Artilect isn’t a brand that’s particularly well known in the UK, but we can see it making some traction. From what we’ve seen, the company’s kit isn’t just good, but it’s also innovative and interesting. Operating from Boulder, Colorado, they seem to have quite a refreshing approach to outdoor apparel, utilising innovative materials and technologies, and this jacket, the W-Divide Fusion Stretch is a case in point.
Materials
The down used in this quilted jacket has a decent 700 fill power to it and it comes from Allied Down, another US brand and one that’s gained a reputation for its commitment to sustainability and ethical practices in the down supply chain. All of the fill they use, for instance, meets the Responsible Down Standard.
The shell material is a ripstop synthetic. This feels light but durable and it has a nice four-way stretch to it giving it that little bit of extra resistance against snagging branches. It’s treated with a PFC-free DWR called EMPEL which is applied in an innovative way because it doesn’t require water. Instead, the solution is first applied via rollers before the fabric then gets placed in a pressured pod and subsequently heated. It’s a molecular process that, according to Artilect, creates a water repellent coating that lasts as long as the fabric does – so there’s no need to reproof it. We haven’t got to a stage where we feel we need to reproof this, though we’ve only used it for a couple of months. We’ll update this review when we’ve got a verdict on how that performs. What we will say is that the fabric has shown good water resistance in light rain so far.
