Snugpak Sleeka Elite Reversible Jacket Review

Last year, I wanted to get a warm Jacket that I could store and pack easily, was lightweight and wasn't going to break the bank. I can’t really afford down and actually prefer the synthetic materials as they dry well and the insulation doesn't get ruined after being wet.

I’m a big fan of Snugpak gear and have quite a lot of other stuff from them (which I’ll review at some point). The Sleeka jacket looked like it ticked all the boxes.

It’s a nice lightweight jacket and packs away into a decent compression sack. Something to note with pretty much all Snugpak gear is that you get a high quality compression sack included. I can stuff it into a gap in my rucksack and just forget about it knowing that I have my cold weather layer sorted. A final note on storage is that Snugpak claim that you can store it compressed and it won’t have lost any of its thermal properties.

The jacket is reversible (although I think there’s a non-reversible version too) with an olive and black side. The olive side has nice reinforcement running up the arms and onto the shoulders so you won’t get any abrasion here. The black side doesn't have these so I would be a little more careful if wearing it this way round. That said, I tend to wear mine under a soft shell jacket which protects it nicely. I don’t think you would have to worry anyway as Snugpak’s gear (made from paratex) is deceptively durable and strong despite feeling so light.

The cuffs are elasticated and the neck and base have elastic draw cords so you can tighten it up to your liking and kind of create a sleeping bag for your upper body. Once you have this configured to your liking you will warm up fast. I was out recently in the South Downs on a very clear cold windy night and the Sleeka was great. The jacket is comfort rate to -5 and rated down to an extreme of -10. The zip is also good and is a big chunky YKK one which makes zipping up with cold hands or wearing gloves really easy.

Whilst the jacket is water repellent, I wouldn't want to wear it in the rain as an outside layer. I always wear mine under my Berghaus RG1 soft shell. 

Finally, the fit. I would say that these come up quite large. I am a slim guy with a chest of about 36-38 inches and have the small size. I wouldn't want to go any bigger but equally I wouldn't necessarily want the XS. I have a little extra room in this jacket which means its great as part of a layering system and is really nice to sleep in.

Overall, I can’t fault this jacket. Its light, compact, technically very good and proper warm. If I was being really picky I would perhaps want the same reinforced patches that the olive side has on the black side but that’s really looking for faults. 10/10 for me. I would highly recommend this.

There's more info on Snugpaks site here: http://www.snugpak.com/outdoor/sleeka-elite-reversible 

I purchased mine from here: http://www.outdoorgb.com/

Expect to pay about £63-£70.