UKC

In reply to brigsy:

Hi Brigsy. You don't say exactly what you want it for or how serious your climbing is, but then I've been as cold and miserable on long belays in Scotland as anywhere else in the world - so perhaps it's a moot point! I've been meaning to write an article on belays jackets for UKC for some time as I was struck by the difference between good and not so good belay jackets when I was in ice climbing in Arctic Norway at Easter, so I'll briefly make my argument here.

I think design and cut is basically as important as things like material and amounts of insulation. On the basics - a warm jacket is a warm jacket whether it is stuffed with down, primaloft or cheap no-name polyester. Of course weight and compressibily (and price!) will change with those, but once it's on - a warm jacket is a warm jacket. What is really going to make the difference is "usability" for the want of a better word.

When we were climbing in Norway there were three of us - for belay jackets I had a Patagonia DAS Parka, my mate Simon had a big warm Marmot down duvet and my other mate Jody had the basic Alpkit down jacket. All of them are fine jackets in their own rights for different thing but it became so clear to me why the DAS is so much better designed as a serious belay jacket. From now on I won't buy another belay jacket if it doesn't 1) have a hood that easily goes over a helmet (and a shell hood already over the helmet) and 2) if it doesn't close right up to cover all your face with a single zip (usable with bulky gloves on). It hadn't really struck me how important this is until I watched my mates struggle with their jackets. Simon's Marmot had a really big, protective hood, but being the detachable design it has some complicated velcro and poppers to close it up over the face. http://www.flickr.com/photos/toby-northern_light/2365030954/in/set-72157594... I noticed that this was a hassle and Simon wasn't able to do it easily with his gloves, on and therefore wasn't, despite suffering from the cold. Jody's Alpkit duvet couldn't even be done up fully to the neck easily with his scarf and Montane shirt underneath and the hood poppers couldn't be done up either: http://www.flickr.com/photos/toby-northern_light/2365030684/in/set-72157594... With the DAS I just pull the hood on and then zip it up easily over my softshell and fleece neck gaiter-thingy with out any problems at all. Ziiiiiippppp, and you're done. Basically nothing showing but your eyes. You can sort of see it in this old pic that Doug took of me: http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.php?id=1387 if I had just carried on pulling up the zip, my winning smile would no longer be visible!

I've always thought of getting cold in the mountain as a type of systematic failure - when you think "shall I put my belay jacket on? Nah... I can't be arsed with the faff" that's a bad thing. The next thing is you decide not to change your gloves for mitts despite having numb fingers, then it's not pulling your hood up and before you know it, its hypothermia. I remember clearly watching this happen to a mate in Scotland to the point where I was slapping him and shaking him to get him to do stuff. Faff is your enemy - any thing that makes the jacket faffy makes a it a bad belay jacket.

I really think that is why the DAS is still the ultimate belay jacket. It's not faffy at all. It is the anti-faff. Even when wearing mitts your hands slip through sleeves; there aren't wrist adjusters to faff with; there is basically no hood adjustment - just pull it on and zip up. The less faff, the quicker it is warming you back up. Hence I'd stay clear of any jacket with a detachable hood as they are always going to need some needlessly complicated hood doing-up system.

Anyway, that's just my rather overlong tuppence worth!