UKC

Lightweight, high fill down hoody with synthetic mapping utilized in areas prone to moisture, provides an exception warmth-to-weight ratio. Intended as a mid-layer in cool, dry locations for alpine ascents and winter layering.

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How does it compare to the ME Oreus? It is almost identical weight and price.  

Never heard of this brand until now, a quick peruse suggests that their products are little more than close rip offs of Arc’teryx designs!

Is this a legitimate company? Their website is very light on detail - no physical contact details at all. I would not be entrusting my details to this outfit. 

The website suggests it is an American company (references to US law) but the FB images are mostly from New Zealand. 

Seems to be very early days for them.. 
States only launched in Sept..
https://adventuremagazine.co.nz/inselberg-the-new-zealand-mountaineering-br...

 

This is genius.

Budget brands have been doing this for years to keep costs low.

Adopt the money saving concept, justify it using cod technical reasoning, stick a cool brand name on it and charge top dollar.

Ker Ching.

I really ought to get off my arse and do this for myself, fortune awaits.

Afternoon all, I'm just jumping in to reply to a couple of the questions as I work with Inselberg here in the UK :

@paddlermatt - To keep it short and simple, the major point of difference is the ME Oreus is synthetic fill, the Centile jacket is largely 850 RDS Expedry Down ( as used by Montane and others ) with synthetic layered with the down for extra water repellence and durability in cuffs, hood etc . I haven't actually got hands on with the Oreus yet but Dan Baileys review on here suggests to me the Centile might a slightly "warmer" jacket if that's what you're after but neither would be a winter belay jacket except on milder days, look at the Prism for that in the Inselberg range.

@Harry Jarvis - Absolutely a legitimate company, very early days and agreed the website is pretty simple at the moment, it's something to work on as the brand develops and appreciate the feedback. Thanks @spready for the link, happy to answer any other questions not answered there

@GarethSL Don't let Arcteryx know, shhhh !!!! But to answer slightly more seriously we all know Arcteryx make some great products, but they can be very, very, expensive after taxes and imports in places like NZ, and hard to come by, both of which were factors for Jarlath founding an technical NZ clothing brand for mountaineers.  It's easy to find a factory and ask for simple rip off designs at lower quality and better margins but definitely not the case for Inselberg, there's 2 years of testing, prototyping and development to get to market with the launch range and new products coming through all done in house to make sure the products do stand on their own, even if they might share a similar aesthetic. 

We should have some products with Dan to test for reviews coming out later in the year all going to plan and lookout for Inselberg in specialist outdoor retailer near you soon  

Hey Ben, 

Just had check of the range and quite like the look of the Hedron Anorak, how would you say it compares to something like the Arcteryx Gamma hoody? I use the Gamma as my main winter climbing outerlayer as I like to climb light and use a big belay jacket for staying warm when stationary. Both around the same weight as well.

Have been wanting to get an anorak for a while but not a lot of companies seem to make anything that isn't totally lightweight etc. and I'm not too kind on kit. 

Any info would be appreciated. 

Hi Nathan, the Hedron would be a great replacement / change to the Gamma to do the same job as a durable climbing softshell if you like the pull over style.

As you say there aren’t many pull over options out there but they do offer a lot of pro’s for simplicity, I’ve always been a fan of pull overs. 

It’s definitely designed to stand up to climbing ( double weave fabric so it’s nice and tough ) and proper helmet hood designed specifically for the shape of modern climbing lids so it should stand up to heavy climbing use.

Hope that helps, if you need to know any more let me know  

Appreciate the response whilst I do like the obvious Arcteryx/houdini fusion in the aesthetic there are details there that they really should aim to diverge away from, to avoid being labelled a copycat brand. I don’t think many people really see just how close some of the construction techniques and components are to Arc’teryx (you have to be pretty nerd for that) and they should rightly be called out for it. Whilst I’m all for new brands getting out there, they have to bring something new to the table to avoid side-by-side comparisons.

They have however been very smart to use Karian as the manufacturer and I imagine that may have dictated how some of the designs have ended up - either way the facility is top notch so I would have no issue with the quality of the product coming out of there.

Inselberg do have the opportunity to fill a rapidly developing niche as some bigger brands are currently trending away from producing more technical pieces to generic outdoor gear - but they also have to be wary of not going the same way as Westcomb (great products, limited exposure, too close to arc) and simply fading away.

Great points, agreed as things develop it’s definitely important for any brand to make sure they stand out from the crowd. It’s a challenge across the board in outdoor products these days..

I know Inselberg have gone really deep on the construction development details but you’re right to say that’s not always easy to spot unless you know what you’re looking for and get into the really nerdy details of these things, and in a digital world we can’t always have the product to touch and feel either. 

Also absolutely agreed on the current opportunity for newer / less know brands to take some technical market share with the right products and approach, I think Mountain Hardwear are proving that at the moment in the US and it’s nice to see Norrona picking up here in the Uk again. We’re working on getting Inselberg out there with the right specialist outdoor stores to get that right exposure, fingers crossed for that development over the next 12 months 🤞