Haglöfs Autumn 2015 Gear Scoop

When we popped up to Haglöfs for a scoop look at the Swedish brand’s new spring 2015 range we also got an early peek at what’s out this autumn including an interesting new synthetic insulation fill that’s reckoned to be as warm per gramme as top-notch natural down. 

All the kit here is due out in late summer/early autumn 2015, so you’ll have to wait a while mind…

Quad Fusion Mimic Insulation

You might have noticed that we have a very early Mimic Essens Jacket already, but when it first arrived, we genuinely didn’t have idea what it was. Our first impressions were, believe it of not, that it was a classic down micro baffled jacket. It was only when we looked a bit closer that we realised it used a synthetic insulation called Quad Fusion Mimic.

The name is, apparenty, because it ‘mimics’ down, but with the sort of easy care qualities and water resistance you get from an artificial fill. And so far that seems pretty true to reality, using it in cold conditions it’s proved to be deceptively warm.

700 Fill Power Equivalent

Turns out that the loose synthetic fibre clusters apparently have an equivalent warmth to weight ratio as European-rated 700 fill power down. Not only that, it’s made from 100% Bluesign-approved, recycled polyester fibres. 

It sounds a bit like the holy grail of insulation: works like down, looks like down, is synthetic… and will be available in both men’s and women’s versions and as a hood or hoodless jacket to begin with.

It’s not insanely light in this form, more ‘respectably’ so – our medium test jacket is a real life 360g, slightly more than a conventional Barrier Pro synthetic jacket – but we reckon it’s warmer for the weight and with lighter fabrics would be snugger still.

The straight jacket version is going to be £160 and the hooded one, some £180 when they launch next winter. We’re impressed so far.

Mojo Down Hood

Going from synthetic fill that behaves like down to down that behaves like down is the gurt big Mojo Down Hood jacket, a serious, deep winter down top complete with warm hand pockets and an internal mesh one to hold a water bottle and stop it freezing.

It’s big and warm like a mobile sleeping bag with box-wall baffles stuffed with 330g of down and has a total weight in the region of 800g or so. It’s not all down though, it uses synthetic fill in compression spots like the top of the shoulders where it resists loads better than natural down.

Barrier Pro 3 Belay Jacket

Also new on the insulation front and the winner of a Gold Award at the recent ISPO trade show, the Barrier Pro 3 Belay is a new belay jacket stuffed full of Quad Fusion Pro insulation. 

Thing is, Quad Pro Fusion is no ordinary synthetic insulation. It’s made, it says here, by fusing a ‘blend of performance fibres onto the highly breathable and moisture-wicking CoreScreen membrane’. Apparently it’s designed so the fibres close to the body wick moisture away then the membrane element is not only breathable but designed to reflect heat back to the body while still allowing moisture to escape.

It’s also reckoned to be more durable as the fibres are held in place. It’s witchcraft we say, and awards juries love that high ted stuff that most of us can barely understand. Anyway, it’s apparently very good, ‘revolutionary’ even.

The jacket itself is sized to fit over other layers, has harness-friendly pockets and, we think, a helmet-friendly hood so you can cover your noggin as well. It packs, says Bruce Duncan of Haglöfs, ‘relatively small’ and is – based on wearing it for an hour or in a chilly Lakeland showroom, deceptively warm for its weight. Maybe it really does work eh…

Serac Hood And Jacket

Fleece isn’t dead! If you’re a Haglöfs fan, you can view the new Serac Hood as a warmer, winter version of the spring/summer Triton fleece. That’s it in the blue and yellow Scandi-trendium colour scheme. It uses stretchy Polartec PowerStretch Pro fabric with what looks like a warmer patch over your front torso, but that might just be styling.

It’s on the expensive side for a fleece at £170, weighs 380g and has a neat, close-fitting hood that’s styled to sit under your climbing helmet as you hack your way delicately up frozen ice-falls. There’s also a non-hooded Serac Jacket version for folk who don’t want a hood.

Tribe Top

We just liked the look of this, okay, we’re shallow, but it has stripes and is otherwise a simple fleece top with a gridded inner face for added insulation efficiency. It’s made from Italian Pontetorto fleece and will be available either with a hood for £100 or without for £85. It’s pretty, we like it, what more excuse do you need?

Rocker Shoe In Leather

We’ve already previewed the mesh version of the Rocker approach shoe, but come winter it’s joined by a sturdy leather variant with nubuck uppers along with a well-cushioned heel unit containing Asics gel and an outsole which incorporate tiny specks of rice husk which are designed to increase grip on wet rock by cutting through the surface water film.

The idea is that they’re comfortable enough for long walk-ins, but still capable enough on the rock to tackle stuff like via ferratas and scrambles. We’ve actually got a pair of the spring 2015 mesh-uppered shoes in for a look, so more about those soon. Price will be £130 for the leather version of the shoe.

More Information

Details of the current Haglöfs range at www.haglofs.com