We check out what new in down, PrimaLoft and fleece from the guys at Montane this autumn/winter.
We're just back from Staveley in the Lakes where we've had a guided tour of Montane's impressively plush new show room, drunk some very nice coffee and had a quick look at what's new from the brand on the insulation and gloves front for this winter, 2011.
Starting with insulation, Montane has new and updated down, PrimaLoft and fleece kit for this autumn, stuff that's in the shops right about now.
Black Ice Jacket
The Black Ice is a serious, box-wall down-filled, extreme mountaineering beasty. The filling is top spec, 93/7 800+ fill power European goose down, some 250 grammes of it, but it's supplemented at the shoulders, forearms and in the hood by less compressible PrimaLoft synthetic fibre.
The idea is that the PrimaLoft copes better with pack loads, which compress down more and also adds a more weather resistant layer on top of the down in strategic areas. That's helped by a lightweight shell fabric that's very water resistant with a hydrostatic head of 800mm – not enough for rainy use, but should be ideal for resisting melting seracs, icicles and the like.
The hood's adjastable and helmet compatible, arms are articulated and have vertical control baffles to keep the down in place 'during high activity', there's a sleeping bag-style, down-filled neck baffle and internal pockets for water bottle and anything else you want to carry next to you body warmth.
A large Black Ice has a claimed weight of 684g, which is respectably light for a box-walled jacket and retails for £250.
Nitro Jacket With Midi Baffles
Micro-baffled jackets are popping up everywhere, but Montane's new Nitro Jacket, while still pretty damn light at 388g and very packable, has larger 'midi baffles'. The idea is that the increased volume of the baffles allows for better lofting and improved warmth to weight ratio as a result.
It has a super light rip-stop outer shell fabric with a 300mm hydrostatic head, hand-warmer pockets with down fill both in front of and behind the pockets and uses the same 800+ fill power Ukrainian goose down as the Black Ice.
It retails for £150 and there's also a vest version called the Nitro Vest.
Elsewhere in the down range, the original North Star Jacket keeps on trucking with some neat new colours and a weight of 515g for a medium using stitch-through construction.
Next Page - Montane's new PrimaLoft and technical fleece for winter 2011.
