1 of 3
This review is combined with the previous purchase of the Bentu Fleece. I am a big fan of the Paramo gear, especially my Velez Smock but I find that because I run quite warm the Velez has limited use to temperatures below 8/10c. The Bentu combo was purchased to cover those temperatures over 10c, but surprisingly works well in temperatures across the range. I recently travelled to New Zealand for a wedding, stopping at Vancouver on the way out and San Francisco on the way back. I figured that the Bentu combo was likely to be best option for the range in weather I was likely to encounter. Vancouver was cold, temperatures from -2c and snow to 6c with showers. The Bentu combo was combined with different base layers and I was warm, comfortable and dry throughout my stay. In New Zealand the weather varied from traditional summer hot and dry weather, when the shell remained in my pack, to a cyclonic storm where temperatures dropped to around 8/10c coupled with 100mph winds and 18” plus rain falling in less than 24 hours. I have to say that during the worst weather, I stayed indoor, but I did venture out before and after the worst weather. My top half under the combo remained dry, whereas my DWR treated trousers where completely waterlogged. In San Francisco weather ranged from warm and dry to wet and windy, where both layers came into use at varying times and I remained comfortable throughout. As a combination the Paramo Bentu works really well covering temperatures from -2c to 20c, it shock off the worst of the rain really well. The only downside I encountered was really bad static when the shell was taken off the fleece!
Tony Watts
29th March, 2023Rated: 5/5