trustworthiness does not exist in the outdoor supplier industry

PATAGONIA B/S

Their research into a synthetic that is ludicrous.

It All Adds Up to Nothing: Forging The Micro Puff

At Patagonia, our best ideas come from being in the field. But sometimes simple problems inspire complex solutions. That’s been the case with the development of insulation. Down gets wet and loses its heat-trapping loft, and synthetics never quite achieve the same warmth, lightness or compressibility as down plumes. We’ve tried everything from treated down to synthetic fills that relied on various quilting constructions to prevent clumping. Yet none of these methods ever quite captured the best qualities of both, while successfully solving for the shortcomings of each.

As you will read in the next paragraph they started to work on this project in 2007. However, in the above paragraph they note that they even tried treated down which did not exist until 2016 or 2017. That tells you something about their knowledge or lack thereof!

Then, in 2007, our materials research and development manager discovered an interesting synthetic insulation made of microfilaments spiraling a central fiber that looked, felt and behaved like down, and tested out with better warmth for its weight than anything we’d previously worked with. Through extensive lab trials over a seven-year period, we found that this insulation, which we later named PlumaFill, proved to be highly compressible as well as 40 percent warmer for its weight than other leading synthetic insulations. Our Killer Wash testing standards demonstrated that after a simulated lifetime of use, PlumaFill suffered almost no loss in loft. This was impressive. Most synthetics we’ve tested or observed in the past either deteriorated or clumped into balls after washing, which causes cold spots, but this new fiber held up to every abuse we put it through. “Three years ago, I did a study of the synthetic insulations on the market that were supposed to mimic down,” says material developer Kristin Umscheid. “I found PlumaFill to be the only insulation that passed our durability standards and, in fact, surpassed other synthetic insulations.”

The material research and development manager is never named because whoever it was is no longer with the company. 40 percent warmer than other synthetic insulations is nothing less than a crock of s***. If you go to their web site you can see pictures of this stuff and if you were to buy a jacket that they make from this stuff you will learn very quickly that it is by no means an acceptable jacket for even the mildest cold conditions.

Still, our designers were stymied by how to use it. Various shell fabrics prevented the insulation from lofting to its full capacity, and, when paired with a shell, different patterning constructions caused the strands to wrap around each other or lose loft. It took another year of work for our senior product designer Christian Regester to develop a structure that locked each strand of insulation into place to maintain the maximum warmth-to-weight combination possible while using the least amount of insulation. The perpendicular, discontinuous stitching pattern prevents shifting and reduces both weight and the potential for cold spots.

They were not stymied because what they did was quilt it as is necessary to hold it in place. The quilt pattern is from what I see expensive so the garments are expensive about $250.00 each.

“What exists now is a jacket that speaks to our ethos of design. We set out to solve a problem, and after 10 years of dedicated tinkering and serious refinement, we succeeded.”

The succeeded at making “nothing” as they state at the beginning of the article.

The team then developed a pattern to make fewer but larger pattern pieces, which allows heat to move more freely inside the jacket. “The quilting pattern was developed through a process of testing the weight, loft and durability at varying intervals,” says Regester. “After determining the best quilt dimension, we worked to construct it in a way that maintained airflow within the garment and used only the minimum amount of thread needed.” We paired this construction method with the lightest woven shell fabric we’ve ever used, and when we tested it again, the numbers were astonishing. “It was the lightest fabric we found that passed our testing standards and that we could execute in production,” says Umscheid. The Micro Puff Jacket was lighter and warmer for its weight than any of our down products, and the compressibility propelled it into a category of its own. The pattern also incorporates learnings from our styles with the highest-efficiency fabric yields, allowing us to create less scrap and keep fabric out of the landfill.

They are correct about the movement of the heat moving freely. The direct it moves is not inside the garment but through the garment and out away from you. The whole garment goes into the scrap heap when you return it because you are cold.

Alongside this in-house refinement, we tested it in the field, mocking up prototypes to refine the design and asking our athletes to climb, run, ski, plan multiday expeditions and generally beat the heck out of the early models. Many testers thought the jacket actually was down and were surprised to learn it wasn’t. “We got a good idea through our lab testing that we had something special, but then we needed to build prototypes and test them in the field,” says Regester. “Everyone that got their hands on one didn’t want to give it back.” Consistent feedback also spoke to the weight for warmth. “I realized pretty quickly we were onto something,” says Kelly Cordes, climbing ambassador. Three years on, it’s still at the top of the rotation for many of our testers.

Those who thought it was down were comparing it to down when they were freezing in this jacket because that was what they experienced with the down jackets. They were onto “nothing”!

What exists now is a jacket that speaks to our ethos of design. We set out to solve a problem, and after 10 years of dedicated tinkering and serious refinement, we succeeded—all the way down to the number of quilt points. “Building a durable product that’s also as light and warm as possible while maintaining loft when wet has been the goal of mountaineers since climbing mountains began,” says Regester. “Sometimes the best ideas take time.”

After 10 years they still have “nothing”!

Patagonia is no different than the other widely known brands looking for something they can talk about that is different than their competitors and due to the failure of winter jackets that have come on the market in the past 10 or more years each of them is offering their own supposed insulating material in their own garments.

Not a one of these companies has any one person on their payroll that has any knowledge of insulation and what really works. This happens to be the case even though the evidence of what works and how it works and which of the products that does work has existed since the 1960’s which is before all of the so called experts at these companies were born. Even today they refuse to acknowledge what does work and has proven as much since 1968 and that is continuous filament fiberfill, today named Climashield also Lamilite. Both products are available to them. Of course the only problem they have with buying either product is that they would have to ship it to Asia.

Corporate will not allow that to happen because it will cut into the profit margins. So they have to rely on fanciful verbiage in an effort to convince the uneducated and unsuspecting buyers to buy the non-functioning, non-performing jackets they are importing.

Now I know these companies employ climbers to use their products so they can publish what their employs say about the stuff, but do they ever publish emails that the customers have to say about their stuff as I do? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

What follows is a letter I received this morning.

Greetings Jerry,

Bill Dunn from Orcas Island, WA, here. I have a question for you about the Chukkas.

First off, I want you to know that I have four pairs of your Chukkas. The first pair was a testament to your admonition to "please have your feet measured" before ordering. For years I have worn boots in a size 11D. So, that is what I ordered from you. After wearing them for a good while trying to convince myself they were not too long in the toe, I broke down and ordered a pair of 10.5 Wides from you.

Voila! The best fitting and most comfortable pair of boots I have ever worn! I have now had those boots, and worn them daily, here in the wet, gravelly Pacific Northwest weather for the past 14 months. They have been outstanding: great fit, always warm and long lasting. And that engenders my question.

Do you know, or can you find out from your boot vendor, the specific model of Vibram sole they are using? Only now, after 14 months of continual use, are the soles beginning to show some real wear. I undoubtedly have multiple months worth of remaining 'tread life' on these soles but do want to get them re-soled in the near future. From experience, I know that Vibram soles vary greatly in terms of wear/durability due to the differences in compounds employed so would really like to know what the boot maker is using. It is a great, long lasting sole.

Now, why four pairs? Well, the first pair, where I chose the wrong size, found a very happy home with a friends who is a logger and declares these his 'Sunday' dress boots 'with a glove fit' (his words). And, because I love the pair I am wearing so much, I purchased two more pairs as backups! You can never have too much of a great thing!

Thanks,

Bill

I got the information for him.