The Lab: Polaris AM Vapour Jacket Long Term Review

Our global test team has been pushing products to the very limit on the world’s toughest trails. In The Lab, durability is rewarded and weaknesses have nowhere to hide. Jim has been putting the Polaris AM Vapor jacket through its paces during countless kilometers over in the UK. Did the jacket keep him warm and dry?

Now well into its third winter season, this item of clothing has really done its job well. First things first: while it’s not waterproof, it strangely acts like it is.

The microfiber fleece lining does an almost mystical job of taking sweat off the body and keeping the rain off the skin. How this works is almost like black magic, as in the wettest of weather this jacket can feel soaked, but your top half will remain feeling only slightly damp at worst.

Its temperature resistance is impressive in anything from around 3° way down into the minuses, but try wearing it in slightly warmer weather and you will soon be stopping to remove it to cool your top half down! The Polaris Am Vapour jacket is now slightly battered from a few winter crashes, with its rip-stop outer material unable to handle being slid across wet rocks, but still is Jim’s favorite winter warming item.

Test rider: Jim
Price: € 124.99
Test duration: three years

You can find further information in the Polaris website.

Words and Photos: Jim Buchanan

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