FULLY FEATURED MOUNTAIN SHELL
We’ve been tinkering away to create something that is (we think at least) very exciting. The Brief: To make the toughest running jacket we could.
Whether it’s taking on October weather for two days at The OMM, a midwinter traverse of the Pennine Way, or a fast-packing enchainment of alpine peaks, you want a jacket that protects you against the elements whilst maintaining a lightweight quality. Since these requirements are quite niche, but specific to our runners, we at OMM took on the challenge of developing a jacket that does just that.
Achieving this brief meant pushing fabric technologists towards even lighter and stronger solutions. Even lighter than our flagship jacket, the Kamleika, but with the same breathability and waterproofing, the Aether jacket is more of a feat of engineering than a running jacket. Working with industry-leading experts Dyneema, we have created a mountaineering spec jacket for less than 230g.
WHAT IS DYNEEMA?
If you’ve not heard of Dyneema Ripstop before (only us gear geeks have), it is an Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE – now there’s an acronym) more commonly found in ballistic vests and climbing harnesses that boasts high tensile strength and abrasion resistance.
With strength x15 stronger than steel, the addition of Dyneema allows runners to take on gorse and heather, rocky outcrops, or just the wear and tear of pulling a jacket in and out of a pack.
SUSTAINABILITY & DURABILITY
Starting from a recycled nylon face fabric that is reinforced with Dyneema Ripstop, the jacket also has a PFAS-Free, waterproof, and breathable membrane along with a PFC-free DWR (durable water repellent) treatment to the face fabric meaning we have vastly reduced the amount of harmful “forever chemicals” that would traditionally be found in a shell of this kind.
Measuring a hydrostatic head of 20,000mm and breathability of 20,000g/m2, this is the very cutting-edge of fabric technology, with sustainability credentials to match.
BIO-BASED DYNEEMA
We selected Dyneema for its unbeatable strength but we wanted to take the sustainable performance of the Aether a step further.
Using waste from wood and timber industries to produce ethylene, Bio-Based Dyneema has exactly the same performance and properties of standard Dyneema, using the exact same manufacturing process but with a 90% reduction in carbon production when compared to standard HMPEs (over 26 tons of carbon saved per ton of fibre produced).
All Dyneema products are produced using 100% renewable energy, for good measure too.
AETHER EXPLAINED
We have combined the Dyneema-reinforced fabric with:
– Our award-winning integrated thumb loops
– 2 large hand pockets that sit higher on the body for use with a harness
– Our dynamic droptail to reduce riding up under a pack
– A fully adjustable wired hood can handle the worst of the weather when the forecast doesn’t play ball
– And a tailored, performance cut, eliminating dead air and excess material
– Finally, to comply with all your mandatory kit list needs, finished with fully taped seams
STRONG AND LIGHT
Despite being packed with features, we created a mountaineering spec jacket for less than 200g for the women’s and 230g for the men’s jacket so that if the sun comes out, this jacket won’t weigh heavy in your pack.
