Helly Hansen Men's Ekolab Recycler Jacket : Sustainable Rainwear

Last October a 21-year-old paddler from Cape Town, South Africa known as "Sean the Prawn" came to stay with me before the Mayor's Cup, a 32-mile professional kayak race around Manhattan.

Unfortunately, a cold front settled on New York just after he arrived, forcing us to channel our inner Norwegian fisherman. Though he was strong as a harbor seal and fortified with a plucky attitude, the Prawn did not have the outerwear to handle the rain, wind and cold, so I loaned him my Helly Hansen rain jacket.

Before you could say "Helly Juell Hansen fashioned his first (oilskin) jacket in 1877" he and that wind- and water-proof garment were one. When we parted at JFK airport, I had a lump in my throat as he receded into the crowd in my lime green Helly. Generosity, you see, comes with an emotional price.

Looking back, it was a win/win situation: a poor student at the tip of Africa (famed for its fierce winter storms) inherited an essential piece of equipment and I soon had the chance to replace that garment with Helly Hansen's Ekolab Recycler Jacket: a lightweight, waterproof, breathable protective shell that's far more eco-friendly than my old jacket but still has all the features I consider essential: water-resistant pit zips for ventilation; an attached, retractable hood (I like that it fits securely over the brim of a baseball cap as well as a helmet); an inner zip pocket; and pull cords to batten down the hatches should they need to be battened.

The Ekolab jacket also offers two roomy exterior pockets, large enough to accommodate a book for the subway or food and/or goggles when I'm on the slopes, and three-layers of waterproof, breathable protection.

And, oh yeah, the jacket still performs at the usual HH standard. Though we've had an unusually cold winter in New York, this February it warmed up just enough to rain, sleet, and, as I write, snow...a lot. Worn over a wool sweater, the jacket rebuffs wind, rain or snow like a couple of soaking kayakers asking to use the men's room at a four-star restaurant.

Eco Creds: Material made out of recycled water bottles.

The Ekolab Jacket is part of a HH's Ekolab collection. This line features garments that require less design work, contain less toxic dyes, and use more eco-friendly fabrics. HH has stopped using PTFE (aka polytetrafluorethylene to you and me, a chemical also used in Teflon) in their waterproof fabrics.

HH is also trying to practice sustainability by sourcing materials close to manufacturing facilities.

Öko-tex certified material.

Sizes: S-XXL in blue, walnut, and black. Available in women's sizes, too. XS-XL, colors: walnut and frost blue.

Bottom Line: Ideal for skiers, hikers, and itinerant South Africans touring the Big Apple. A large weighs just 22.6 ounces.--J.G. (Feb. '10)

BUY ONLINE : $299.95 click to shop at amazon.com, click to shop at backcountry

Manufacturer's Site: www.hellyhansen.com