What is the Changabang?The Changabang is Mountain Equipment's flagship, uncompromising, versatile and fully featured hard-shell jacket, designed for hardest ascents and the gnarliest descents. It thrives in every mountain environment from alpine climbing, skiing/snowboarding and year-round winter mountaineering.
It is constructed with a three-layer laminate construction using an ultra-tough outer fabric, the ever-reliable, fully waterproof and breathable Gore-Tex Pro membrane, and a smooth comfortable woven backer.
What is it made of?Providing total waterproof and windproof protection inside the Changabang is the latest Gore-Tex Pro membrane. Mountain Equipment uses the "Most Breathable" version of this membrane to ensure you stay dry from the inside and out when tackling technical routes.
Layered on top of this membrane is a super-tough 80D nylon with a durable water repellent coating; this acts as the 'suit of armour' and protects both you and the membrane.
Inside is a solution-dyed Nylon 6 microgrid woven backer that significantly improves the environmental footprint compared to the previous fabric backer found in Gore-Tex Pro garments.
M.E have used their Storm Construction techniques to ensure you get fortress-like protection from the elements. Everything from seam construction, placements and taping, to face fabrics selection, bar tack reinforcement and YKK Aquaguard zips have been carefully selected and designed to keep out the worst weather imaginable.
What are its features?Starting at the top, a Mountain HC hood easily fits a climbing helmet underneath and features side adjustment with Cohaesive Cordlocks to cinch the hood down to your head if you're just wearing a beanie. There’s also a volume adjuster at the back to reduce the bagginess if you’re not wearing a helmet.
The hood will also roll down if not required and secured with a Velcro tab to stop it flapping about in the wind. When folded away it forms a protective collar, which is nice.
Cohaesive Cordlocks are like little buttons which sit within the fabric to adjust the hood; this is not only neater and stops long pieces of elastic slapping you in the face but is also far easier to use with big bulky gloves or mitts.
A two-way Aquaguard main zip allows you to fit the jacket over a climbing harness or ventilate if you cook up a sweat and is designed to run freely in freezing conditions.
Underarm zips or “pit-zips” open up to quickly and effectively dump excess heat without exposing your torso to the elements.
The bulk of the storage is taken care of by four large, over and under laser-cut and laminated chest pockets which are positioned above the harness/hipbelt line. The right hand “under” pocket has a neat clip inside to secure loose items. There’s also a “ski-pass” pocket on the left forearm, perfectly positioned for the ski lift.
These pockets all feature the same Aquaguard zips which are designed to keep running freely in sub-zero conditions.
Tucked away on the left-hand side is a laser-cut and laminated inner security pocket to further reduce stitching, bulk and weight. The perfect place to stash your phone/GPS to maximise battery life in cold conditions.
For winter mountain sports the Changabang features a snow skirt to stop snow or spindrift from blowing up inside the jacket, but if you don’t need the snow skirt it can be easily unzipped and removed. The snow skirt itself is packed with features, it has its own dual tether drawcord, front zip and a poppered tab to take the strain off the bottom of the zip.
A dual-tether hem drawcord gives you an extra adjustment and eliminates the chances of it snagging on axes or poles like a traditional looped drawcord. Combined with the snow skirt, this hem drawcord really helps to seal out the elements and keep you comfortable.
The laminated cuffs now include a Velcro closure that doesn’t freeze up, meaning they'll remain secure even in the coldest conditions.
The sleeves are pre-shaped and articulated to allow for a more natural and unrestricted movement and feature a longer section over the back of the hand for added protection.
How does it fit?To ensure a comfortable fit for all-season activities the Changabang is built around Mountain Equipment’s “Mountain Fit” block so it has enough room for heavier/bulkier winter layers without being too big and baggy when worn over a baselayer in summer.
- Tough and durable 80D nylon face fabric
- Gore-Tex Pro Most Breathable membrane
- Solution-dyed Nylon 6 microgrid woven backer
- Inner security pocket
- Sleeve pocket for ski-pass
- 4 front chest pockets sit above harness line
- Security clip in right hand chest pocket
- Dual-tether hem drawcord
- Laminated velcro cuffs
- Fully adjustable Mountain HC, Helmet-compatible hood with tab-down feature
- Cohaesive cord adjustments
- Two-way main zip
- Aquaguard zips run freely in sub-zero conditions
- Adjustable/removable snow skirt with drawcord and poppered tab.