8000m EXPEDITION 2 PIECE SUITS

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THE DOWN SUIT IS SYNONYMOUS WITH 8000m CLIMBING, WITH THE MODERN IMAGE OF BRIGHTLY SUITED CLIMBERS ON FROZEN SLOPES BEING THE DEFINING ONE. AT BASECAMPS ALL ALONG THE HIMALAYA TEAM MEMBERS FANTASIZE OF THE TIME WHEN THEY GET TO PUT THERE’S ON, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S THEIR FIRST.

THE OVERWHELMINGLY COMMERCIAL NATURE OF 8000m ASCENTS HAS MADE THE CHOICE OF A ONE PIECE DOWN SUIT EFFECTIVELY STANDARD, WITH ALMOST EVERY SUIT ON THE MARKET THESE DAYS DESIGNED FOR THE DEMANDS AND LOGISTICS OF COMMERCIAL TRIPS. BUT, FOR A MINORITY OF 8000m CLIMBERS, THE 2 PIECE DOWN SUIT IS THE BETTER CHOICE.

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WHEN A 2 PIECE DOWN SUIT IS THE BETTER CHOICE FOR 8000m CLIMBING

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ONE PIECE DOWN SUITS EXIST FOR VERY GOOD REASONS AND THE COMPANYS THAT MAKE THEM – BEYOND THE MARKETING OF THESE THINGS – UNDERSTAND WHAT IS AT THE ROOT OF THE IDEA. ONE PIECE SUITS TEND TO BE (BUT NOT ALWAYS) THE LIGHTEST FORM OF FULL BODY INSULATION THAT CAN BE TAKEN UP A MOUNTAIN. A SINGLE GARMENT IS SIMPLE, THERMALLY EFFICIENT AGAINST HEAT LOSS, BASIC TO CARRY AND BASIC TO USE, MAKING IT THE BETTER CHOICE FOR COMMERCIAL-STYLE ASCENTS THAT FOLLOW A GUIDED BLUEPRINT AND WELL ESTABLISHED LOGISTICS. SOME ROUTES AND PEAKS ARE MORE SUITED TO ONE PIECE SUITS DUE TO THEW WAY THEY ARE CLIMBED AND THE CLIMATE ON THEM, AND FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ORGANIZING GROUPS OF PEOPLE IN AN ENVIRONMENT LIKE THIS, ONE PIECE SUITS RELIABLY TICK THE BOXES. BUT, LIKE MOST THINGS INVOLVED IN HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING, THE MORE YOU STEP AWAY FROM THE INDUSTRIAL ‘EVEREST MODEL’, THE LESS THE INDUSTRIAL STANDARDS APPLY, AND BY THE TIME YOU GET TO A TRIP LIKE THE NORTH RIDGE OF K2, THINGS CAN WORK VERY DIFFERENTLY.

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REASONS TO USE A 2 PIECE DOWN SUIT

FIT

FIT IS EVERYTHING, ALMOST. JUGGING IN A CONGA LINE UP A WELL ESTABLISHED TRAIL WILL LET YOU GET AWAY WITH A SUIT THAT ONLY NEEDS TO KEEP YOU WARM FOR MAYBE 72hrs, BUT ON A TECHNICAL ROUTE WITH PRECISE FOOTWORK, TWO TOOLS & A HARNESS LADEN WITH RACK FIT MATTERS AS MUCH AS IT DOES FOR ANY ATHLETE. ON ALPINE ASCENTS WITHOUT BOTTLED OXYGEN, ESPECIALLY ON A NORTH SIDE, YOU WILL HAVE YOUR SUIT ON MORE AND WILL DO MORE IN IT, AND IF IT RIDES UP INTO YOUR GROIN, OR SAGS DOWN OVER YOUR HARNESS, OR FLOPS AROUND YOUR THIGHS OR BILLOWS AROUND YOUR CHEST OR IS TOO TIGHT ACROSS THE SHOULDERS OR TOO SHORT IN THE SLEEVES THEN IT WILL DRIVE YOU MAD AT BEST OR BE A HAZARD AT WORST.

2 PIECE SUITS – WHETHER SPEC DESIGNED LIKE MONTANE’S APEX 8000 OR PATCHED TOGETHER FROM VARIOUS SOURCES AS WE WORE BEFORE THE APEX CAME ALONG – ARE THE OBVIOUS CHOICE FOR ANYBODY WHO EITHER HAS DIMENSIONS NOT CATERED TO BY THE ONE PIECE DESIGN, OR WHO IS FANATICAL ABOUT FIT, WHICH FACE IT, INCLUDES ANYBODY EXPECTING TO WIELD TOOLS OVERHEAD OR STEM A GULLY WITHOUT OXYGEN ABOVE 7000m,

FIT RELATES TO NOT JUST BODY TYPE BUT ALSO TO THE OTHER GEAR YOUR SUIT NEEDS TO INTREGRATE WITH, AND A 2 PIECE LETS YOU TRIM DOWN YOUR FIT AS MUCH AS IT LETS YOU UP-SIZE IT, WITH MORE THAN ONE CLIMBER OPTING TO USE A SIZE DOWN FOR THE SAKE OF STREAMLING THEIR JACKET SO THEY CAN SEE THEIR FEET BETTER, OR UP-SIZE THEIR PANTS TO FIT A MID-LAYER INSIDE OF.

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WEIGHT

IN THE MAJORITY OF CASES A ONE PIECE IS LIGHTER THAN A 2 PIECE BY ABOUT 300g, BUT THAT’S A DISTORTED COMPARISON. BECAUSE YOU ONLY WEAR THE ONE PIECE FOR THE HIGHEST PARTS, YOU STILL NEED TO CARRY INSULATED CLOTHING FOR THE LOWER SECTIONS, AND CORRESPONDING OTHER CLOTHING THAT ADDS UP TO MORE THAN THE WEIGHT OF A 2 PIECE SUIT WHERE YOU CAN WEAR THE JACKET INDEPENDENTLY.

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MOVEMENT

ONE PIECES MOVE OK, BUT 2 PIECE DOWN SUITS MOVE BETTER. HAVING THE ARTICULATION AROUND THE MIDRIFF THAT ONLY A 2 PIECE ALLOWS LETS YOU KEEP THINGS STREAMLINED AND AWAY FROM FLOPPING ABOUT AS ALL ONE PIECES ARE NOTORIOUS FOR WHICH IS A BIG DEAL FOR FULL BODY CLIMBING. BECAUSE ONE PIECE SUITS DON’T STRETCH, MOVEMENTS THAT DEMAND IT TWIST AND RIDE THEM, UNLIKE A 2 PIECE THAT ARTICULATES.

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VERSATILITY

A SUIT NEEDS TO DO WHAT A ROUTE DEMANDS AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT ABSOLUTE WARMTH ISN’T ALWAYS THE ABSOLUTE PRIORITY. FOR A WELL ESTABLISHED ROUTE WITH WELL ESTABLISHED ROTATIONS AND WELL ESTABLISHED CAMPS, MOVING BITS OF GEAR ABOUT THAT WILL ONLY COME OUT FOR A SMALL PART OF A TRIP IS NORMAL. FOR A LIGHT ALPINE TRIP IT’S ABSURD.

AS SPECIALIZED AS 8000m CLIMBING CAN BE, THE ALPINE VERSION NEEDS EVERY BIT OF GEAR TO FULFIL A SPECTRUM USES OVER A RANGE OF CONDITIONS AND THE 2 PIECE IS FAR MORE VERSATILE IN EVERY WAY SO RESULTS IN MUCH LIGHTER PACKS. YOU DON’T NEED A SECOND DOWN JACKET FOR LOWER DOWN. YOU DON’T NEED EXTRA LEG LAYERS FOR LATE IN THE DAY. YOU DON’T NEED VARIOUS BASE AND MIDLAYERS TO JUGGLE AROUND BEING TOO HOT AND TOO COLD. YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR INSULATION RANGE BOOKENDED BY A SINGLE ITEM THAT’S POTENTIALLY USELESS THE REST OF THE TIME, MAYBE EVEN BEING PORTAGED STRAIGHT TO A HIGH CAMP.

INSTEAD YOU BUILD A CONCISE SYSTEM WITH FEW PARTS BUT COVERING A LOT OF VARIABLES BECAUSE EACH PART INTEGRATES WELL, ALMOST THE OPPOSITE OF THE ONE PIECE PARADIGM.

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EASE OF USE

ONE PIECE SUITS LOOK STRAIGHTFORWARD TO GET ON AND OFF – AND THEY ARE IN THE HOTEL ROOM IN THAMEL – BUT IN THE CONFINES OF A CLUTTERED TENT OR AT A STANCE BETWEEN FIXED LINES THEY ARE A NIGHTMARE COMPARED TO A 2 PIECE, AND THAT’S BEFORE STUFF FALLS FROM THE POCKETS – THE SIGNATURE MOVE OF SHEDDING THE TOP OF A ONE PIECE SUIT – AND GETTING YOU LEGS TANGLED IN, OR FORGETTING COMPLETELY, THE INTERNAL BRACES. BY COMPARISON, A TWO PIECE IS SIMPLY JUST CLOTHING, ONLY PUFFIER. SOME PANTS CAN GO ON OVER CRAMPONS BY HAVING FULL SIZE ZIPS, AND EVEN PUTTING THE SUSPENDERS ON OVER THE JACKET, OR NOT USING THEM AT ALL, IS NO BIG DEAL.

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REDUNDANCY

SLASHING OPEN THE INSEAM OF YOUR LEGS AND MELTING HOLES IN YOUR SLEEVES IS COMMON ON ALPINE-STYLE ASCENTS AND THE IDEA OF NOT THREATENING TO LOSE YOUR ENTIRE SUIT OVER IT IS SIMPLY GOOD PRACTICE. GEAR CAN ALSO GET LOST IN AVALANCHES OR LEFT BEHIND, AND WHEN THE NEAREST RESUPPLY ISN’T JUST DOWN THE VALLEY THE ABILITY TO COBBLE TOGETHER A WORKING SET TO GET YOU HOME AGAIN TAKES ON A WHOLE OTHER GRAVITY.

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VENTING

NO ONE PIECE COMES EVEN CLOSE TO THE VENTING EFFICIENCY OF A 2 PIECE SIMPLY BECAUSE A 2 PIECE LETS YOU DUMP A LOT OF HEAT WITHOUT UNZIPPING ANY OF THE VENT ZIPS RUNNING UP THE FRONT AND SIDES OF THE TORSO. BY BEING ABLE TO UNCINCH THE WAIST CORDS YOU CAN BE BATTENED DOWN DEEP INSIDE THE SUIT AGAINST WIND AND SPINDRIFT AND STILL GET AIRFLOW TO THE CORE OF YOUR BODY

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BOTTOM LINE

ALPINE-STYLE CLIMBING IS A HIGHLY VARIABLE THING SO NEEDS A HIGHLY ADAPTABLE CLOTHING SYSTEM TO GO WITH IT. IT WILL COLD DOWN LOW, OR VERY HOT. IT WILL BE SUPER COLD UP HIGH, UNLESS THE WIND DROPS. YOU WILL BE WORKING HARD PUTTING OUT HEAT, TILL YOU STOP. THE CLOUDS WILL CLEAR, OR COME OVER. DAY-NIGHT TEMPERATURE VARIATION CAN BE AS MUCH AS 50c.

WHEN THINGS ARE RUN AT A SELF-SUSTAINED LEVEL WHERE YOU’RE DOING THE WORK AND YOU’RE CARRYING THE LOADS, ADAPTABLE, STREAMLINED AND VERSATILE SYSTEMS THAT ARE EFFICIENT TO MANAGE MATTER A LOT.

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BUT WILL A ONE PIECE DOWN SUIT STILL BE OK FOR THE NORTH RIDGE OF K2? OF COURSE, AND INDEED THE MOST RECENT SUMMITEERS FROM THE CHINA SIDE (ALBEIT IN 2011) USED ONE PIECE SUITS.

MORE SO THAN FOR A ONE PIECE, A 2 PIECE DOWN SUIT IS A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT NEEDS PRACTICE TO GET RIGHT. UNLIKE THE ONE PIECE PARADIGM WHERE YOU CLIMB TILL IT’S TIME TO JUST PUT IT ON, A 2 PIECE IS A PROCESS OF MIXING AND MANAGING THE PARTS AS YOU GO, A PROCESS SQUARED AGAIN IF THE SUIT FORMS A VITAL PART OF YOUR SLEEPING SYSTEM.

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WHAT ABOUT DOUBLE SUITS?

INSULATION-WISE THE DOUBLE SUIT CONCEPT OFFERED BY PHD IS THE QUANTUM LEAP THE ONE PIECE SUIT WAS WAITING FOR WHEN IT COMES TO COMMERCIAL ASCENTS, BUT FROM A MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE ON ALPINE-STYLE TRIPS THEY ARE COMPLICATED. MANY OF THE DESIGN ELEMENTS LIKE WEARING YOUR HARNESS BETWEEN THE LAYERS AND COMBINING WITH A SLEEPING SYSTEM GO A LONG WAY SOMEWHERE LIKE THE ABRUZZI WITH THE WIDE SPECTRUM OF CONDITIONS AND INVOLVED LOGISTICS, BUT BECOME ADDITIONAL COMPLEXITIES ON A STEEP, BOLD & MORE STABLE NORTH FACING ROUTE LIKE THE NORTH RIDGE. LIKE THE ONE PIECE, OF COURSE THEY WILL WORK (AND WE SPENT TIME WITH PHD GOING INTO THE POTENTIAL TO ADAPT DESIGNS FOR THE CHINESE KARAKORAM) BUT IN THE END LE CORBUSIER’S STANDARD OF WHAT CAN WE TAKE AWAY, NOT ADD, MADE THE 2 PIECE OUR GO TO.