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brooks-range.com, 15.5 ounces
It’s nearly impossible to imagine life without puffy coats. Not the super-light, somewhat anemic down sweaters that made headlines the last two years with their helium weightlessness (although we like those too), but the pillowy Michelin Man down coats that are so plush and lofty that they double as a comforter or sleeping bag on chilly nights. The 800-fill down Mojave jacket has a loft that is lush, but not exorbitant (consider it a Stay Puff Marshmallow man with six-pack abs). It offers just enough insulation to keep you warm in single digit temps, but it’s not so heavy that the jacket can only be worn in sub-zero climates. It utilizes a new treatment that renders the down water resistant—an improvement in feather insulation that arguably pushes the needle in the outdoor apparel category. There are a few companies who specialized in “waterproof” down; Brooks Range utilizes DownTek technology, a process that applies a micro-thin nanopolymer to the feathers, creating a water repellent, anti-microbial, anti-bacterial insulation that doesn’t soak up water. Our Oregon testers wore the Mojave in day-long drizzle and wet snow showers—even when the entire garment got damp from a downpour, it dried faster than traditional down by at least 50 percent (while the lightweight durable Pertex Quantum fabric shell is water-resistant, the jacket isn’t seam sealed). Better still, the down never wetted out or clumped. The jacket has a deep hood that can be pulled forward and snugged around the face with the tug of a toggled draw cord, or adjusted with a small Velcro strap to stay upright without blocking peripheral vision. Two deep, zippered hand-warmer pockets are lined with a soft microfleece and an internal Napoleon zip pocket secures phone, wallet, and chap stick. The jacket packs down to the size of a football.
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www.sierradesigns.com
According to hangtag copy, Sierra Design’s 800-fill DriDown down insulation used in their Gnar Lite jacket has a hydrophobic finish that, “keeps sweat, rain, or melting snow from soaking into the down while allowing internal moisture to escape.” My initial response to that? ”Yea, sure. And pigs fly.”
But before exploring that claim, let’s look at the jacket itself. This is a classic “what’s-not-to-like” product, a jacket who’s beauty lies in its simplicity and versatility. The fit proved perfect. Having two zippered handwarmer pockets and three internal open pockets is always a plus. But best of all, the jacket is light enough to be an excellent outer layer in milder conditions and a superb insulating layer under a shell in colder conditions. Having thumbholes at the cuffs makes it easy to get a shell on over the Gnar Lite, and adds a bit more warmth for your hands.
Okay, so all was well with the jacket’s design and basic function. Now to prove or disprove the DriDown concept. That theory was tested twice when I purposely took a hike in pouring rain. Both hikes took me up a steady half-hour climb where I worked up a good sweat. This was followed by a long descent when I started to cool off dramatically. In short, two hard hikes in perfect hypothermia weather, The jacket got soaked both times but performed as advertised, expelling excess internal moisture buildup while ascending and keeping me warm as I started to cool down on the descent.
If I was to rate the jacket on performance on a 0-to-5, yuk-to-supreme scale, I’d give the Gnar Lite a 5.
A caveat is in order. I am a Sierra Designs alum from the company’s early days (1970 to 1976), back when we made tents, sleeping bags, jackets, and packs in Berkeley, CA. I put that bias aside when it came to the Gnar Lite’s test, thinking there’s no way they can make a down jacket better than we used to, back when down insulation and water made for tragic conditions. Boy was I wrong.
-Bob Woodward
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www.hellyhansen.com, 15.6 ounces
This unique variation on the venerable shelled fleece jacket design truly impressed us during recent tests, with its excellent insulation-to-weight ratio, easy venting, and fast moisture transfer in sweaty situations. At first glance the H2Flow looks like a standard hoodless zip-front jacket with a taffeta outer shell, fleece inner, and twin zip pockets. However, the shell fabric isn’t nylon, it’s tougher polyester, which resists UV degradation and doesn’t stretch or absorb water when wet. Beneath that is a 200g Polartec brushed fleece with yet another difference, a Swiss cheese pattern of circular cut-outs that trap air to increase insulation, while also helping to disperse sweat vapor. The cut-outs are body-mapped, with larger holes and closer spacing in high-sweat areas like the central back, while smaller, widely spaced holes cover the chest and midriff.
The side panels and sleeves are lined only with a lightweight brushed nylon, while the fleece torso is further lined with a loose open mesh for slippery layering and free air flow. As if that weren’t enough, two foot-long zippered vents run down the chest, and the pockets are all mesh, forming de facto vents as well.
The overall effect is a jacket that’s nearly as warm as a puffy when zipped up, but resists rain showers, transfers sweat better, and vents far more than either puffies or standard shelled fleece. The weather resistance and wide temperature range made it perfect for humid, chilly camp evenings and soggy autumn trail runs on damp, cold, 11,000-foot Boulder Mountain. It’s already become one of our key layering staples, as fall progresses into winter.
- Steve Howe
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The three pitching options of the Skyledge tent, including the way to keep the tent dry in a downpour.
The Mountain Hardwear innovation that will likely garnish much of the fanfare in spring 2013 will be the cadre of active apparel outfitted with Cool.Q ZERO, which boasts “active cooling technology.” Pieces like the Way2Cool Short-Sleeve T ($65) will wick the sweat off your skin, then use a proprietary technology to cool your body before the moisture evaporates. We’ve tested the same tech in Columbia products (the parent company of MH) and so far it works. We’ll continue to test and let you know what we find.
Elsewhere on the apparel side, the Ghost Whisperer Down Jacket ($300) offers 850-fill down insulation in a package that weight a measly seven ounces, but should keep you warm and dry whenever the weather gets rough. As with all down products in Mountain Hardwear’s line, the Ghost Whisperer boasts waterproof Q.Shield DOWN. The Plasmic Jacket should also be a fast-mover on the retail shelves. The hard shell jacket employs MH’s proprietary Dry.Q Evap for waterproof/breathable protection, with a sly-looking exposed water-resistant zipper and a wide array of colors. Priced at only $140, it could become a gateway drug to Mountain Hardwear for the uninitiated.
Finally, on the outdoor shelter front, they’re introducing the Skyledge 2 and 3 ($450, $550). The footprint for both the two- and three-tent is included in the price, which gives you three out-of-the-box pitch options: the tent and fly, just the tent, or just the fly, with the tent frame anchored in place by the footprint (pictured, above). This last option also lets you pitch your tent in the rain; just roll out the footprint, assemble the frame, toss over the fly, and then you can then pitch the tent without worrying about getting the tent interior fully soaked. And for the ultra-lighter go-getter, there’s the SuperMegaUL 1, a free-standing one-person tent that weighs in at 1 pound, 14 ounces for $350.
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DriDown in Action, floating where normal down drowns.
We’ve always loved down. From jackets and vests to sleeping bags, those soft little feathers are the insulation elite for good reason. Warmth without weight, excellent breathability, and plush, comfy loft—except when down gets wet. Then it loses its capacity to keep you warm, and takes forever to dry. Previous solutions to this problem mainly include wrapping down in various waterproof/breathable shell fabrics. But that adds extra weight, stiffer material, extra cost, and greatly reduced breathability.
That’s all changed now, thanks to Sierra Design’s new DriDown. Introduced in this summer’s sleeping bags, this new technique makes the actual feathers water-resistant. And when they do get wet, they keep their loft and dry much faster than their less-enhanced relatives. This miracle cure occurs during the down finishing process (some time after it leaves the duck or goose and before it becomes insulation), when a molecular-level polymer is applied to each individual feather. This hydrophobic (water-hating) finish keeps the feathers dryer longer (manufacturer’s tests indicate five- to seven-times longer). The treated down maintains its loft in humid conditions (which can pancake non-treated feathers) and dries noticeably quicker when it does eventually get damp. Sierra Designs will start unveiling the apparel with DriDown this August.
DownTek (made by Down Décor, a supplier of down since the 1990s) is also entering the game, supplying hydrophobic, quick-drying down to outdoor gear and apparel manufacturers including Big Agnes, LL Bean, Mountain Hardwear, and Brooks-Range, who will be rolling out their version of waterproof down in sleeping bags and apparel throughout this summer and the fall/winter seasons ahead. Which one works best? We’re testing now. Stay tuned.
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