PMCI March 2019 | Page 14

CLAWGEAR MILVAGO MKII FLEECE HOODY Winter is a great time for us to try out fleece garments, putting them through their paces so you don’t have to! Bill takes a look at the latest version of the Milvago Hoody from Clawgear. Earlier today I happened to visit a friend who loves the winter months every bit as much as I do, and given that we had a snowfall recently (as I write) there was a lot for us to chuckle about! I love the feeling of being outdoors when it’s crisp and cold, and if you’ve got the right gear then you can be completely comfortable in any environment, including when the thermometer falls! One of the key ingredients to any layered clothing system is what you use as your “mid layer”, the thermal bit that sits between your next to skin base and the shell which actually protects you from the elements. Understanding exactly what is needed and when is the sign of a great clothing manufacturer, and as Clawgear are based in Steyr-Gleink, Austria they understand a bit (just a bit!) about how a clothing system should go together to become a valid, year-round solution. They are highly innovative in what they produce not just in terms of cutting edge design and their use of the most up to date fabrics but also in their choice of colour options. Clawgear have worked their “knowledge magic” into their entire range of tactical clothing and recently they sent me one of their Milvago MKII fleece garments to trial. This heavier-weight fleece mid-layer garment is extremely comfortable to wear and the modern styling allows a full range of unrestricted movement. Both the outer and inner materials have been specially selected to ensure robustness and to optimise comfort. The fleece itself is water repellent and breathes extremely well, making the Milvago a superb layering piece, but one that can also be worn on its own in drier cold conditions. I especially like the low-profile hood which works perfectly in conjunction with a hard or softshell outer layer, effectively eliminating cold spots around the neckline. The Milvago also benefits from two lower fully-lined handwarmer pockets, pockets on both upper arms with velcro patches for team/unit patches, and an inner pocket which allows routing for comms cables; the outer pockets are very low profile which gives the jacket a visually stunning appearance as well. Weighing in at 750g the Milvago is easy to pack and takes up minimal space in a pack given its warmth to weight ratio, so it’s absolutely ideal if you want to stow it away “just in case”. Overall it’s a superbly designed jacket made of high end fabrics and components, and the finish of it just oozes quality and attention to detail. If you’re in the market for a new performance fleece jacket in the very 14 latest “tacticool” colour and style then I would thoroughly recommend you take a very close look at the Milvago MKII Claw Gear is currently available direct from the manufacturer although I’m led to believe that it will soon be more generally available in the UK and further afield. The Milvago MKII costs €86.90 and is available in RAL 7013, Black, and Solid Rock (grey) in sizes small to XXL. For more information please visit www.clawgear.com pmcimagazine.com