What is the Arete Vest?
Mountain Equipment’s Arete Vest has been designed to be a great lightweight core insulation piece for cool days at the crag and long days in the mountains when moving quickly. Equally suited to everyday wear to take the chill off, the Arete packs incredibly small, making it ideal to throw in your pack as an extra layer as and when you need it. The 700 fill power down keeps the pack size small and warmth high.
What is the Arete Vest made from?
Helium 20D outer fabric makes up the outer shell of the Arete vest. Helium 20D is exceptionally lightweight and downproof, keeping all that lovely warm down inside the vest where it can do its work of keeping you warm! The outer fabric features a PFC-Free water-resistant treatment, meaning the vest will shrug off a light rain shower, but in prolonged rain a waterproof shell would be recommended to keep the vest performing.
The insulation comes in the form of 71g (Size Large) of 700 fill power down, treated to be water resistant. The down has a 90/10 split of down and feather, ensuring a high loft from the down, with some structure support from the feathers to help keep the down in place. All of this insulation is housed in a stitched-through narrow baffle construction, which keeps a close, body hugging fit that keeps bulk low and warmth high. The down is distributed on a baffle by baffle basis, putting more insulation where it is most needed.
What are its features?
The Arete Vest keeps the features to a minimum, in order to keep the weight and pack size small. A full length YKK zip with rear insulatedbaffle and the micro baffle outer construction keep the fit close. Two zipped hand warmer pockets take care of storage, whilst a pre-elasticated armholes and adjustable dual tether hem drawcords help enhance the fit. The Arete Vest packs conveniently into it’s own pocket, leaving twin karabiner carry loops for easy harness/ pack attachment.
How does the Arete Vest fit?
The Arete Vest is designed to be close fitting for optimal warmth.
Where does it fit in the layering system?
The Arete is perfectly suited to use as a lightweight midlayer, sitting snug over a baselayer. Its trim design lends itself to be worn underneath a shell or other midlayers.
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Helium 20D outer shell that is exceptionally lightweight and downproof
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71g (Size Large) of Down Codex ethically sourced traceable 700 fill power down
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PFC-Free water resistant down treatment
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Stitched-through narrow baffle construction
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Full length YKK front zip with rear insulated baffle to avoid cold spots on the chest
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Two Zipped hand pockets
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Pre-elasticated armholes
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Adjustable dual tether hem drawcords
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Great for moving fast in the mountains
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Super lightweight and packable 235g (Size Large)
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Packs into hand pocket with twin karabiner carry loops
How to wash your down products
Having spent years talking to people about down products, whether that’s a jacket, sleeping bag or even a pair of slippers, very few have had the confidence to go ahead and wash the product on their own, especially when they have just spent an arm and a leg on it. This small guide is here to explain that it’s not as daunting and utterly terrifying as it first appears.
Step one: Before you even get near that washing machine, wipe off any excess mud or dirt that may be lingering on the surface of the jacket, as this will clog up the washing machine, eventually rendering it useless.
We recommend the use of Nikwax Down Wash Direct for down products as it’s one hundred percent environmentally friendly and will wash and re-proof the garment without the use of bleach or any other nasty chemicals. What household washing agents can (and often do) is remove the water repellent coating on the fabric of the jacket, whilst also damaging the delicate array of feathers inside.
Step two: We’ll assume in this instance that you’ve been washing other products prior to your down jacket and have used a bleach based detergent. Therefore it’s a good idea to run the washing machine for half an hour or so without anything inside to rinse it clean before adding the Nikwax or putting the jacket in. Also, don’t forget to remove the detergent drawer to give it a wash inside, outside and behind, as detergent can clog up and still enter the washing machine if not cleaned out thoroughly. This ensures that any remnants of detergent are removed and that the Nikwax products will work effectively.
Step three: Set the washing machine to a cold wash (check the garments care label, most tend to be around 30°C) and as delicate as possible. Most washing machines have a “wool” cycle which is ideal.
Step four: If using Nikwax Down Wash Direct, place 100ml in either the tray or directly into the washing machine inside a small pot/ball. If you choose to use another washing product, place the appropriate amount in the machine in the same way.
Step five: Set the washing machine to run on a slow cycle, allowing plenty of time for the jacket to soak up the cleaning/re-proofing product. Most washing machines will have a pre-set time for different washing cycles.
When the cycle has finished be prepared for a shock, your precious bit of kit will come out looking like a soggy ball of material. But don’t worry, you haven’t ruined it, it’s just that all that fluffy down insulation has become water logged and has clumped together. The trick is to now get all that down nice and dry to reinstate its superb insulating properties. Simply hanging it up in a warm place will not work that well. It will take days to properly dry and you will have to constantly break up the clumps to get it thoroughly dry. The best way is to use a tumble dryer; either a domestic one for smaller items or a commercial drier for sleeping bags.
Step six: Pop the garment into the dryer and make sure to select a low heat; a high heat runs the risk of melting seams and fabrics within the garment. It sounds weird, but shove a few tennis balls into the drier with the garment; the tennis balls will bounce around and help to break up the clumps of down. Every 20 minutes, pull the jacket out of the dryer and lie the jacket down on a table. Run your hands over the jacket until you find a 'clump' or ball of down; tease apart this down clump and spread it evenly into the baffle. Once you're confident you've pulled apart every clump to the best of your ability, stick it back in for another 20 minutes. Keep repeating this until there are no more clumps left.
Step seven: When the cycle has finished and you are sure that you have got the garment as dry as possible, hang it up in a warm dry place, an airing cupboard is ideal, for 24 hours. This drives out the last of any dampness and allows the down to loft fully. Take it out and give it a good shake and, hey presto, it’ll be as good as new.