Mountain Sports Apparel
Cold Weather Protection
When you’re involved in outdoor sports, keeping your core body temperature even is very important. Breathable materials with effective insulation help keep your body dry and while also ensuring that you don’t cool down too far in cold and windy conditions.
Requirements: When it gets really cold, normal layering of your clothing isn’t enough to keep your body’s temperature constant. An additional layer of insulation functions like a thermal air barrier that protects your body from the cold. Good insulation materials to choose from include down, synthetic fibers and fleece, each of which has its own unique properties. They all have a good weight to warmth ratio, can be packed down small and are robust, but they dry at different speeds. Different fills are used for different types and levels of activity.
Down
When it comes to insulation, nothing beats down as a fill material. A high-quality down jacket filled with fluffy duck down guarantees cozy warmth and high level of comfort at a low weight.
Down is an ingenious natural product that combines lightness with outstanding thermal properties. The finely branched structures are similar to the form of a snowflake and entrap a large amount of air. Body heat is maintained, so that nothing comes between you and your adventures in the great outdoors, even in the coldest temperatures. Down is a great choice for mid and outer layers of clothing. It’s soft and comfortable to wear, and it’s also antistatic. Because of its elasticity, down retains its shape and is more compressible than synthetic fibers – ideal if you don’t have much space for your gear.
The insulation performance of down, however, is negatively affected by water. Moisture from sweat or from the air can cause down to clump and lose its insulating effect. Airing out and drying your down items regularly will help prevent clumping. If a down jacket ever gets soaked, for example, let it dry and then shake it out well. Drying in a tumble dryer with the addition of some tennis balls is optimal, as these will redistribute the fine down filaments. In addition, down has its own natural smell which can be eliminated by washing.
Fill Power
Fill power, or loft, is an important quality feature of down and describes its capacity to store air. This value is given in “cuin” (cubic inches) and indicates the volume (loft) to which an ounce (~ 28 grams) of down expands after compression. The higher this value, the better the insulation capacity in relation to volume. Down fill with high loft is lighter and more compressible than an equally warm fill with lower quality down.
Down to Feather Ratio
Depending on the activity that a jacket is designed for, different down blends are used in our products. Fill ratios refer to the percentage of down plumes to support feathers in terms of overall fill weight. The higher the ratio of down plumes, the higher the loft.
90/10 down ratio
90/10 down fill ensures optimum insulation at a minimum weight. For some of our sleeping bags and apparel we use a high quality down with a fill ratio of 90 % down to 10 % feathers. We rely on down with a loft of 700+ cu in and 800+ cu in fill power to achieve this excellent ratio of insulation performance to weight.
70/30 down ratio
During transitional seasons, down fill with a ratio of 70/30 is often used. This contains high-quality and durable grey duck down. Fill power: 500 cuin
Recycled Down
100% recycled down in accordance with the Global Recycling Standard. This duck down or goose down comes from recycled bedding or clothing. It is collected, cleaned, sorted and sterilized in an energy-efficient process helping us to bring a valuable natural product back into the production cycle. Recycled down provides excellent insulation and is light as a feather. It also offers high breathability and provides natural warmth.
• excellent heat insulation, breathable and lightweight
• longer use of valuable natural products
• resource-friendly manufactured in accordance with the Global Recycling Standard
DWR Down – down with durable water repellency
Certified down with a PFC-free water repellent finish (DWR) that protects the fill from moisture and humidity. Even if it gets wet, this down retains its loft and rarely clumps. Its excellent insulating properties remain intact and if it does get wet, it dries much faster.
• highest quality down with PFC-free, water-repellent finish
• does not clump when wet and dries quickly
•down from responsibly sourced, certified farms
SYNTHETIC FIBERS
Synthetic fill is made from microfibers – chemical compounds such as polyester or polyamide. It’s a man-made product, which makes it possible to reinforce specific properties. This provides many advantages for functional clothing. Synthetic fibers are characterized by very low moisture absorption and increased breathability. Even when wet, they retain their thermal properties, in contrast to natural fibers such as goose down. This makes them a great choice for humid areas or for activities that involve sweating. Synthetic fibers are wafer-thin and extremely lightweight, resilient and compressible. Textiles made with them dry quickly, are very robust and easy to care for, offer high heat retention and wearing comfort, and maintain their shape. However, synthetic fill doesn’t match goose down in terms of loft, comfort level and compressibility.
HeatSphere Eco Insulation – made from recycled PET bottles
As warm as down: Heatsphere Eco Insulation consists of heat-trapping spheres made from 100% recycled PET bottles and has the same properties as down fill. It is lightweight, very elastic, warmer than any padded fill and retains its insulation properties even when wet without clumping so you can save resources and do the environment a favor at the same time.
• easy-care fill made from recycled PET bottles
• insulates even when damp without clumping
• climate-friendly thanks to resource-conserving manufacturing
Primaloft® Black Insulation
PrimaLoft® Black Insulation is an insulation made of fine microfibers which is characterized by a particularly high loft, excellent thermal performance and excellent compressibility.
Primaloft® Black Insulation Eco
PrimaLoft® Black Insulation Eco is an insulation made of fine microfibers which is characterized by a particularly high loft, excellent thermal performance and excellent compressibility. This combination of 70 % recycled material and state-of-the-art fiber technology is a powerful and environmentally friendly solution for maximum thermal comfort.
Primaloft® Black Silver Insulation Eco
Primaloft® Silver Insulation Eco is an environmentally friendly, high performance insulation material that’s comfortable and skin friendly. The insulation technology of PrimaLoft® ECO comes from 70% recycled material and 50% primary fibers that create a soft, breathable and ther-mally ei cient insulation layer. PrimaLoft® ECO is light as a feather, water repellent and keeps you warm and cozy.
Polartec® Alpha®
Polartec® Alpha® is a synthetic thermal insulation, where body heat is stored in air chambers. Polartec® Alpha® is especially lightweight, more durable and more robust than comparable insulation materials, and is a great choice for motion-intensive activities. Jackets made with Polartec® Alpha® look like thin down jackets, and are also referred to in Germany as a “puffy”.
Polartec® Thermal Pro®
Polartec® Thermal Pro® fabrics are made from durable polyester. They’re lightweight, breathable and quick to dry. They also retain air and offer excellent heat retention. Many fabrics are also outfitted with a water-repellent finish that causes rain and snow to bead up and roll off.
Sensofil
Sensolfil is a microfiber specially developed by VAUDE that reflects your body heat inward when you wear it. It’s characterized by good moisture transport and provides insulation even when wet. Sensolfil dries quickly, is durable, robust and easy to take care of.
Fleece
In fleece fabrics, multi-fiber threads are integrated into an elastic knitted fabric, cut open (see figs. 1, 2, 3) and napped. This results in a dense surface that’s referred to as pile. The higher the fleece’s pile, the more air that can be stored in the spaces between the fibers and the higher its thermal insulation.
High-quality fleece materials are generally used as a thermal mid-layer, which is worn under the wind and weather protection of the outer layer. Fleece materials are lightweight and offer high thermal performance. They’re breathable and quick to dry. VAUDE fleece is tear-resistant and resistant to pilling (formation of lint or knots).
In some products we use a fiber that is made from 100% FSC-certified wood. Wood ibers are moisture-regulating and pleasantly soft to the touch. We were the first outdoor outitter to develop a cozy fleece material from this material. And the best thing about it: Microibers that
can be shed during the washing process and enter the global water cycle are fully biodegradable in seawater. This helps us to prevent microplastics from entering the oceans and contributes to environmental protection as well as the protection of marine life.
NATURAL FIBERS
Natural fibers are divided into two groups: plant fibers (such as cotton) and animal fibers (such as wool). The natural properties of these fibers make them truly comfortable to wear. All natural fibers are particularly soft, skin-friendly and help regulate your body’s temperature in a natural way. In addition, they’re antistatic. Since these materials retain moisture, they’re more suitable for everyday use than for intensive sporting activities.
Merino Wool
Finest merino wool that is naturally warm and water repellent. This natural fiber is wonderfully soft against your skin and breathable. In addition, it’s a sustainable and renewable raw resource that regulates your body temperature naturally. VAUDE is committed to the Responsible Wool Standard and uses mulesing-free wool exclusively.
• sustainable natural product made from renewable raw resources
• soft against your skin, naturally water repellent and breathable
• manufactured in accordance with the Responsible Wool Standard
Wood Fiber
Cellulose fiber made from 100% verified sustainable wood. The raw material for the fiber is cellulose from eucalyptus or beech wood, which requires neither fertilization nor artificial irrigation and conserves natural resources. Fiber made of wood cellulose is soft against your skin, has moisture-regulating properties and feels pleasantly cool. It is also 100% biodegradable and does not harm the environment or marine life. Thanks to a resource-saving closed-loop production cycle, it is very climate and environmentally friendly because emissions are reduced to a minimum.
• pleasantly cool to wear, soft and silky against your skin
• environmentally friendly, 100% biodegradable
• climate-friendly, resource-efficient and sustainable production
