Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket

Review by Erin Trail

Every once in a while, a piece of gear arrives and is so good that it makes me (nearly) speechless.  The Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket is doing precisely that.

First of all, to set expectations, the Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket is a lightweight, minimalistic shell wind jacket designed for summer hiking.  It is not intended to be something that’s suitable for gale force wind, keeping you warm, or for intense bush-whacking through the woods.

But calling it a “wind jacket” is also a disservice, because the Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket is capable of so much more.

Specifications

• Made from lightweight 20D recycled polyamide ripstop (40g/m2)
• Fitted hood
• Two zippered hand pockets
• Inner drop-in pocket
• Packs into a pack pocket
• One-way zipper
• Water resistant
• Super lightweight (around 3 ounces)

Detailed Review

First impression is how light the Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket is.  It’s so light that it gives the impression of floating as you loft it into the air to put it on.  It’s so light that you wonder if the fabric will hold up to the elements.

But you also know that this is a Fjällräven garment, and they KNOW how to produce high quality garments that perform in the elements.

I asked to gear test this jacket because I often find myself cycling, running, or hiking far away from shelter and I’ve (more than once) been caught out unprepared in Colorado’s unpredictable weather.

Features

The Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket packs down into it’s own pocket, and at around 3 ounces total weight, it barely takes up any space.  This jacket is VERY easy to chuck into a hydration pack or daypack for the “just in case” situation without issuing a weight or volume penalty.

I’ve tested other ultralight jackets; these brands decided that in order to stay lightweight, they the jackets had to be light in features.  The Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket, somehow has THREE pockets, which is fairly uncommon amongst other jackets with a similar mass.  The zippered hand pockets are generous, taking up the bottom half of each side of the jacket.  The inner pocket is a simple drop in pocket, not quite large enough for your phone, but large enough to stuff the entire jacket into for storage.

The hood is elastic and fitted.  Admittedly, it’s a little big for my smaller head, but it fits perfectly when I wear a trucker hat.

Fit and Feel

The Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket falls in between a relaxed and fitted cut for me.  I’m a size medium on the Fjällräven size guide.  The medium fits great across the shoulders and chest.  It is a smidge tight along the bottom hem across the hips, when I pull it down to the fullest extent. I did find the chest area to be roomy enough to layer a running hydration vest beneath the jacket. If you want a true relaxed fit or room for bulky layers in the hip area, you may want to consider going up a size.

The jacket, being ultralight, feels (and I apologize for this description) like a very fancy plastic bag.  The fabric feels flimsy.  The jacket lilts in the air if you toss it upwards. And the fabric is also pretty see-through.  I want to be clear though, that the jacket is far from being a plastic bag.  The fabric, while light, seems to be pretty tough, and as a whole, the jacket did an outstanding job of repelling some pretty terrible weather.  Lesson: do not judge a jacket’s capabilities on the feel of the fabric alone.

Function

Function is where the Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket impresses me the most.  While advertised as a wind jacket, I’m actually super impressed with it’s ability to resist water.

I was volunteering at an outdoor festival recently, and due to parking craziness, I opted to ride my bike to the event.  I tossed the wind jacket into my hydration pack and left the house without checking the weather.  About 5 minutes into my volunteer gig, it started to gently rain. Adorable rain.  My volunteer role was to check in event guests, which meant I had to leave the relative dryness of our pop-up canopy and scan tickets and check bags.  Eventually, the weather turned into sideways rain.  I ended up working for around an hour in this weather.  It was terrible, mostly because I was wearing shorts and sandals.  But the Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket was wonderful and I was super impressed.

The water beaded up on the jacket immediately and shed water well.  Most rain jackets stop beading up once enough water has hit the jacket and then it just absorbs water into the top layer of the fabric.  The Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket fabric never became saturated. Even with sideways rain, I had zero moisture breakthrough on the upper half of my body.

And being a wind jacket, the Fjällräven Keb Lätt did a great job blocking the wind.  I’ve also worn the jacket on cool weather runs with threats of rain.  The jacket was a light layer that nicely blocked the wind (and rain) and kept me from feeling chilled.

Closing Thoughts

The Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket is SO much more than the name implies.  This jacket is a great option for those who want a super light layer of protection for emergency situations.  With it’s small volume and mass, this jacket is easy to toss into your pack and bring along on your summer adventures.  You won’t ever feel like you’ve taken on a space or weight penalty, and with it’s impressive performance, you’ll be happy that you toted it along with you when the weather turns wet.

The Fjällräven Keb Lätt Wind Jacket is available for both men and women. The jacket is available for women in three colorways (fossil, breeze blue, mountain blue) and in sizes ranging from XXS to XL.  Men’s options are in three colorways (fossil, UN blue, mountain blue) and in sizes ranging from XS to XXL.

Erin Trail

Trail Boss of Stoke

Erin Trail on her mountain bike at the World Tri Cross Triathlon World Championship race

Erin Trail on her running at the World Tri Cross Triathlon World Championship race