Cloudveil Veiled Peak Vest
By Rhett Olson

Editor's note: The Veiled Peak Vest is a Spring/Summer 2000 product. Watch for it to reach the market then.

My first experience with Cloudveil came this past summer while I was attending the bi-annual Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City. A day before the show, a freak storm blew threw town producing a class 2 tornado that wreaked havoc on the show. Two exhibition tents outside the convention center were directly in the storms path. As the storm passed, one of the tents was demolished and the other sustained heavy damage.

For many exhibitors, this was the end of the show. However, others were able to salvage some of there booth and continue the show which opened a day late. Cloudveil was one such company.

As I met with reps from the company, they explained their situation. Their booth was destroyed, but they were able to get some of their clothing out of the rubble to display it. I thought to myself, "this must be tough stuff, will I be able to test it any better than the tornado?"

Since then, I have pitted the Veiled Peak Vest to other forces to see how it held up. And now it is time to report.

The vest is made of Schoeller Dynamic Micro fabric, which is a blend of Cordura, Lycra and Polyester. The material makes the vest incredibly light, flexible and durable. The draw-cord at the waist, mesh-lined zippered chest pocket and fleece lined collar exemplify a thoughtful design.

I found the Veiled Peak Vest to be best suited as an outer layer during aerobic activity. Only a panting dog breathes more. If you want insulation go with fleece, but fleece wouldn't last a minute under the wear I put the Veiled Peak through.

If there is any activity that is hard on gear, it is canyoneering. So, I took the vest South to the slots of Zions National Park, Escalante Staircase National Monument and the San Rafael Swell. The vest kept me warm in the cool crevasse bottoms. It also repelled the water that would splash up from time to time while wading through some of the more shallow pools. Most impressively, though, was the vest's durability. All of the chimneying, body rappels and sliding down rocks did nothing. The vest showed no wear beyond the caked on mud.

The Vest is a rare find. However, it comes at a price. Retailing at $119, the vest is very expensive. If price is no issue or you can find some way to choke down the price tag, go for it. You won't find anything of higher quality.

Summary
Run in it. Climb in it. Canyoneer in it. There is just no phasing it. The Veiled Peak vest is the ultimate light weight outerwear vest, and you'll pay for it.

Rhett Olson is a Contributing Editor for GearReview.com.

For more information, contact:
Cloudveil
P.O. Box 11810
Jacson, WY 83002
888-763-5969