chinguard or cuff - as with the Ogre and other top ME jackets this season, so you can tell which is which at a glance