Highlander Munro V2 Mountain Jacket | Tested and reviewed

Scottish brand Highlander always offers great value for money, and the new Munro V2 Mountain Jacket is no exception. While waterproof jackets from premium brands can burn a £500+ hole in your pocket, the Munro V2 is impressively affordable.

With an RRP is just £180 ($225), it’s a steal for a burly 3-layer jacket, packed full of features and promising a more-than-respectable 20,000mm hydrostatic head waterproof rating.

You get pit vents, water-resistant YKK zippers, Velcro cuffs, a good orientation of pockets, and a wired and adjustable hood – all features I’ve found competent and functional during my test hikes.

There are a few drawbacks. The sizing is (perhaps) a little on the small size, the build quality feels basic compared to top-tier waterproofs, the PROT3X fabric is somewhat untested (compared to near-ubiquitous Gore-Tex), you’ll need to re-proof relatively regularly, and the 15,000g/m²/24hr breathability grade is decent, but not as high as many competitors.

But, ultimately, you can’t really complain at this price-point. For £180, the Highlander Munro V2 Mountain Jacket is a great buy with solid performance in wet weather.

Waterproofing and construction

The Highlander Munro V2 Mountain Jacket is made from a 75-denier, robust fabric called PROT3X, which is a 100% polyester with a PFC-free water repellent DWR coating. This is Highlander’s in-house, proprietary technology.

It has a 3-layer construction technique for maximum durability, with the waterproof membrane sandwiched between a face fabric and inner scrim. All of the seams are taped throughout the jacket, and all of the zippers – a common water ingress vulnerability in shell layers – have a great design.

You get premium quality YKK zippers, with a water-resistant construction and in-built zipper garages. The main central zipper is also backed by a chunky stormflap on the underside. Highlander says all of this adds up to an official 20,000mm hydrostatic head rating, which is very solid.

It’s not as high as some competitors (all Gore-Tex membranes promise a minimum of 28,000mm, for example) – but 20,000mm at this price point is top-notch.

As with all PFC-free waterproofs, you’ll probably have to re-proof this jacket relatively regularly, in order to stop it wetting out, to revitalise the breathability and to ensure the beading of the DWR is working well. Highlander recommends you do this using Nikwax products.

During my test hikes in the Lake District, I found the Highlander Munro V2 Mountain Jacket adequately protective, keeping me dry during medium intensity downpours. More time is needed to truly test it in atrocious conditions, but – at first glance – I reckon this jacket is strong and robust enough for 3-season use in the UK’s wet mountains.

Breathability and ventilation

Personally I find almost all hard shell, membrane-based, waterproof jackets quite hot and clammy. They always make me over-heat – particularly when I’m blasting it up a steep ascent – and it’s tricky for me to not become a hotbox of sweat inside the jacket.

Despite what brands say about their superb breathability, I’ve not found anything that works perfectly – I’m nearly always prone to over-heating and getting sweaty.

This has certainly been the case for me with the Highlander Munro V2 jacket. Its official breathability stat is 15,000g/m²/24hr, which is fairly good but not spectacular (although, for the price, it’s pretty impressive).

However you do get two nice pit vents underneath each arm. Each pit vent is 30cm long – a decent length – and you get a two-way zipper, so you can fine tune the open gap to your preference. When I found myself over-heating, these helped me to cool down a little – although they weren’t a magic wand to completely solve the clamminess problem.

Overall, therefore, I’d state that the breathability of the Highlander Munro V2 is okay, rather than amazing, but for just £180 ($225) it certainly achieves a fair and respectable level of performance.

Weight and packability

I found the Highlander Munro V2 a little heavier than ideal – generally I prefer a lighter, more agile and streamlined hard shell jacket, but that’s just my personal preference. Some other hillwalkers may find a heavier jacket reassuringly hefty and sturdy.

On my scales the Highlander Munro V2 weighs 551g (men’s medium), which is a little on the heavy side. Usually something between 300g and 450g hits the sweet spot for me, particularly with fabrics such as Gore-Tex Pac Plus, but for most hillwalkers it’s all about balance.

You can’t ever get lightweight, protective and cheap at the same time – there’s always a trade-off somewhere. This jacket is protective and cheap, but not lightweight, and that’s absolutely fine.

Having said this, 551g is far from excessive. It’s a mid-range weight – neither very heavy, nor ultralight. While you can get much lighter 3-season jackets, similarly there are many heftier and chunkier ones out there too, such as the Páramo Alta III and Sprayway Torridon.

The slightly heavy build, however, doesn’t really affect the packability of the Highlander Munro V2. It packs down pretty small and will fit into your backpack easily, without being too bulky.

Size, fit, freedom of movement and comfort

Sadly the Highlander Munro V2 is only available in a men’s version – there is no women’s-specific option, although the brand hopes to launch one in the future. The men’s version is available in five sizes from S to XXL.

I’m 178cm tall and weigh 66.5kg, with a slim, athletic build. I’m usually a “smedium” size, varying between small and medium in different brands, depending on the cut and fit.

I tested the Highlander Munro V2 in a medium and found it a perfect fit for my body shape. As such, it might be fair to say that the cut is a little on the small size. If you can, it’s best to try for size before you buy, or if you have a chunkier build with broader shoulders than me, it might be wise to think about sizing up.

Some online reviewers have described the cut as “short and boxy”. This is such a personal thing, however, depending on your exact body shape, height and size, and it’s difficult to draw generalised conclusions. What I can say is that – for me – the medium size hit the spot.

It offered good coverage over my backside (in the style of a “dropped” hem), the arm length was pretty accurate (with just a tiny bit of fabric bunching-up), and the cut around my shoulders, chest and torso struck a nice balance between snugness and roominess.

During my test hikes, I got a bit of space for layering underneath, but the jacket wasn’t too baggy, and the cut still felt slightly athletic and agile with good freedom of movement. All-round comfort levels were pretty high too, partly thanks to the slight softness to the fabric – it never felt as stiff, rigid or plastic-y as some hard shells, such as those using Gore-Tex Pro.

Features: Hood, pockets, wrist cuffs, zippers and waistband

For just £180 ($225) you get a fully-fledged hard shell jacket with loads of top-notch features – it’s impressive stuff.

The wrist cuffs are tapered, nicely sized (not too cavernous) and have a solid Velcro tab for sealing out the cold and rain. The waist hem is adjustable via two drawcord toggles, one on each side, at the top of your hips. These can be used to fine-tune the fit around your waist for a tighter, closer fit, if so desired.

In terms of pockets, you get three – two classic handwarmer pockets and one internal valuables pocket. The two handwarmer pockets are very deep and can easily accommodate an OS map; and the internal zippered pocket is big enough to house my Samsung S22 Ultra smartphone, which is quite chunky with a large screen – so the pocket should be a good size for almost any phone.

As referenced in the waterproofing section of this review, all of the zippers on this jacket are YKK water-resistant zips – a high standard of hardware component. They feel nice and work well, with good zip pulls and a smooth flow.

The central zipper and the pit vents are two-way zippers, but the pockets are one-way only. I’d like to see a press stud button at the base of the central zipper, to keep the jacket secured in place rather than too flappy, when unzipping from the bottom, but this feature is omitted.

While the main central zipper is backed by a sturdy stormflap, you don’t get stormflaps behind the pit vent or handwarmer pocket zippers – again I’d liked to have seen these included.

Finally, in terms of the hood, it has a wired peak, which is nicely malleable and can be shaped into a protective visor. The hood is helmet compatible and has three-way volume adjusters, with two drawcord toggles at the sides and one at the rear. The hood is well-shaped and moves nicely with the head, without restricting your view.

However, during my test mountain hikes, I noticed that the hood did not provide particularly good coverage across my face, instead leaving a big hole with my chin, nose, cheeks and eyes all exposed to the elements. Perhaps this is something unique to my face shape (I have, erm, quite a prominent chin and big forehead), but it is perhaps worth mentioning.

Of course, it didn’t really matter when the rain was vertical, but in windy conditions with horizontal precipitation, I’d be worried about lots of water getting in through the face hole.

The Highlander Munro V2 also comes with a spare set of grey zip pullers, with a more “discreet” styling and colour compared to the bright yellow-green ones provided. You also get a 282-year guarantee against manufacturing defects – in a clever bit of marketing, that’s a year for every Munro peak in Scotland.

Sustainability

There are no recycled materials in the Highlander Munro V2 Mountain Jacket, but the DWR treatment is PFC free – which is a more eco-friendly manufacturing process, without the use of harmful chemicals. The eco credentials of this jacket are decent, therefore, without being exceptional.

Verdict

The Highlander Munro V2 Mountain Jacket is a superbly priced 3-layer jacket promising a 20,000mm hydrostatic head rating – but there is no women’s version.

Find out how well the Highlander Munro V2 Mountain Jacket performs against other affordable waterproof jackets.

About the author

James Forrest writes regular features and route guides for Trail and has been one of our main gear testers for the last few years. James is based on the edge of the Lake District so when he isn’t off on his latest crazy adventure or challenge, he’s walking in his local fells.

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