Climashield Pullover/Jacket

Climashield synthetic insulation is great for wet/moist environments as it holds it’s loft, doesn’t absorb much water, and dries fast. It’s insulation value is much higher than fleeces/soft shells and it’s continuous filament construction loses very few microplastic fibers. A Cloud 71 durable mesh inner shell feels soft against the skin when moist instead of the sticky/clammy shell materials. It allows for extremely fast dry time, as moisture can pass right through the mesh uninhibited. Since air can pass right through the mesh and the Climashield insulation, the only thing really inhibiting air transfer is the outer shell. You can select different shells for different performance.

Wearing with a pack (zippered version only) -Typically, to put on your insulation, you have to remove your pack, put the item on and put the pack back on over it. Then once you do this, the insulation in the garment gets compressed under the pack and under the pack straps. These areas tend to get wet with sweat and the long term compression combined with the sweat oils pressed into the insulation degrades it heavily. The Climashield Pullover/Jacket has a top snap that allows the garment to be put on/taken off over backpack straps, without removing the pack. The jacket is put on backwards and snapped at the top behind your neck/over the straps. The bottom can be connected with the zipper by your lower back/below the pack, or tucked in without connecting the zipper, or left to hang along the edge of the pack. This leaves the pack against your back and the jacket cinched along it, but not under it, or under only a small portion. If you are wearing the jacket forward, the top snap also keeps the jacket secure while allowing you to open the zipper for ventilation.

The different out shell choices allow you to cater this garment to your specific needs. The Argon options provide a lower air permeability option aimed more at warmth and windproofness, at the expense of active heat regulation. The Hyper D and Airwave options provide a higher air permeability that will be more comfortable at higher levels of exertion, at the expense of some windproofness. The Cloud 71 choice provides a wide open breathability option that mimics something like Alpha Direct. The airflow is so high that any wind will cut right through it and it is meant to be paired with a modular shell over it so you can regulate your temperature through ventilation. You can also cater the shell you use to the conditions, so you aren’t locked into one type of shell that is sewn to the APEX. All things equal, the finish weight of one of these in Cloud / Cloud is about the same weight as Alpha Direct 120, but at a much higher level of insulation.

Note that in some cases, Climashield APEX batting fibers can migrate through Cloud mesh. Most of the time it results in very minor pilling in high abrasion areas. However, there has been an instance where a significant amount of fiber came through one with a Cloud 71 shell on the outside due to freezing to the hard shell that was being worn over top, which pulled it through in much greater amounts. This happened in fairly extreme arctic conditions and it is the only example of it happening to that degree.