Other Press:
- www.outdoorsmagic.com 8/10/08 Venus Down Jacket
- www.sleepmonsters.com.uk 8/8/08 Ion Windshirt
- www.planetfear.com 8/18/08 Power Stretch Half Zip
- Mbr.co.uk 10/08 Motion Jacket
- UKC Gear 9/08 DriClime Original
- UKC Gear 9/08 Catalyst
- Trail 11/08 Precip Kids
- Trail 11/08 Precip Jacket
- Maxim October 2008 Aura
- Cotswold Ad - Trail Mag 11/08 Super Hero Jacket
Backpacker 3/06 Helium EQ
Connoisseurs’ Choice
If you’re the type who bivies in the open, sleeps cold, and likes to keep weight to an absolute minimum, look no further: This half-zip mummy is the holy grail of ultralight three-season waterproof/breathable bags. It’s stuffed with 900-fill-power down and shelled with Pertex Quantum, a durable weatherproof fabric to which Marmot adds additional water-repellent treatments. During two separate weeklong November journeys through the High Sierra, the perfectly contoured Helium shed dew and melting frost. At 9,000 feet on Utah’s Boulder Mountain, overstuffed baffles made for toasty nights despite single-digit temps.
Backpacker 4/08 Ultralight Bags
Editors’ Choice Gold Award
Marmot Ultralight Down Bags
Sleep-anywhere evidence that luxury and lightweight can go hand in hand.
Want to see a down bag puff up like a hot-air balloon? Unfurl one of these 850-fill sacks and stand back. Each bag in this line is overstuffed with the highest quality feathers we’ve seen – light, compressible, and amazingly lofty. And the down is well distributed throughout – with enough on the bottom to keep your back from chilling if you roll over. The no-skimp approach to down has made these bags a tester favorite since 2001. Add Pertex Quantum shell fabric – which is breathable, wispy, water-resistant, and durable – and simple designs that are comfortable but thermally efficient, and you get standard-setting bags. If you require separate pockets for your iPod, make-up kit, and dental whitening strips, or other doodads like foot vents and pad straps, these elegant sacks are not for you. But what features there are we love: A muff around the face seals well without forcing you to crank down the drawstrings; the footbox is roomy enough for booties and hot-water bottles; and zippers stay zipped without relying on scratchy Velcro. Plus, there’s a version for virtually every trip.