The H2 Flow Midlayer arrived just in time for a Vancouver cold snap.

Nothing to break any records, but the temperatures dipped so low that it made the top-ten coldest weeks in the city. At night the mercury dropped down to minus 10, with a wind chill taking it down further to minus 13. If you are thinking, “well, you are in Canada isn’t it always really cold in winter?” ?” you are mistaken. True, most of Canada has temperatures that dive below minus 30, but not in Vancouver.

Vancouver has a similar climate to the UK and hovers around zero for most of the winter, and snow at sea level is rare. On one of these cold days I decided to cycle to work. It was about minus two and a white frost made the city glisten. I put on the H2 flow midlayer jacket and got on my bike. I was chilly to start with, but as I peddled on I began to warm up. Vancouver has a fair few steep hills. Peddling up my second hill, I was sweating. I pulled down the ventilation zips whilst still riding up the frankly horrible hill. It did the trick; I cooled down to a comfortable level.
The jacket comes in five different colours and has a slim fit. I chose the plum colour jacket, as it matched my snow gear. For sizing I went for medium over a small to have more room to move. Especially as I knew I would be layering underneath. (I’m around a size 10) The fabric and the glare is slightly reminiscent of a shell suit.
I took the jacket on a recent trip to Big White, a ski resort five hours north-east of Vancouver. I wore it under my ski jacket, and even with minus 10 temperatures, (at mid-day) and a head on icy wind, bringing the temperature down further, my body at least was not cold. (My toes, face and figures on the other hand are a different story). I found that the slim fit left me plenty of room to move while I shredded down the mountain on my board.

8/10

The Technology
H2 Flow stands for “Hollow Heat Flow”, a system that marries insulation that features both positive and negative spaces, and a proprietary approach to air flow regulation. The technology allows you to easily make adjustments to your temperature based on your activity level and external weather conditions.