A couple of years ago I reviewed the Montane Fireball Lite. I loved it, and I've continued to wear it ever since, as it provides a brilliant balance between warmth and breathability, and is also something that you could use for pretty much everything. After all, who doesn't like a wind resistant, highly breathable and subtly insulated jacket?! The Sirocco Lite is similar in several respects, being both light, breathable and insulated, but whilst similar it's far from the same. It runs a bit warmer, featuring thicker fleece throughout the arms and sides, but it also has that same brilliant balance between insulation, wind resistance and breathability across its core. It's cut quite differently too, being much snugger, and as a result much warmer. Overall the Sirocco Lite feels a much more tailored and technical layer, and better suited for cooler conditions.

In Use

Lightweight at under 300g, the Sirocco Lite is a supremely versatile layer, blending the best bits of wind resistant soft-shell with the best bits of fleece. Keeping your core warm is critical when you're out, irrespective of where you are or what you're doing, but so too is not getting too hot. The Sirroco Lite is definitely warmer than the Fireball Lite we referenced in the introduction, and - as a result of this - is better suited towards cooler days. We've had plenty of days this summer where it's been suitable, because lest we forget - it can still get seriously cold in summer. That said, spring and autumn are arguably the most suitable seasons for the Sirocco Lite, as is winter - albeit as part of a more extensive layering system. 

In terms of what you can do with the Sirroco Lite, it's suitable for just about everything - hillwalking, scrambling, climbing (boulder, sport, trad) and mountaineering. The combination of cut, warmth and breathability will be a benefit pretty much everywhere, whether that be Curved Ridge, Cloggy or the Grand Capucin. The only thing that lets it down for more technical use is the fact that its pockets aren't accessible whilst wearing a harness. A chest pocket would have remedied this issue, but alas - there isn't one - which feels like an oversight in an age of smartphones.

I've also worn it whilst running and cycling and it's been well suited towards both, especially in colder whether. Because you tend to generate a lot more warmth when doing these activities it needs to be colder in order to compensate for that extra output.

Fit

The Sirocco Lite is available in both men's and women's fit.

This is definitely a snug fitting layer, which is a part of the reason for it offering so much more warmth, as it traps the hot air extremely effectively. The slimline cut is excellent too, offering fantastic freedom of movement and minimal hem lift when raising your arms above your head, which is critical from a climber's or scrambler's perspective. It fits neatly under other layers too, which is an advantage for winter use. Montane categorise it as 'trim fit' and it's worth mentioning that this fit goes across various models in the range, so if you know that it fits you then you'll also know that the others with this fit will too. 

Features

Across the core the Sirocco Lite features a Featherlite Air 20D (100% recycled/ripstop) outer/inner, with a 100% recycled poly insulation sandwiched between. Across the arms, shoulders and sides there is a four way stretch fleece, which features 50% Polyester (recycled), 42% Nylon 66, 8% elastane. Montane have engineered this so that there's a higher proportion of nylon on the outside, as that aids the durabiltiy, and then a higher proportion of poly on the inside as that helps grab the heat. In short: it's engineered so that each fabric is focussed on what it does best, where that is most effective. A really clever bit of fabric engineering!

The only criticism I have regarding the materials is that throughout the months I've used it the fleece has bobbled quite significantly, particularly on the arms. Whilst this is just a cosmetic issue, it's not what you want from a premium fleece/softshell product.

You don't get a hood with this jacket. Opinions on that will vary, but given the plethora of hoods we generally have to contend with in the hills, a hood-free layer is definitely neater and less bulky within a layering system. 

The Sirocco Lite features two hand warmer pockets, which are nice when you're out walking, but when you're climbing - wearing a harness - they're not accessible. This would have been remedied by the addition of a chest pocket, but there isn't one, which can leave you wanting for a little extra space whilst you're climbing or mountaineering. In an age where I use my phone both as a guidebook and a camera, not having somewhere convenient and out of the way to store it isn't ideal.

Summary

I've worn the Sirocco Lite a lot throughout 2024 and it's one of those products you can put on, leave on and forget about. The fact you can use it for just about everything is another major benefit, because versatility counts for a lot - and jackets don't come too much more versatile than this. The only possible downside is the absence of a chest pocket for more technical use, which does feel like an oversight.