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adidas.com/outdoor

TERREX N’DOSPHERE JACKETThe new Terrex Ndosphere Jacket combines ultimate freedom of movement with 360° insulation. Even when wet.

Sleet. Cold. Cold. Sleet. The weather is going all out to show its most unpleasant side. You go all out to celebrate life. In deepest winter – ice climbing or an alpine tour many degrees below zero. Your pulse beats time to your movements. Breathe in. Breathe out. Your muscles are burning. All burners firing inside you. The wind whips around you. And the Terrex Ndosphere shines in-between. Because it loves conditions where it can prove what it can do. The more extreme the differences, the more Ndosphere. Moisture management, insulation and freedom of movement have been redefined from the ground up and a new concept implemented from inside out. The Cocona® finish made from coconut fibre and used in the key zones ensures ideal micro climate and comfort thanks to its active charcoal particles. Thanks to the increase in surface area, it rapidly transports away moisture from your body to prevent excessive cooling at the same time as delivering maximum insulation. This is ensured by 80g PrimaLoft® in the core area and hood. Especially developed for high performance, it supports moisture management and provides insulation very close to that of down, while in addition keeping warm when wet. But it is the strategic stretch panels with PrimaLoft® that make the Ndosphere what it is: a thermal movement masterpiece. That is because making insulation apparel more mobile with stretch panels is nothing new. What is new is making the stretch panels part of the insulation. As a result the patented three-dimensional FORMOTION® technology with its body-hugging cut could be implemented while avoiding cold zones. And if the weather does let up for a bit, then the extremely compressible Ndosphere can be stowed away, taking up the minimum of space. We admit: we are a little bit proud of the Ndosphere. And why not?

Adjustable hood

Chest Pocket

Adjustable waist hem

80g PRIMALOFT® insulationkeeps warm even when wet

PARTIAL COCONA® LINING for ultimate moisture management

PrimaLoft insulated stretch panels at both sides and backguarantee 360° warmth while allowing ultimate freedom of movement

2 hand warming zip pockets

FORMOTION® cut for perfect fit and

comfort while in motion

TECHNOLOGY APPAREL

breathable

water resistant

lightweight + compressible

thermically efficient

fast drying

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different layers). The advantage of synthetic fibres then becomes clear: they absorb much less moisture and dry out much quicker than pure down while offering the same insulation. In addition, they retain their thermal retention properties when wet. Thanks to the synthetic manufacturing process it is also possible to optimise fibres for each application. A looser construction supports freedom of movement and optimises moisture management, so it is ideal for the high-performance sector. If the focus is on insulation properties then fibres with more air pockets are used. The various properties, of the fibres can thus be combined to match the requirements of the product and application.

Best of both worldsWe have had it drummed into our heads that down does not keep you warm when it is wet. Wet down delivers only 1/3 of its original insu-lation performance, while synthetic fibres still deliver 2/3. Because apparel is now available for outdoor applications that features breath-able yet waterproof membranes and outer materials, we no longer need to get our pants in a twist if the product comes into contact with rain from the outside or perspiration from the inside. Down now withstands a great deal more than we were originally led to believe. So let us concentrate rather on the core quality of down products. In terms of the ratio of thermal insu-lation, weight and stowage volume, down still represents the benchmark in insulation mate-rials. Down products are often up to 50% lighter than their synthetic colleagues and in terms of stowage volume take up to 1/3 less space for the same performance. Jackets filled with synthetic fibres are able to spring back to their original structure, which gives them the ability to plump up even in a damp condition. In addi-tion, synthetic fibres are tough and resistant to dirt and aroma, are durable and dry out rapidly. So if your activities are constantly changing and you stash your jacket away in your backpack, then need to wear it again, and the next morn-ing it is still supposed to keep you warm, that is when synthetic fibre comes into a class of its own. To sum up the advantages, compared to down it keeps you warm even when wet, dries out much faster and is cheaper, more durable and more compressible.

Everything considered, due to its excellent insulation properties the use of down is still justified for protecting against extreme cold in dry conditions. In cold and wet conditions, syn-thetic fibre products become more interesting.

Top downGeese and ducks. -20°C. Snow. Wind. Icy cold. Six months of winter, or more. Down really has to do its thing. And it does it well. Good down has around two million fluffy down legs that reach out in a star shape from the core, inter meshing with other down clusters to form in-numerable pockets of air that retain heat. The larger the down the better the cluster and the better the insulation factor. Which brings us to the measurement of down quality, the cuin. Cuin stands for cubic inc per ounce and indicates the volume that will be filled by an ounce (27.3g) of down. The higher the cuin value, the higher the volume and the better the insulation. At 300 cuin an ounce of down fills a volume of five litres, at 500 cuin it fills eight litres and at 800 cuin a massive 13.3 litres. 500 cuin is already good as far as thermal insulation is concerned, with top class kicking in around 650 and five star anything above that. The more volume the down fills the less you need to achieve the same insulation perfor-mance. The product becomes lighter or warmer with the same filling volume. Down fillings are usually a mixture of down with support-ing down feathers. This mix ratio is indicated in percentage weight. A 90/10 mix consists of 90% down and 10% down feathers. As the proportion of feathers increases (e.g. 70/30 or 50/50), so does the weight, while at the same time the bulking power and, as a result, the volume of the insulating air pockets are reduced. A down to feather ratio of 80/20 is quite sufficient for everyday use, while 90/10 offers very good thermal properties. In the end, how it is implemented also plays a major role. The chamber method is the most com-mon. The chambers are designed to secure the down so that it is distributed evenly and does not collect in a “heap”.

The art of fibreWhat the goose has in down, the polar bear has in fur. Its fur consists of fine hollow tubes that store air and expel moisture. Synthetic fibres used for insulation make use of this effect. A special injection process is used to manufac-ture unbelievably thin fibres – microfibres. The benchmark is the finest natural thread: silk. The unit for the finest silk thread is 1dtex. This unit says that 1g of the thread is 10,000m long. A fibre can only be classed as microfibre if it is finer than 1dtex. Microfibres are connected to each other in a criss-cross of millions of contact points to form loose layers and innu-merable tiny chambers as a result that store air and retain body heat. It virtually forms a combination of fur (the fibres) and down (the

Why men sweat and women suffer from the coldThe high percentage of heat that is dissipated during muscular activity is also the reason why women feel the cold more than men. While 25 % of body mass is muscle on women, with men it is 40%. Heat production is correspondingly higher as a result. Although the proportion of body fat is higher on women, insulation without heat production does not help much in cold conditions. On top of that, women are on average smaller than men. This unfavourable ratio between body surface area and body volume results in higher thermal losses. And then there is the skin: women’s skin is 15% thinner than men’s. Thinner skin cools down faster and sends signals sooner to the brain that the body needs warmth. The fact is, men are different. So are women. These differences are reflected in the specifications for warm apparel. Cool is uncoolRegardless of whether it’s men or women: sport activates your body’s own air conditioning system. The blood vessels in the skin expand so that warm blood flows outwards, allowing heat to flow outwards too. Sweat provides addi-tional condensation cooling. That is all fine pro-viding we are active. However, if we take a rest, this process continues and rapidly leads to a reduction in body temperature. Then there is air exchange. We breathe cold air in. And warm air out. The exchange of heat has to be stopped quickly before we cool down too far. That is where the right apparel plays a decisive role:

. Clothing reduces the area of exposed skin

. Clothing can ensure that sweat is trans- ported away from the body. Clothing increases the insulation effect between the skin and the environment. Clothing insulates the body against cold Nothing more than hot airWhen it comes to insulation there are two materials that have proved best for clothing. Down and PrimaLoft®. But in fact it is air that keeps us warm and keeps the cold at bay – that is because air is a very poor conductor of heat. The principle of insulation is therefore easy: the heat produced by the body should be dissipated into the environment as slowly as possible. Plus, the movement of heat has to be slowed down. Good insulation material retains the air around the body to retard thermal losses. The more air that is retained, the better the insulation effect. Materials like down and PrimaLoft® can retain enormous volumes of air.

Insulation: the best of both worlds Bouldering or big wall? Skiing or ice climbing? Greenland or Patagonia? Why accept the limitations of “either/or” when in many areas “do both” is the smarter solution? In terms of insulation both down and PrimaLoft® possess many strengths and capabilities. Depending on the application. Cut out the philosophy: some things are simply better when they do not change. The core temperature of our bodies, for example. If it falls below the ideal value of 37°C, in medical terms that is when hypothermia starts. First signs: shivering. That is because muscle activity converts chemical energy into mechanical energy. However, the majority of energy – more than 70% – is lost in the way of heat. This would be a relatively low level of efficiency for a machine. But evolution did not do us any favours here and it is this excess heat that our system needs to survive. If heat production cannot keep up with the heat given of, then we start cooling down. The body tries to warm itself. We start shivering. At the same time it tries to keep cold blood away from the core and the blood vessels in the extremities contract. The system switches over to emergency mode. Loss of performance follows, along with a reduction in the ability to think clearly. In the case of challenging outdoor activities this is not an ideal situation as the risk of injury and probability of making inaccurate assessments increase. So keeping your body warm in a cold environment is about more than just comfort. It is a necessity.

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01. terrex swift primaloft vest

Swift: fast, nimble, rapid. And thanks to FORMOTION® cut and PrimaLoft® SPORT, it is as warm as it is versatile. Nevertheless, this compact item of insulation ingenuity is only marginally larger and heavier than an apple, plus gives you full functionality.

03. terrex n’dorphin vest

Give the cold the warm shoulder: optimised especially for the insulation requirements of women, PrimaLoft® SPORT is used precisely where it is needed. The rest is pure freedom of movement and efficiency.

02. terrex n’dosphere jacket

Developed for the high-performance sector, this jacket combines ultimate freedom of movement with 360° insulation. The stretch panels on the sides and back lined with PrimaLoft® make it a warm movement master-piece that fits into every backpack.

06. terrex korum hooded jacket

Never be frozen again! 90% down with a bulk rating of 700 cuin and yet so small and light that this technical and tough jacket can be stowed away in its own side pocket.

05. terrex swift primaloft jacket

Active insulation for athletic mountain sport. This minimalist jacket combines low weight, compact stowage volume and high thermal performance, even when wet. The women’s version also features a hood.

04. terrex korum hooded jacket

For intensive movement in the mountains in icy conditions: loads of insulation and yet lightweight with a low stowage volume thanks to high down content and excellent bulking power.