A great fit with well-designed sleeves and a good combination of velcro and elastic at the cuffs. Hem and waist drawcords help fine-tune fit and I love the hood, which fitted me brilliantly and was easy to adjust . Comfort-wise, it's hard to knock the Cascada, which is cut from a wonderfully soft and rustle-free fabric making it a real pleasure to wear. Loses a mark as it's a little long for my liking but this will suit some walkers.

PERFORMANCE 9/10

Similar weight and pack-down size to the two runners-up, but beats both hands down on breathability, making it far more pleasant to wear for more energetic walking. It proved very waterproof, coping well in some of the wettest Welsh weather, and the hood is nice and roomy so you can really bury yourself inside it, while the soft fabric means you can still hear what someone's saying! Loses a mark as the pockets are hard to get to witha pack on.

VERDICT 18/20

A well-designed, incredibly comfy jacket with exceptional breathability. Paramo often loses out to lightweight waterproofs, but against others of similar weight and bulk it's in a league of its own.