Mountain Equipment Changabang XCR Jacket

The Changabang XCR is an ideal jacket for alpine mountaineering, climbing and expeditions. The Gore-Tex XCR ensures superb protection from the elements while maintaining optimum breathability. Mountain Equipment has added stretch panels under the arms for exceptional freedom of movement and the improved hood features a wired peak and hidden adjusters. The Changa bang is available in sizes small to extra large.

Site	Price	Postage	Total
	£240.00	FREE	£240
	£243.00	£1.95	£244.95
	£292.63	£4.50	£297.13
	£293.62	£5.00	£298.62

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   User Reviews

General comments: I have owned a Mountain Equipment Changabang for a couple of years now and have used it for the local ten tors challenge. I find it highly breathable and with a multitude of pockets, it is a piece of kit to be envied.

Pros: There is an emergency whistle on cord built into the pocket of the jacket.

Cons: Expensive price tag and it's a bit warm for the UK. Ideal for winter and summer mountaineering in the alps though.

General comments: The first thing that drew me to the Changabang jacket was the price I got mine for £160 pounds in a sale in a well known outdoor shop in covent garden. I had been looking for a full-on winter jacket for sometime and had been through them all trying on different makes, designs and features. Before I go on any further, I must tell you that this is a very short jacket - if you are after something that comes below your waist, go for the Kongur XCR or the Ogre XCR as these have a much longer cut. I wanted a jacket I could use for the odd ski trip amongst other things and as this had a 'powder skirt' included it was the one for me. The jacket has some great features which include gore-tex xcr stretch panels under the arms (to be honest they don't feel all that stretchy to me!) and the pockets on the front of the jacket are well placed and out of reach of a rucksack hipbelt or climbing harness. There is also a pocket on the arm for carrying your radio or GPS. As you are no doubt aware, Mountain Equipment are renowned for the hoods on their jackets. The Stealth hood is probably the best fitting hood you can get, there is a fleece chin guard and volume adjuster at the back of the hood and two adjusters on the neck. These provide a fantastic fit with or without a helmet and the hood moves with your head wherever you look. The toggles for adjusting the hood are all kept out of place and out of your eyes by great positioning. The Changabang has a good weight for a winter jacket, mine, a size large weighs in at 700grms. The fit is very good although I would say there is a little excess fabric on the arms but that is my only critisism. The zips on the front of the jacket are water resistant and do work and the main zip is covered by a laminated flap. A very good jacket if it is what you want.

Pros: Style, fit, fabric and hood.

Cons: May be too short for some people.

General comments: The Changabang is my first Mountain Equipment jacket and I am extremely pleased with it's performance so far. As noted in previous reviews, the jacket is short and does finish at the hips - I find this an advantage pertaining to the range of movement it allows. It is noticably well constructed and even with the abuse it's been given the XCR does not even look like being fatigued. I found the general fit to be on the large size, but again that was an advantage as my down jacket fitted easily beneath. Not a cheap jacket but technically excellent in harsh conditions.

Pros: Overall construction. Fit. Well stowed hood. Good sized pockets with proofed zippers.

Cons: None to date.

General comments: This jacket is made out of the Gore-Tex XCR Ascender fabric which is a tough and extremly breathable fabric, it is also quite strechy. So the jacket it easy to move in. The jacket has 5 pockets in all, 4 taped bag pockets, 2 on the lower chest and 2 on the higher chest. It also has a GPS or Ski pass pocket on the left arm. Which most people seem to find some use for. The hood is a Stealth hood which is excellent, this is beacause it doesnt blow off in strong winds and it has 3 one handed use pull chords, these are all excellent and easy to use with gloves on. All the jackets pocket zips are waterproof zip, which are great for keeping the rain out and are extremly easy to open when your hands are cold and with gloves on, because they have the pull chords attached to the zippers. This is good because it means that you dont have to struggle for ages in the cold trying to open your pockets to get somthing out. The jacket has Core vents under either arm, which i have found to be great when ive used the jacket, when i was ice climbing with it, because they kept me cool even when doing extremly strenuous lead climbing. The core vent zips are also waterproofed. The jacket has Hem and waist draw chords which i have found keep the heat in really well and also there is an inner snow gaiter which has come in handy when ive wanted to use the jacket for skiing because it stopped snow from getting inside my jacket.

Pros: Pretty much everything about this jacket to me is a good point, for a start the hood is probably the best one i have ever used, just because unlike most hoods which supposedly stay up in wind, this one actually does, which is a huge plus from anyones point of veiw. Also the Snow gaiter is a huge plus of the jacket because it makes it useable for loads of other sports other than mountaineering, so far ive used it doing ice climbing, skiing, mountaineering and just general use and itd worked great for all of those things. Also the waterproof zips are great and extremly waterproof which i obviously a good point because there wouldnt be much point to them if they let your map get wet or what ever else you might have in your pocket get wet, so for that reason there great and better than a number of other jackets that i have used that had 'waterproof zips' which let everything in your pocket get wet in strong rain. The big chunky main zip is also great because it means when your hands are frozen you can actually use the zip because its big unlike some of the other leading brand jackets which have waterproof main zips which are just awkward to open. But all in all its just a generally great jacket! and id recommend it to anyone.

Cons: There are not many bad points with this jacket. One is just that its cut is really short, which could really do to be a bit longer, just because when your wearing a harness it tends to ride up abit which can be quite irritating! But apart from that i cant really think of anything else wrong with it because its stood up to everything i could throw at it, so for me its the best jacket on the market.

General comments: Having owned the Mountain Equipment Changabang XCR for just a few months my impressions are that I have made a solid purchase. The main reason i chose this particular model over other brands / Mountain equipment models was the styling. i.e. it is cut at the hips and not half way down the legs and that the zips are out of the way of the pack straps. Out and about the jacket is very comfortable and easy to use. Being 6'4" tall i feel that my freedom of movement is excellent. The waterproof YKK zips are great to use (even wearing gloves) due to the toggles attached and they do not let any moisture in at all. The laminated storm flap makes putting on or zipping up the jacket quick and hassle free as there are only 2 press studs (one at the top and one at the bottom). There is also a handy little GPS / odments pocket on the left sleve, but as i have not got a GPS at the moment my mobile has been shoved in there and comes out bone dry every time! I have been out in this jacket in gale force winds and felt no discomfort with it. The hood with its various different adjustments is actually very good and will cope with those gale force winds i mentioned with ease as well as my head torch and hats. I also wear glasses and they are not comprimised by the hood either. The whistle in the left lower chest pocket is a good addition too for any mishaps. There is an internal snow gaiter at about waist height and it fits very well onto a big guy like me, as it has a 'rubbery' feel to the elastic. However i have not had any call for this yet in snow it does a good job of being a wind break! If you are looking for a good all round jacket that will kepp the elements out and oes not look like a poncho then this should be a consideration.

Pros: Everything...

Cons: Price, but this jacket is most certainly worth it, so none really!!

General comments: Having owned the Mountain Equipment Changabang XCR for over a year now I am still thoroughly impressed. I chose this jacket mainly because I wanted a hard and reliable shell jacket. It does as almost all the above reviews have stated have a shorter cut than most jackets which at times can and does annoy me when skiing. As there is no powder skirt in my particular model, something I believe has been changed in the new offering. When wearing a pack, it is very refreshing that the zips are out of the way of the pack straps. Also the freedom of movement is excellent, as the underarm sections have elasticised Gore-Tex XCR which, does help to reduce the amount the jacket rides up. The waterproof YKK zips are easy to use even wearing gloves and they do not let any moisture in at all. The other main reason I bought this jacket was the hood. It is, comfortable and again has the stretch panels in it, and fits over any size helmet or sits, along with the high collar to protect your neck from anything the weather may throw at you. There is also little ski pass pocket on the left sleeve. I’m sure it could hold a mobile however it does have a slight tendency to rub and work itself open. As a result I suggest sowing a small piece of accessory cord in to make sure stuff stays in! I have been out in this jacket in severe weather both skiing and alpine climbing as well as downpours here in sunny old England and never once been let The whistle in the left lower chest pocket is a good addition and something I didn’t come across for quite some time, until sat on a chair lift, its also very loud.

Pros: Totally bomb-proof imense jacket

Cons: No snow skirt on the older models.

General comments: I bought the Mountain Equipment Changabang jacket in February 2007, after the cold snap we had around January. I'd spent quite a while researching which jacket to go for. Reading a lot of the review dotted around the web the general consensus was that the jacket was a little on the short side. I thought that was a plus point because I didn't fancy the Parka style. My list was narrowed to the Mountain Hardware Tenacity Descent Jacket and the Mountain Equipment Changabang jacket. The specifications seemed fairly similar, but the Stealth hood did it for me. I've got a The North Face jacket without a wire and I have really suffered because of it. The Changabang ticked all the boxes. Since owning it I've used it on virtually every walk. Even when it's warm, you can simply unzip the front and pit zips and away you go. Any bit of sunshine, though and I am boiling, but then that is to be expected. It very windproof and had resisted all attempts at water trying to creep in. I was disappointing at one occasion at the YKK zip appeared to leak. They haven't since, so I suspect it was me not pushing them right up into their little houses. Speaking of the pockets...I read somewhere that the napoleon ones will fit an ordnance survey map, however it's a very tight squeeze. It's worth getting a laminated map as the paper ones with wet when outside, then rub on the zip when pushing back in to the pocket. This causes the map to break up fairly rapidly. Worth noting, I suppose. The jacket is fully adjustable with front and rear cinch cords (located at the sides). This makes it great when wearing a harness, as the fabric stays flush with your body. The fit is close, but no more than others. Besides a baggy jacket is just wasted fabric as far as I am concerned. As I said before, I like cut of the jacket and have found that, although not used very often, allows me to access trouser pockets easily. Nice to have the option. The Stealth hood is just brilliant. I love the way you can cinch in around your head (sounds painful, but it isn't) and when you turn, it turns with you. Very good for visibility. I've always found hood to be rubbish for visibility and with a peak can sometimes be worse. This one shattered my opinion and I am now glad I used it as one of the main reasons to buy the jacket. The Gortex XCR Ascender fabric is, of course, super strong and breathable. It's great. I have had to reproof it again, but it's just be

Pros: Design, fabric, cost, weight, fit, cut, HOOD!

Cons: Just that the DWP seemed to fade within 5 months, but then I don't know how long they are full effective, so this could be standard.

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