The Gear Blog, June 27th
By
Claire Maxted & Nicki Giles
27 June 2008 10:55
Marmot exclusive
Two weeks ago the latest gear news from Marmot was so new they didn’t even have pictures for the additions to their Winter range. Now you can enjoy an exclusive first peak at this red hot kit. Enjoy, but read responsibly, remember this doesn’t hit the shops until August so be patient - no tantrums in the gear shops, angry phone calls about unavailability to Marmot etc.
Marmot told us their best seller this winter and already snapped up by outdoor shops UK-wide is set to be the Spire Jacket, a great value 3-layer Gore-Tex Performance waterproof for both male and female walkers (pictured in blue - men's - and red - women's). At 708g it’s about a third heavier than the Trail Best in Test winner from Nov 05, the Gore-Tex Pro Shell Mountain Equipment Ogre/Nanga Parbat but it's £30 cheaper at £200.
Then they let slip that the popular Super Hero softshell jacket that Trail’s technical ed Graham is testing right now has been given an upgrade. See how it fares in next issue’s softshell test (Trail Sept 08, in shops July 31st). The new £180 shell features a re-designed hood for anti-drippage, made from Gore-windstopper rather than a Precip-lined for increased gale-proofing and less roll-away bulk.
Whispering about Ladies only stuff came next, with a completely new woman’s fit jacket, the Reyna softshell. This £160 knocks the previous softshell, the Women’s Genesis out of the running with an upgrade from Gore-Windstopper to stretchy Polartec Windbloc for a highly breathable, better feeling and fitting jacket.
Back to man-talk now and Marmot’s completely new, lighterweight insulating piece, the sleek Zeus Jacket, snuck into the conversation. This 800 fill goose down jacket is £120 and saves weight with a lighter, less durable outer fabric and no hood to weigh in at a teeny100g, (that’s like 4xAA batteries don’t you know). The nearest women’s equivalent is the 800 goose down filled Venus Jacket at 80g and their classic, hooded, 650 fill goose down jacket, the Ama Dablam is six times as heavy. Use this new one as mid-layer insulation or stuff it in your sack for emergencies.
All weights for an average size M
Brand new Crux jacket
Climbing gear specialists Crux are releasing a brand new jacket for autumn, the Torq, which has been designed specifically with the needs of Trail readers in mind.
In November 2007 we featured the £200 Crux Flax, a bombproof mountain coat, in our lineup of winter jackets. It made the final, with our gear expert Graham Thompson loving the ease of movement of the sleeves, the robustness of the 3-layer eVent fabric and the large hood. But, he also complained about the lack of storm flap and pit-zips, the limited movement of the hood, the lack of length and the fact that the Napoleon Pockets weren’t great for warming hands.
“I think in a nutshell your review of the Flux Jacket pronounced it too technical for Trail readers, and the new jacket addresses all of the concerns. It is a more commercial, usable version that can be worn all year round and is equally at home in the UK as in the Alps,” says Crux representative Clive Allen.
The Torq Jacket still hasn’t got pit-zips or a storm flap, but it does have a more durable and water-resistant zip, the Riri Aqua zip, which uses plastic teeth to form a weatherproof seal. It comes in both regular and extra-long lengths, so you won’t get wet if you sit down, and hood moves better thanks to the lighter fabric (the whole thing weighs 435g now, rather than 520). Roomy side pockets replace the Napoleon pockets, so your hands will be toasty warm. There’s just one drawback- all these improvements hike the price £240.
Before the Torq appears in the shops GT should be getting an exclusive look at it. Watch this space to find out if it’s worth shelling out that extra £40! www.crux.uk.com
C.A.M.P’s top-secret new design
C.A.M.P’s new feather-light sleeping bags are so new they don’t even exist yet, and are unlikely to be seen in the UK for up to a year, but that doesn't stop us bringing you some juicy titbits nevertheless.
Dubbed the Sleep Advanced Kit (SAK), there are plans for two models, the SAK 150 Tech and the SAK 150 eVent, which are projected to dramatically undercut the current lightest sleeping bags for weight. A layer of eVent fabric will form the exterior of the latter, and both will have goose-down insulation and combine with a compact, removable pillow area that can be taken off, stuffed with spare clothes and fastened back onto the bag at the shoulder. The comfort rating is projected be from 0-15 degrees C, and the pack size 28x13cm.
Colin Westland, sales director for C.A.M.P, says, “I don’t know of anyone else who uses 100% waterproof eVent fabric in a sleeping, and the whole design, with a pillow that folds up small to allow a very small pack weight when it’s all rolled up, is just unique.”
We’ll be the first to find out when the bag is made, so we’ll bring you more details in the next couple of months.
Discount for readers on life-saving bras
Ladies, take note: a good sports bra could save your life on the hills. According to a recent Associated Press report a young hiker was recently rescued in the Bavarian Alps after using her bra to signal to Lumberjacks for help.
Jessica Bruinsma, 24, from Colorado, lost her way in bad weather and fell off a cliff onto a ledge below, injuring her leg and shoulder in the process. The resourceful hiker noticed a cable nearby, part of an out-of-service cable car system used to move timber down the mountain, and fastened her bra to it as a distress signal.
Luckily the system was soon fixed and the bra was carried down a worker who had heard that a climber had been reported missing and called the police. Three days after she fell Jessica was found and heli-lifted off the mountain.
So, now we know how life-saving they can be, it's time we all had a decent sports bra in the drawer. We ssked Boobydoo, a Lake District based sports-bra testing and retailing company, for some tips on choosing a good reliable sports bra to use for hill-walking. Boobydoo’s Stephen Whiteley said, “It is essential that the material has high wicking and quick drying qualities, but the style depends very much pm bra/breast size. Larger sizes require more support. Generally mountaineering would be classed as a medium impact activity, but it probably depends on your mountaineering style.”
He recommends:
-For smaller sizes, the racer-back Shock Absorber B999, from 32A-38D.
-For larger sizes, the Shock Absorber B109, from 32D-40G.
-For those who really want to vastly reduce all movement and gain insulation in cold conditions, the Enell sports bra, from 32C-52E.
The company has agreed to give a 10% discount to all readers on the most expensive item of your first order. All you have to do is go to the checkout and enter this code in the “use your voucher” box: 1111-5555-8888. See www.boobydoo.co.uk.
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See ya next week!