Tom Hutton


Cold comfort


There’s nothing worse than being cold in the hills, although being too hot isn’t pleasant either. Keeping


comfortable requires good clothing and precise timing.


Tom Hutton explains…


E


veryone’s had one of those days when they just can’t get it right. One minute you’re close to boiling over with sweat gushing from every pore – you can almost hear the whistle as the kettle hits boiling – then the next you are shivering uncontrollably as your wet layers start to cool off. No matter how many times you slip your jacket on or off, or slide your zip pulls up and down, you always seem one step behind.


It doesn’t have to be like this. All it takes is a little knowledge and the right clothing and the right timing and comfort is easily achieved. A knowledgeable retailer should be able to point their customers in the right direction.


The first and most important thing to do is to explode a few myths by explaining exactly how insulation really works. Contrary to popular belief, no clothing can actually make the wearer warm (unless it has a power source, of course); the warmth is always provided by the body – the wearer is the radiator; the clothing is just responsible for trapping and holding on to the warmth. The other thing that definitely needs pointing out is that it’s not the fabric or even the insulation that does the job of keeping the heat in, it’s actually the air that’s trapped by these. The more air trapped, the better the insulation.


Once this is understood, it’s easy to explain the different types of 20 SGB OUTDOOR SEPTEMBER 2010


insulation available and to work out what kind would be most appropriate. Down (usually goose or duck feathers), is extremely light and extremely fluffy. It can therefore trap plenty of air and is usually accepted as providing the best amount of warmth for weight. The only problem is that it doesn’t really work when wet – a problem in the British hills – and that it is very fiddly to look after.


Synthetic insulation, such as Primaloft, doesn’t provide quite as much warmth for its weight, but it still provides some warmth when wet and it’s not such high maintenance.


The only thing to add to this is that the warmth, or more accurately the ability to trap warmth, is directly related to the thickness or density of the insulation. This is usually referred to as fill-power. A higher fill-power will trap more air and therefore provide more warmth.


Fill power is usually measured as a figure eg a fill power of 650+ or 800+. The figure actually represents the space (in cubic inches) taken up by 30g of the down when uncompressed. The more space it takes up, the more air is trapped, and the warmer the insulation will feel.


It is important to remember however that this figure alone doesn’t necessarily represent the relative warmth of a garment as it doesn’t take into account the actual amount of down in the garment. This is where some


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