20151013_111059When Paramo told us they were replacing the Alta II jacket this autumn we were nervous! The new Alta III waterproof jacket has a lot to live up to… paramo-mens-alta-iii-jacket-french-navy-reef-blue The Paramo Alta II Jacket has been a mainstay of our Paramo Waterproof Jackets line up for a long time and we are very, very familiar with it! It’s an old friend, we’ve worn it ourselves (Ruth and Steve have both had them and worn them in some pretty serious weather) and it had was the best classic hillwalking jacket we’ve had. 20151013_111153 With the introduction of the Paramo Alta III jacket, we’ve been pleased with the initial response and getting to know the jacket a little, it’s got the same great range of features as the previous jacket and some nice improvements besides. 20151013_111052 First and foremost, the look of jacket has been updated. Whilst unrelated to function, the Alta III jacket now features a two-tone split over the shoulders  (there are some solid colours too), it looks more modern and fresher now and the jacket seems to have some cleaner lines that the previous version. 20151013_111009 In line with the updated look, the tailoring of the Alta III jacket has been trimmed down. Previously, the Alta II’s tailoring allowed for excess material around the arms and body but like many of the recent Paramo jackets, excess material has been kept to a minimum and whilst there’s room to move, the trim look is much improved. 20151013_111137 There are some things that have clearly been difficult to better on the new jacket and so the Alta III jacket features many of the same details found on its predecessor. One change of note is the pockets. The ladies’ version of the jacket is minus one Velcro chest pocket (it keeps the large chest pocket that will fit an OS-sized map)but the men’s version of the jacket retains this pocket.  All pockets on the jacket are ‘waterproof’ (nb – please always bag or case anything important!). 20151013_111219 The jacket also features the same two-level waist and hip draw-chord for adjusting the fit (and more importantly, keeping the weather at bay on wet and windy days). 20151013_111038 The vents on the arms have also been simplified – a lighter zip with rear gutters will offer good ventilation around the arms and upper body for the jacket. 20151013_111156 All in all we are really pleased with the Paramo Alta III jacket. Paramo have kept the best bits of our long standing favourite hillwalking jacket and made some nice improvements besides. We’ll be keeping good stock of the Alta III jacket and please call in to the shop to find our more from us.  Alternatively, see our Paramo Waterproof Jackets section for more details online.