If you are a serious trekker in the Himalayas you need a down jacket. Period. You may not be able to afford one. But there is no question about its necessity. At its weight and packed size, it offers the maximum possible warmth. I have never owned one but always wanted to have one. Till the other day it was a dream for most Indians including me to find a good down jacket here in India.
I am eternally grateful to our friend Sophie Richter for buying and bringing this jacket over for me from Germany a couple of years ago. It's my first down jacket. I have used the jacket in one high altitude trek so far. Sandakphu to be precise, where we faced sub-zero temperatures (picture above). This is not doing full justice to such a fine piece of equipment but such is life. When you have all the equipment to trek, you don't have the time or convenience to do it. I wish I had all this when I was a student.
I am eternally grateful to our friend Sophie Richter for buying and bringing this jacket over for me from Germany a couple of years ago. It's my first down jacket. I have used the jacket in one high altitude trek so far. Sandakphu to be precise, where we faced sub-zero temperatures (picture above). This is not doing full justice to such a fine piece of equipment but such is life. When you have all the equipment to trek, you don't have the time or convenience to do it. I wish I had all this when I was a student.
Anyway, back to the jacket. Ever since putting this on, I have become a fan of Marmot. It is a wonderful jacket at a reasonable price (of course it was bought for me in Germany, possibly at a discount). It is very warm. Wind proof. Light. The material feels a little delicate but that might well be because it is my only prized possession of its kind and I am extra protective about it.
It folds neatly into a pack in its own internal chest pocket. When packed it looks just like a lady's purse, albeit a little bulgy. I do not see going for any high altitude trek without this.
I don't want to sound too fanboyish but this is a perfect jacket for hiking in middle Himalayas. I have not yet been able to find a fault with it except perhaps the colour :-). It has a hood with a drawchord. Most around town down jackets don't come with hoodies. It also has two front pockets for putting your hands in. They are zippered. There is an internal pocket too which is for packing the jacket in during hiking trips. The materials have fancy names and are supposed to be high quality. Only time can tell if they are so. The zips are obviously very high quality and move up and down without a hassle.
I don't want to sound too fanboyish but this is a perfect jacket for hiking in middle Himalayas. I have not yet been able to find a fault with it except perhaps the colour :-). It has a hood with a drawchord. Most around town down jackets don't come with hoodies. It also has two front pockets for putting your hands in. They are zippered. There is an internal pocket too which is for packing the jacket in during hiking trips. The materials have fancy names and are supposed to be high quality. Only time can tell if they are so. The zips are obviously very high quality and move up and down without a hassle.
I am most definitely going to take this to Chadar in January 2016 and after that I should be able to give better feedback on its thermal abilities. Sandakphu was not really the ultimate test for the jacket. I intend to use it in Chadar as a thermal mid layer and top it up with my Marmot Percip over it. That's a water proof rainwear. I only hope that it can withstand the abrasive effect of the straps of the rucksack.
Generally the more affluent trekkers in the west use such jackets for warmth after they reach a camp. During the actual hike they use hardshell jackets. I do not want to increase the load in my rucksack and in extreme cold like Chadar I would rather use this for walking than add another jacket.
Generally the more affluent trekkers in the west use such jackets for warmth after they reach a camp. During the actual hike they use hardshell jackets. I do not want to increase the load in my rucksack and in extreme cold like Chadar I would rather use this for walking than add another jacket.
At home I keep the jacket hanging in my wardrobe. This has perhaps helped it retain its loft. It looks all fluffy even after two years of non-use.
This jacket may not be enough for you to go to 8K peaks. But for lesser mortals like us who trek around the Himalayas in the 15 to 18,000 feet region, this should be good. I do not know what these terms 700 fill or 850 fill mean (you can google it up and get very confused). But this jacket certainly has better loft than my 850 fill sleeping bag from First Ascent, a reputable South African brand. But I don't know, if that is because the sleeping bag was sitting packed in a shop for a long time.
There is an official Marmot store in Kathmandu now. I don't know if this particular jacket is available there. But to read about it at the official site click here .
Buying A Down Jacket In India
As of now Columbia is the only large international brand that is officially available in India. They have decent down jackets for women but nothing as of now for men. There is another store in Rishikesh called Adventure Axis and they stock a wide choice of items. I have bought a sleeping bag from them and the experience was very good. After a telephonic discussion I paid into their bank account in advance and gave them my name and address. They immediately put the item on courier, whatsapped me the courier details. The bag arrived on the second day.
They have some good brands to choose from. And the prices of the items are more or less at par with the retail prices abroad. However, they don't stock the top of the line popular American name brands like Marmot or North Face or Mountain Hardwear etc which are famous in India. They mostly have Rab, which is a very reputable British brand. Most of the Indian expeditions by HMI or other institutions use Rab products. So Rab is good. In fact if you visit the HMI Museum in Darjeeling you can see Rab there kept as mementos from Everest and other 8K expeditions.
Apart from these two places I am not aware of anything else. There might be some specialist stores in cities like Bangalore and Pune and Delhi or Chandigarh. I am not aware.
Kathmandu now has a lot of big brand stores. Marmot, North Face and Mountain Hardwear are there I know. I am sure there are other branded stores there too. Another plus for Kathmandu is the thriving second hand market. Most of the expedition teams sell off their equipment after an expedition. Many gift their stuff to the sherpas who in turn sell them off to the shop keepers in Thamel. That's a very good opportunity to pick up good mountaineering equipment at a bargain price. But of course, it will be a used product and many people have reservations about wearing sleepig in something that has been used by unknown people, which is understandable.
However, the available options now are definitely far better than in the mid 80's when I started hiking in the Himalayas. But I am sure my children will have even better options. I am sure these big name brands will soon be available in India officially.
There is an official Marmot store in Kathmandu now. I don't know if this particular jacket is available there. But to read about it at the official site click here .
Buying A Down Jacket In India
As of now Columbia is the only large international brand that is officially available in India. They have decent down jackets for women but nothing as of now for men. There is another store in Rishikesh called Adventure Axis and they stock a wide choice of items. I have bought a sleeping bag from them and the experience was very good. After a telephonic discussion I paid into their bank account in advance and gave them my name and address. They immediately put the item on courier, whatsapped me the courier details. The bag arrived on the second day.
They have some good brands to choose from. And the prices of the items are more or less at par with the retail prices abroad. However, they don't stock the top of the line popular American name brands like Marmot or North Face or Mountain Hardwear etc which are famous in India. They mostly have Rab, which is a very reputable British brand. Most of the Indian expeditions by HMI or other institutions use Rab products. So Rab is good. In fact if you visit the HMI Museum in Darjeeling you can see Rab there kept as mementos from Everest and other 8K expeditions.
Apart from these two places I am not aware of anything else. There might be some specialist stores in cities like Bangalore and Pune and Delhi or Chandigarh. I am not aware.
Kathmandu now has a lot of big brand stores. Marmot, North Face and Mountain Hardwear are there I know. I am sure there are other branded stores there too. Another plus for Kathmandu is the thriving second hand market. Most of the expedition teams sell off their equipment after an expedition. Many gift their stuff to the sherpas who in turn sell them off to the shop keepers in Thamel. That's a very good opportunity to pick up good mountaineering equipment at a bargain price. But of course, it will be a used product and many people have reservations about wearing sleepig in something that has been used by unknown people, which is understandable.
However, the available options now are definitely far better than in the mid 80's when I started hiking in the Himalayas. But I am sure my children will have even better options. I am sure these big name brands will soon be available in India officially.
No comments:
Post a Comment