Full Review

Nothing about this review is normal. What I mean by that is usually I would have a speedy review at the top for people that just want a quick answer if a product is good or not, I’d also normally have a link to buy from the retailer if I recommend it, but in this case the jacket is sold out.

This review needs writing anyway because this utterly insane jacket makes me chuckle out loud when I wear it, and very much epitomises everything Vollebak have come to build up over the last 3 years as a boutique brand that makes clothing like no other brand.

If you ‘get it’ when you read this you’ll join their waiting list for product launches because after a few years creating mental gear I find now that most of their new releases sell out entirely within a few hours.

The Vollebak Heritage

I’m a huge fan of their gear and have been since they started up. I regularly wear their gear and you’ll see it in many of the photos of me doing adventures on this website. I’ve reviewed pants that will last 100 years and a matching Hoodie made of Kevlar that is basically indestructible. I’ve worn gear that is highly reflective but black, and run races in clothing coated in ceramic that makes them incredibly hard wearing. Ive used a hoodie that you can sleep in that comes with its own soundtrack, a jacket that glows in the dark, a shirt that is designed for literally everywhere on the planet and shorts with no seams that mean you never get chaffed again. I also ran a 365 mile loop in winter wearing their hybrid wool and synthetic Planet Earth Hoodie .

But none of these comes close to how mental this jacket is and to be honest the photos I take don’t really do it justice. This is a jacket that acts like a squid. It can change its color depending on the mood.

And I love it.

The Black Squid Jacket

Normally Id talk about features and benefits on a product that I like, I could tell you about the rubberized waterproof zips that the pockets have, or the number of different pull toggles there are to adjust the jacket round you when its raining. I also have the odd moan about sizing or design flaws I’m less keen on or gimmicks I think are a waste of time.

I would normally talk about the fact that the jacket cleverly has zips under the armpits to help cool you down when you are hot, or that it has a small zip pocket inside for your phone.

Adjustable Cuffs

I would probably normally point out the cool feature that the cuffs can be tightened up too to stop water getting in, or the fact that the fabric is very very waterproof so the jacket is great as an outlayer when you are out in the cold and/or wet skiing or in torrential rain all day. But really there is no point talking about these things because you’ve come here to see the mad mad colors.

This Jacket Reflects Light and Colors like a Squid at a Disco

Lets cut to the bit I want to talk about. In low light this jacket is almost ….and I say almost…. restrained. It has a grey satin hue with a slight hint of oily multicolor that you might imagine H R Gigers Alien might look like up close.

Rainbow Bright

Hit this jacket with a focused bright beam and everything changes. The material the jacket uses has a resin that has thousands and thousands of glass reflective beads in it that refract and reflect light in all directions causing the jacket to literally reflect in every color possible all over. The result is so startling its actually hard to understand the three dimensional shape you are looking at in front of you and I’m not sure any camera can really capture how nuts it is.

A Different Jacket Every Day

So depending what angle the light hits and what angle you are viewing changes the color you see in each section. As a result this jacket is different everytime you wear it. Its even more nuts when it rains as the droplets of water on the jacket reflect light differently again and you get an effect that looks like someone has literally tipped rainbow paint water over you.

Verdict

So this is the bit where I sum the jacket up and tell you if its worth it. Except the jacket is sold out and it’ll probably be another 6 months to a year before a few hundred are available again. Its now the same for most of the gear that Vollebak make. If you want to know about breathability, ease of washing or where best to use this jacket you are kind of missing the point, and I suspect you know that. I’m almost reluctant to write about it at all because every new person that joins the mailing and waiting list is someone competing with me to buy this gear when its released.

This jacket isn’t about its superb build quality, laser cut fabrics, high tec assembly in a state of the art factory or useful features for severe weather. This jacket is a working wearable piece of art, or a James Bond like invention to defeat villains. Either way none of their gear is a hard sell, you are either ‘All In’ ( the translation of the words Volle and Bak) or you aren’t.

You can find out more about Vollebak and join their clothing release waiting list here.