OMM Clothes and The Rab MM

The Rab this year was bathed in glourius sunshine, so much so that the field were pretty dehydrated by the end of day 1. The weather meant  that whilst I could appreciate the tiny weight and pack size of the OMM Aether Smock (tiny and 200g), I didn’t actually wear it. Finished 10th overall in the long event, which we were pleased with but slightly disappointing as we were 7th overnight and picked a poor route for day 2.

Although this morning my run to work was on smashed legs and pretty uncomfortable, it was at least raining.  Finally I get to wear it.

The jacket has one tiny inner chest pocket so none to really speak of.  A deep chest zip with 2 way zipper for ventialtion . Elasticated sleeve cuffs with thumb loops are minimal but fine, as is the waist drawcord. Thankfully OMM have resisted the curse of many very light jackets and still have a full cord head halo arrangement in the hood, essential for running into wind. The Aether is 3 layer eVent membrane with a new ultralight face fabric so there were no issues with waterproofness or breathability, as you would expect with eVent 3 layer.  Overall a great smock for general running and biking (slight dropped tail) and perfect for mountain marathons. The Aether Smock and Jacket will be available from March 2014.

The other item I tested for the first time this morning were the OMM Waterproof  Kamleika Shorts.  Although I thought they would be more for training than racing, they might actually go on if the weather is bad enough. Of course anything below the short still gets wet and some water soaks back up your tights but the crucial things is that your crutch stays dry. This keeps you loads warmer and also much more comfortable. Quite a revelation really. I am going to try them on my bike, although a bit short they will do a good job of deflecting a lot of cold muddy back wheel spray away from my clothes.

A big thank you to Andy and OMM for the gear.