Insulating

If you are heading off somewhere very cold or are going to be static outdoors for a long period of time maybe on a belay ledge in the depths of winter, you need an insulating layer to preserve warmth. Insulating clothing comes in two broad catagories, natural down insulation or synthetic fibre insulation. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Down has a much heighter warmth to weight ration than artificial materials. It compresses down more than artificial fibres making for a smaller pack size, regains its loft better after packing and if looked after should last much longer than synthetic fills which tend to break down over the years and lose some of their insulation properties. We stock down clothing by Rab, Britian's leading producer of down equipment from the Neutrino vest right the way up to the Andes Extreme jacket. If you are heading somewhere REALLY cold then we can get the expedition range of clothing from Rab, inluding the Expedition Jacket and Salopettes or the Expedition Windsuit.

Modern down jackets usually come with a water resistant outer fabric and a DWR finish to help keep the worst of the damp out. Synthetic jackets are less prone to any problems with moisture as the fill performs much better in damp conditions keeping most of its insulating performance when damp. We stock synthetic jackets by Snugpak and Montane.