from Nunatak, they aren't exactly household name, but they've been in the down business (quilts, bags, jackets) for quite awhile and a considered one of the best in the business
They recently released a new jacket in Cimashield Apex; it's based on their popular Skaha down jacket, but substitutes Apex in lieu of down. Apex is a wonderful synthetic- very warm for it's weight and unlike almost all syns, doesn't quickly degrade it's loft after stuffing/unstuffing. Down is great, but for wetter weather or longer trips- I just prefer the extra safety margin of Apex. I've been waiting for someone to come up w/ a Apex jacket for some time- I've had very good luck with Apex quilts and knew it would be equally good in garments.
The Nunatak jacket offers some really neat features. First and most importantly imo is that it's fully customizable- it has several sizes (including in between sizes ie M/L), you can add length to the jacket, you can add length to the sleeves- no reason you can't have the perfect fitting jacket no matter your body shape. Next you can choose the amount of insulation 2.5 oz, 3.6 oz, 5.0 oz; you can even customize the insulation- ie using 3.6 oz in the torso and 2.5 oz in the sleeves! They have several fabrics to choose from for the shell and they offer several earth tone colors (I think they may even be offering some camo???? you'd have to call). Hood, hoodless, tall collar and you can add pockets, etc as well.
The jacket I chose was in 2.5 oz Apex w/ a hood and hand warmer pockets- I've always liked these I went with the grey Robic fabric- it has a hydrostatic head of 1000 mm which is pretty darn water resistant (but still breathable).
The bottom hem and hood are both adjustable and easy to use. It's a pullover design with a very deep zipper to vent; the zipper is well constructed and sturdy.
it includes it's own stuff sack
When I pulled the jacket out of the stuff sack I was very surprised (pleasantly) how much loft there was. To be honest I thought they may have accidently sent me 3.6 oz Apex. I put the jacket on my scale and it was 10.9 oz with the stuff sack, spot on of their specs for 2.5 oz in size Large
The jacket slipped on easily, the fit was perfect, I liked the fit of the hood and the adjustment of the hood and hem are easy.
Going snowshoeing tomorrow so hope to have some more input from the field.
They recently released a new jacket in Cimashield Apex; it's based on their popular Skaha down jacket, but substitutes Apex in lieu of down. Apex is a wonderful synthetic- very warm for it's weight and unlike almost all syns, doesn't quickly degrade it's loft after stuffing/unstuffing. Down is great, but for wetter weather or longer trips- I just prefer the extra safety margin of Apex. I've been waiting for someone to come up w/ a Apex jacket for some time- I've had very good luck with Apex quilts and knew it would be equally good in garments.
The Nunatak jacket offers some really neat features. First and most importantly imo is that it's fully customizable- it has several sizes (including in between sizes ie M/L), you can add length to the jacket, you can add length to the sleeves- no reason you can't have the perfect fitting jacket no matter your body shape. Next you can choose the amount of insulation 2.5 oz, 3.6 oz, 5.0 oz; you can even customize the insulation- ie using 3.6 oz in the torso and 2.5 oz in the sleeves! They have several fabrics to choose from for the shell and they offer several earth tone colors (I think they may even be offering some camo???? you'd have to call). Hood, hoodless, tall collar and you can add pockets, etc as well.
The jacket I chose was in 2.5 oz Apex w/ a hood and hand warmer pockets- I've always liked these I went with the grey Robic fabric- it has a hydrostatic head of 1000 mm which is pretty darn water resistant (but still breathable).
The bottom hem and hood are both adjustable and easy to use. It's a pullover design with a very deep zipper to vent; the zipper is well constructed and sturdy.
it includes it's own stuff sack
When I pulled the jacket out of the stuff sack I was very surprised (pleasantly) how much loft there was. To be honest I thought they may have accidently sent me 3.6 oz Apex. I put the jacket on my scale and it was 10.9 oz with the stuff sack, spot on of their specs for 2.5 oz in size Large
The jacket slipped on easily, the fit was perfect, I liked the fit of the hood and the adjustment of the hood and hem are easy.
Going snowshoeing tomorrow so hope to have some more input from the field.
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