Belay Jackets And You...
It's either something your mum would approve of, or an effective way of staying warm, or maybe a bit of both. Here's why a synthetically-filled jacket's worth thinking about for winter.
Posted: 26 November 2004
by Jon
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OUTDOORSmagic kit expert Richard Gear touched on the 'belay jacket
system' in his recent
article on keeping warm in winter and we thought it was worth
expanding on a little.
As one OM member pointed out, the concept of pulling on a nice
warm coat when it's cold is hardly revolutionary - your mum was hot
on modern clothing systems you know - but that's really a bit of an
over-simpification.
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Sprayway's new Belay Jacket -
lined with
Primaloft, cut to go over a shell -
£100
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The idea of using a warm, insulated jacket when stationary originated
with climbers - or your mum, if she was a climber - who on pitched
routes alternate between strenuous activity while actually climbing,
and long periods of inactivity on belay stances. The sort of light,
breathable clothing you need for easy movement and optimum
temperature regulation when moving is just what you don't want when
you're sitting on an icy ledge, playing out rope for 40 minutes.
Layering, erm, right...
Trussed up in a harness, the traditional layering system is pretty
useless. No-one's going to remove a shell jacket, don a fleece then
replace the shell jacket while festooned with mountaineering gear so,
forward-looking climbers, began to use big, warm down jackets which
they threw over everything else they were wearing while belaying and
took off and stowed when it was time to climb again. Hence the
name...
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Rab's Vector - Primaloft lining
with
waterproof shell - £150
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That's fine in the high mountains where it's cold and dry, but in the
UK, our damper climate makes down next to useless, so it wasn't until
big, warm, synthetically insulated jackets that also pack small
became available that it became a viable option in, say,
Scotland.
Primaloft and similar
The most common - though by no means only - synthetic filling is
Primaloft. It works well because it give decent warmth to weight
ratio, packs small and is extremely resistant to water, which is
crucial for UK use.
There's plenty of it around too in different formats.
Sprayway, for example, has a new belay jacket - called
imaginately the Belay Jacket - for this winter which uses a Primaloft
filling in an over-sized garment with slinky lining that's designed
specifically to slide over a full shell and retails at £100.
Rab's Vector - down in price this year from £200 to
£150 - takes a slightly different approach combining a Primaloft
filling with a fully waterproof Toray XTH outer shell. You could wear
it for active use in extreme conditions, but equally, it should make
an ideal throw on for stops if you're moving fast and light in bad
weather.
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TNF's Redpoint
Optimus
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The North Face's Redpoint jacket is another take on the
concept. Aimed as a fleece substitute, but it big and again it
becomes a light, warm-ish garment that you can wear on top of your
other layers without worrying too much about damp compromising
insulation. Great for mountain biking, running and climbing too.
There's also the Redpoint Optimus version with waterproof hood and
shoulder yoke.
Closer to home, the guys at Montane give you the Bivvy
Jacket, complete with removable wired hood and simple but effective
design for colder conditions.
What about walkers?
The basic principles of belay jacket work equally well for some
mountain walkers. If you're the sort of person who gets hot and
sweaty fast on uphill sections, but cools down rapidly on the flats
and downhills then some sort of lightweight synthetically-inulated
jacket or pull-on is an effective option, particularly in typically
British drizzly, damp, grey-ish weather, when it's not exactly
raining, but couldn't really be described as dry.
If you run cooler and slower then you may well be better off with
a more conventional clothing system, but don't dismiss the potential
of synthetically insulated tops as a substitute for fleece to be worn
when stopped. It's still a lot more convenient than messing around
taking off a shell, donning a fleece, then replacing the shell and,
of course, the reverse process once you start moving again.
Your mother might like it...
We're not saying that belay jackets are the answer to every winter
insulation issue and yes, it's not that different from your mum's
obsession with wearing warm coats when the temperature drops, but the
advent of modern insulation materials has made it a whole lot more
viable.
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Discuss this story
I've just bought the PHD Zeta which has worked brilliantly whilst stood round in the cold and rain. I've not yet had the chance to do use it on any winter routes, but if the snow ever comes....... Anyhow, it's a really well made bit of kit and another option to consider if you're after a belay jacket. Thoughtful design touches like clip in loops and reflective tags show it's mountaineering pedigree. On the downside, it's a truly ugly piece of kit that should never be worn to the pub!
Posted: 30/11/2004 at 17:47
I wouldn't recommend a true belay jacket for walkers, though, as they're probably too warm for anything other than standing around holding a bit of rope while your mate faffs around climbing. Montane Solo, TNF Redpoint, Rab Photon, Berghaus Infinity use the lighter weight 60g Primaloft, and more suited to general use.
Posted: 30/11/2004 at 19:17
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