BELAY JACKETS vs BIVY JACKETS vs DOWN JACKETS
MARKETING HYPERBOLE ASIDE, DIFFERENT JACKETS EXIST FOR DIFFERENT ROLES ONCE YOU GET BEYOND THE ENDLESS ITERATIONS THAT FILL WEBSITE PAGES. GO TO THE ULTAR-SPECIALIST BRANDS OR THE LATTER ITEMS IN THE GOOD QUALITY MAINSTREAM ONES AND YOU’LL SEE SEVERAL SORTS OF JACKETS THAT ARE USUALLY EXPENSIVE, DESIGNED FOR CLIMBERS WHO ARE BUYING FUNCTION OVER LOOKS.
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BELAY JACKETS
POPULARIZED BY MARK TWIGHT WHEN HE SPILLED THE BEANS ON THE METHODS OF EXTREME ALPINISM, BELAY JACKETS COME AND GO IN THE MARKET. SOME MARKETS HAVE YET TO EVEN DISCOVER THEM – THE BRITS AND JAPANESE NOTICEABLY – AND THEY NEED THE REST OF YOUR CLOTHING AND GEAR RETOOLED TO WORK WITH THEM.
BELAY JACKETS ARE MADE TO THROW OVER DAMP CLIMBING CLOTHES AND THEREFORE PRIORITIZE BREATHING SO THEY CAN AID DRYING YOU OUT. ALWAYS SYNTHETIC, THEY ARE THERE TO STORE FOOD IN THE POCKETS AND PROTECT YOU AT BELAY STANCES, AND ARE BULKY AND SIMPLE.
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BIVY JACKETS
THESE ONCE COHABITED WITH BELAY JACKETS, EMERGING ON THEIR OWN AS A SOLUTION FOR WHEN THE ATTRIBUTES OF A BELAY JACKET AREN’T ENOUGH.
BIVY JACKETS ARE THERE FOR USING IN SNOW HOLES, FROSTED TENTS AND OPEN LEDGES, AND DIFFER FROM BELAY JACKETS IN BOTH THE WARMTH THEY OFFER AND THEIR WEATHER RESISTENCY. WHERE A BELAY JACKET PRIORITIZES BREATHING, A BIVY JACKET DOES WEATHER PROOFING, SO HAS A SHELL OUTER AND A HOOD THAT CINCHES RIGHT UP LIKE A SLEEPING BAG. THE INHERENT SYNTHETIC INSULATION IS BAFFLED, MAKING A VERY SOLID BUFFER BETWEEN YOU AND ANY ENVIRONMENT, AND IS THERE TO PROTECT FOR LONG HOURS OF BEING STATIONARY WHEN YOU WON’T BE PUTTING OUT MUCH HEAT.
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HIGH ALTTUDE DOWN JACKETS
HIGH COLD CLIMBING HAS THE BIG DOWN JACKET AS A QUINTESSENTIAL THING, ALMOST AS UBIQUITOUS AS BIG BOOTS. THIS IS NEITHER A BELAY OR BIVY JACKET, BUT PUTS INSULATION ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE. IN THE RARIFIED ENVIRONMENT OF HIGH ALTITUDE ALL THINGS CHANGE, ESPECIALLY SYSTEMS OF CLOTHING, AND WHERE BIVYS AND EVEN BELAYING ARE MINIMAL PRIORITY GOES TO LIGHTNESS AND INSULATION.
THE SAD FACT IS, MOST HIGH ALT DOWN JACKETS THESE DAYS ARE MADE FOR STANDING IN LINE ON A FIXED ROPE. THEY ARE DECKED OUT IN ‘FEATURES’ THAY MAY OR MAY NOT BE NECESSARY, SUCH AS COUNTLESS ZIPPERS, COUNTLESS POCKETS, FIELDS OF VELCRO, FLAPS ON EVERYTHING AND NIFTY THINGS LIKE HEAT PACK POCKETS AND EAR BUD PORTS. THESE THINGS OF COURSE ALL ADD WEIGHT, TO JACKETS ALREADY HEAVY, BECAUSE BY THEIR NATURE THEY HAVE TO HIT A PRICE POINT THAT WON’T ACCEPT THE HIGHEST QUALITY DOWN (USUALLY BEING ABOUT EURO 700). THEY HAVE HEAVY DUTY FABRICS APPARENTLY FOR THE ABRASION THEY MUST ENDURE, AND ARE MADE TO BE THE PRIMARY LAYER YOMPED UP TO CAMP 4 AND WORN NON-STOP ABOVE IT.
WE USED TO ADVOCATE JACKETS LIKE THESE BUT NO LONGER DO, AS BETTER SOLUTIONS EXIST FOR KEEPING WARM AND EFFICIENT IN VERY HIGH, VERY COLD PLACES. THESE DAYS A FEW COMPANIES ARE PUTTING OUT EXTREMELY HIGH QUALITY AND LIGHTWEIGHT DOWN JACKETS, THAT CAN BE WORN IN CONJUNCTION TO CREATE AN OVERALL SYSTEM THAT SUPERCEDES THE HEAVY OLD STUFF OF YORE.
EMANATING FROM COMPANIES SUCH AS MALACHOWSKI, THE NORTH FACE, RAB AND PHD, THESE ARE JACKETS FLIRTING WITH 1000 FILL POWER DOWN AND ADVANCED BAFFLING TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT. THESE JACKETS WEIGH HALF WHAT THE NORMAL 8000m JACKETS DO, BEING STRIPPED OF ALL THE STUFF MENTIONED ABOVE THAT THE ALPINIST DOESN’T NEED. PRICE POINT IS ALSO LESS RELEVANT – NO COMPANY SELLS A LOT OF THESE – AND THEY ARE USUALLY SHOE-HORNED INTO CATALOGUES AS FLAGSHIP PIECES.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, THESE JACKETS ARE MADE TO SYNERGIZE WITH SECONDARY INSULATION LAYERS, AS A DOUBLE-SUIT LAYER, AND FURTHERMORE WITH A SLEEPING BAG TO CREATE AN INTEGRATED WHOLE. AS A WHOLE, THERE IS AMPLE POCKETS, HOOD COVER AND FEATURES (PROBABLY LESS THAN MANY SINGLE OLD STYLE JACKETS HAVE), AND THE EFFICIENCY ACROSS A WIDE SPECTRUM OF CONDITIONS AND EXERTION LEVELS IS EXCEPTIONAL.
THIS SORT OF SYSTEM AS YET DOESN’T USE SYNTHETIC INSULATION, BUT IS GETTING CLOSE. WE HAVE BEEN TRYING JACKETS WITH A VERY HIGH GRADE OF PRIMALOFT AND DESIGNED FOR SUCH THINGS DURING WINTER TRIPS TO TIBET, AND DONE THE RIGHT WAY WOULD BE OK TO WEAR THEM FOR WARM SEASON 8000m CLIMBING. THEY ARE A BIT HEAVIER FOR THE WARMTH AND PACK A BIT LESS WELL, BUT THE BOMBPROOFNESS HAS IT’S PLACE IN FROSTY TENTS AND ABRAISIVE ENVIRONMENTS. WE THINK THEY EQUAL THE OLD STYLE JACKETS, AT LEAST MATCHING THEM ON A WEIGHT/INSULATION SCALE, AND EXCEEDING THEM AS A SYSTEM ELEMENT BY BEING MORE COMPACT AND VERSATILE.
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WHICH vs WHAT
THE CHOICE OF COURSE IS INFORMED BY THE ASCENT, AND AS THINGS EVOLVE THE DIVISIONS AND OVERLAPS BETWEEN THESE TYPES OF JACKET SHIFT AND MERGE TO THE DEMANDS OF SHARP END USERS.
WHILST THE REGULAR BELAY JACKET IS UNLIKELY TO GO MUCH ABOVE 6500m (YES WE KNOW STEVE HOUSE WORE ONE TO NANGA PARBATS SUMMIT 20 YEARS AGO, AND WHEN YOUR RESTING HEART RATE IS IN THE 30s THERE MAY BE SOMETHING TO SAY), THE BIVY JACKET PUSHES EVER HIGHER WHEN ASCENTS DEMAND A LEVEL OF REDUNDANCY THAT DOWN CANNOT PROVIDE.
BELAY JACKETS WILL DO FOR ASCENTS THAT ARE A NIGHT OR TWO, IN TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS THAT SEE SOME HUMIDITY, AND WHERE NIGHTS WILL BE EITHER WITH TENTS, DECENT BIVYS, AND PROBABLY DURING SUMMER WHERE NIGHTS ARE SHORT AND SOLAR RADIATION IS NEVER TOO FAR AWAY, AND WHEN SHINING THE SUN IS HIGH IN THE SKY, MAKING BELAYS GENUINE RESTS. PAIRED WITH SOME BELAY PANTS YOU HAVE A SYSTEM THAT WILL GET YOU THROUGH, OR BETTER YET LETS YOU KEEP MOVING THROUGH THE NIGHT.
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LIKEWISE MOST GOOD BELAY JACKETS WILL BE FINE FOR FAST & LIGHT 5000-6000m STUFF WHEN INTEGRATED WITH A SECOND LAYER, BUT WILL START TO FIND LIMITS AS THINGS GET COLDER, WILDER, MORE REMOTE, AND HIGHER IN BOTH ALTITUDE AND LATITUDE. THIS IS WHERE BELAY JACKETS SHINE, AS A SERIOUS LAYER BETWEEN YOU AND SERIOUS COLD INJURY.
IF YOUR ASCENT INCLUDES LOTS OF NIGHTS IN HIGH CAMPS WITH FROSTED TENTS, LONG NIGHTS, DUG INTO SNOW AND A WEAK SUN WHEN IT IS ARRIVES, THEN YOU WILL LIVE IN THIS THING FOR MAYBE 75% OF THE TIME, CLIMBING IN IT A LOT AS WELL. THIS NEEDS MORE THAN THE LIGHTLY LINED BELAY JACKET WILL PROVIDE, WANTING SOMETHING CLOSER TO A FULL 8000m DESIGN, BUT IN SYNTHETIC WITH A DECENT SHELL.
THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT WHEN YOU NEED TO KEEP GLOVES, BOOTIES, WATER, GAS AND BATTERIES WARM MOST OF THE TIME, OVER-STUFFING YOUR JACKET THEN SLEEPING AND CLIMBING IN IT. THIS SORT OF JACKET MAKES UP A THIRD OF YOUR SLEEPING SYSTEM, COMBINING WITH PUFFY PANTS AND A SLEEPING BAG THAT LOOKS WORRYINGLY THIN, AND HAS TO INSPIRE PSYCHOLOGICAL COMFORT AS MUCH AS ACTUAL INSULATION.
THE BEST BIVY JACKETS WILL GET YOU MUCH CLOSER TO 8000m THAN A BELAY JACKET, BUT THEIR BULK OVER DOWN LEAVES THIS TO CUTTING EDGE ASCENTS. 7000m IN COLDER SEASONS, HIGHER LATITUDES, OR DONE IN INTERESTING STYLES IS THE DOMAIN OF THE BIVY JACKET, ESPECIALLY WHEN PAIRED WITH A WELL CHOSEN MIDLAYER.
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THE NEW TYPE OF BIG DOWN JACKETS ARE FOR WHEN THINGS ARE VERY COLD, VERY HIGH AND THE CLIMBING VERY STREAMLINED, BASICALLY BEYOND ISSUES WITH MOISTURE WHERE WEIGHT AND PACKABILITY MAKE A DIFFERENCE. SUPER HIGH QUALITY DOWN (EURO 900FP AND ABOVE) THAT IS DRY TREATED AND PROPERLY BAFFLED MAKES FOR JACKETS THE LIKES OF WHICH ARE JUST EMERGING, THAT CHANGE THE EQUATION OF WHAT A CLIMBER CARRIES ON AN ASCENT. THE BEST JACKETS IN THIS SPACE WEIGHT AROUND 500g WHICH IS LESS THAN HALF THAN ANY OPTION FROM A FEW YEARS AGO, AND CAN BE COMBINED MORE SMARTLY WITH OTHER LAYERS TO REVOLUTIONIZE WHAT IS POSSIBLE.
ON TOP OF WEIGHT SAVINGS IN TENTS, SLEEPING BAGS AND PACKS, AND THE INCREASE IN PERFORMANCE OF MATERIALS AND THE WAY THEY ARE PUT TOGETHER, THE HI ALT DOWN JACKETS OF TODAY FILL A NICHE THAT IS EVOLVING FAST. NOW A CLIMBER CAN GO FASTER IN COLDER AND HIGHER PLACES WHEN THE ROUTE STAYS AWAY FROM ISSUES WITH MOISTURE. DOWN STILL ISN’T PERFECT, AND THOUGH WILL COPE WITH A NIGHT OR TWO OF COOKING IN TENTS, FINDS ITS LIMITS WHEN WORN CONTINUOUSLY FOR HIGH OUTPUT CLIMBING.
THIS IS THE CHOICE FOR STUFF LIKE FINAL ASCENTS FOLLOWING AN ACCLIMATION CYCLE, WHERE EVERYTHING IS WORKED OUT NOW IT’S TIME TO JUST PULL IT TOGETHER. NON-STOP ASCENTS ARE ANOTHER, WHERE AREN’T EXPECTED TO DROP BELOW A CERTAIN LEVEL OF OUTPUT NOR GET TOO HIGH, AND YOU LIVE IN THE JACKET THUS KEEPING IT DRY. IF YOUR TIMELINE IS CONCISE YOU CAN ACCEPT YOU WILL OVERWHELM THE DOWNS CAPACITY, BUT BE DESCENDING BY THEN. THIS OBVIOUSLY IS A LEVEL OF RIDING YOUR GEAR THAT INFERS PRACTICE AND RISK, BUT IS WHERE PROGRESS IS POSSIBLE.
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DON’T EXPECT TO FIND A GOOD SELECTION OF ANY OF THESE TYPES OF JACKET ANYWHERE, AS THEY ARE NOT SOMETHING THAT MOST OF THE JACKET-BUYING WORLD HAS MUCH INTEREST IN. THERE’S A LOT OF QUASI-BELAY JACKETS OUT THERE, AND A LOT OF DOWN JACKETS THAT ARE NOT REALLY FOR HI ALT USE, AND TRUE BIVY JACKETS CAN BE COUNTED ON ONE HAND.
ANNOYINGLY PRICE IS OFTEN A SIGN, THESE THINGS BEING AIMED AT A SMALL BUT DISCERNING USER MARKET, WHO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE TO BE MADE FOR ROUTES THAT DEMAND SOMETHING DIFFERENT. THIS IS NOT THE PLACE TO CUT CORNERS, SAVE YOUR DOLLARS ELSEWHERE, AND ROUTES DESIGNED AROUND JACKETS THAT AREN’T UP TO IT ARE COURTING FAILURE.