PrimaLoft Gets Everywhere...

PrimaLoft, the high-tec synthetic insulation, is going to be all over the place this year. We know this because the nice people at PrimaLoft's PR agency keep sending us releases telling us which products are going to be using the stuff.

Rab's Photon Smock, just one of loads of kit using PrimaLoft

So, rather than do them one by one, we've stuck them in one slightly bigger story. PrimaLoft, by the way, is arguably the best synthetic clothing insulation material on the market. We've been using it for a year or so now in The North Face's Redpoint jacket and it's light, compressible and the fibres absorb practically no water, allowing it to maintain decent insulating properties when wet.

That means it's excellent for UK use, for example in damp winter conditions, where down is near useless, a PrimaLoft belay jacket can be thrown on top of anything else you're wearing without stressing about getting it damp. Good stuff.

Anyway, for the record, the stuff is being used currently in Rab's Photon Smock lightweight insulated top (£115), in the new this winter Arc'Teryx Fission Line which includes a jacket, vest and pants and the current Belay Parka.

Lowe Alpine has a new Glove and Mitt due out this autumn which combines PrimaLoft insulation with a Gore-Tex liner for maximum winter hand protection, Salomon is using the fabric in the Valdez Vest and Jacket, Sprayway's Primaloft Jacket, not surprisingly utilises the insulation in a fleece substitute.

More information about PrimaLoft from the PrimaLoft web site.