What is the Kryos Pant?
The Kryos Pant is designed for some of the toughest, most unforgiving environments on earth. They feature an exceptionally high-quality down insulation and highly weather-resistant Gore-Tex Infinium membrane, making them ideal for high-altitude mountaineering. Extensive research and feedback from Mountain Equipment's athletes have gone into the Kryos Pant to ensure it performs for even the most punishing of users.
What are they made of?
Insulation: Starting with the insulation, Mountain Equipment uses some of the highest-quality 800 fill power Goose down throughout the Kryos Pant. Down is one of the warmest and lightest insulators available, making the total weight of the trousers just 480g.
Although the down is impressive, it's actually the way it's distributed which is the clever bit — Mountain Equipment call this their 'Firestorm construction'. Areas of the trousers which require the most warmth are given a mixture of pleated and regular stitch-through baffles. These ingenious pleated baffles take your standard oval-shaped baffle and place a pleat on the top of the baffle itself; this requires very little extra fabric, yet allows the down to loft better and provides more warmth. Mini baffles are placed in areas which require less warmth to reduce pack size and weight but also to prevent the down moving around and creating cold spots.
The main issue with your standard down garment is all the stitching. Each baffle needs to be stitched together to hold the down still, otherwise, it'd all flop down to the bottom and provide little warmth. This stitching also allows wind and water to pass through, taking away precious warmth. Mountain Equipment have solved this by constructing the inner baffle structure and the outer separately. Essentially, you've got a lightweight series of baffles inside the trousers which provide the warmth and a shell surrounding it which protects against wind and rain. More about that below!
Fabrics: Now, another negative to down is that it doesn't like the wet very much. Mountain Equipment have equipped the Kryos Pant with a Gore-Tex Infinium membrane — a fully windproof and highly water-resistant barrier, keeping you warm and protected in all but the worst conditions. In practice, we've found this membrane to be virtually waterproof; it would take constant, torrential rain before any moisture passed through. This also features a clever construction and features no seams in high-wear areas — this reduces the risk of water ingress or delamination from rucksack hipbelts or climbing harnesses rubbing. The hem has been given a Gore-Tex Infinium lining on the inside as well — this stops water soaking in and sapping away heat. To top it off, surrounding the membrane is a lightweight 10D nylon face fabric with a durable water repellent coating.
What are their features?
Most of the features lie in the clever construction techniques listed above, but there are some creature comforts to make them that much more versatile. Full-length side zips allow you to easily get them on and off without removing footwear or can be used to ventilate during high output activity. A semi-elasticated waist with brace attachment points keep them firmly in place.
Where do they fit in the layering system?
These trousers are firmly designed as an outer layer. Thanks to the Gore-Tex Infinium membrane, they're equipped to deal with some of the worst conditions. The amount of high-quality insulation coupled with the ingenious construction means you probably won't need to have many layers underneath.
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Firestorm construction
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800 fill power Goose down
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Gore-Tex Infinium membrane
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Full-length side zips
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Hybrid baffling
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Adjustable semi-elasticated waist
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Brace attachment points
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Gore-Tex Infinium hem inner lining
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.