Mountain Equipment Morpheus Review

Well Its my first ever review and I may as well make it an important piece of kit!


After talking to a friend that works at cotswold about waterproofs I decided to move away from the berghaus Rg1 that had got me through my Dofe gold and splash out on gore-tex products. The morpheus was a perfect choice with all the features I wanted at a low weight and is also towards the cheaper end of the mountain equipment range. The first thing I noticed was the fabric.. compared to gore-tex pro shell ascender the pro shell ascender II fabric feels much more substantial and durable, a definate plus with the punishment my jackets go through. It now feels much more like a mountain hardshell while retaining the lightweight properties that made the jacket one of the most popular hard shells in the mountain equipment range.

The other massive upgrade for me was the hood… A wire hood that is fully adjustable is essential on the mountains, especially in high winds and this is where the jacket excels. so far it has worked perfectly on its own or combined with both climbing and skiing helmets. However the two draw cords to pull the hood in tighter have adjusts sewn into the jacket which makes the hood quite hard to adjust and are less effective, but it also means they are impossible to lose! The quality and attention to detail on this jacket is suberb. little details like the name printed into the collar, the velcro in the shape of the mountain equipment logo and the use of tape that matches the colour of the material gives the morpheus the look and feel of a well designed, quality mountain waterproof.

On opening the napoleon chest pocket a note falls out informing the buyer that the pockets are not waterproof, however the pockets are are lined with gore-tex ensuring you stay dry, which is often overlooked by many manufacturers however if you are not careful it can lead to the pockets filling with water (one of my phones died this way). Another small gripe is that the zips, especially on the chest pocket are difficult to do up properly as the slot into little sleeves to help keep the water out and this task is made almost impossible when gloves are used as well.

The cut of the jacket is excellent, keeping you dry while not restricting movement even when worn while attempting some quite technically challenging scrambles and after almost two years of extensive use the jacket shows little sign of wear apart from the tab that the hood is attached to when rolled up is starting to come of. although this could be fixed quite easily through use of duct tape and lets face it, when do you ever need to role the hood up?!

Much to my dismay during my Scottish winter trip this February the jacket started to leak. Two years of hard use had taken its toll but I sent it back to Mountain Equipment anyway, who replaced it free of charge with a brand new jacket... Now thats what I call customer service and its something to keep in mind when choosing your next jacket.