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What is the Electron Pro Vest?
The Electron Pro is a super-warm, lightweight and packable vest featuring a high-quality down insulation and a Pertex Quantum Pro outer fabric. Use it under a hardshell/softshell in wet, windy conditions to add extra warmth or as an outer layer when the weather is on your side.
What is it made of?
Insulation: Rab have filled the Electron with 100g of 800FP R.D.S Certified European Hydrophobic Goose Down. This high-quality and sustainable insulation has a very impressive 800 fill power and is controlled with a stitch-through construction throughout the vest. The baffles are of variable sizes throughout the vest to provide more insulation where you need it and less where you don't (over the shoulders and down the sides, for example). This helps to reduce the overall bulk and weight of the vest. Rab also use Hydrophobic down in all their down jackets; each and every cluster of down is treated with Nikwax products to make them perform better in damp conditions. Although Hydrophobic down is not waterproof, it dries much faster, absorbs less water and retains loft far better than untreated down.
Fabrics: The outer fabric used is the ever-reliable Pertex Quantum Pro. This lightweight rip-stop fabric is made from a tightly woven nylon and has an ultra-thin Polyurethane water-resistant coating on the back to provide increased weather resistance. Despite the high water-resistance of the face fabric, the Electron is not totally waterproof, so always pack a shell if, and when, the weather turns really nasty. The Electron Vest is lined with a fully recycled nylon with a softer, more pliable feel to increase comfort.
What are its features?
Two zipped hand pockets store your essential bits and bobs, while a tall collar protects your neck from cold draughts. An included stuffsack packs the Electron down to a minimal size when travelling.
Where does it fit in the layering system?
It can either be used as a super warm midlayer with a hardshell/softshell over the top or an outer layer if the weather warrants it.
- Included stuffsack
- Pertex Quantum Pro outer fabric
- Recycled inner fabric
- High quality down insulation
- Two hand pockets
- Tall insulated collar
How to wash your down products
Having spent years talking to people about down products, whether that’s a jacket, sleeping bag or even a pair of slippers, very few have had the confidence to go ahead and wash the product on their own, especially when they have just spent an arm and a leg on it. This small guide is here to explain that it’s not as daunting and utterly terrifying as it first appears.
Step one: Before you even get near that washing machine, wipe off any excess mud or dirt that may be lingering on the surface of the jacket, as this will clog up the washing machine, eventually rendering it useless.
We recommend the use of Nikwax Down Wash Direct for down products as it’s one hundred percent environmentally friendly and will wash and re-proof the garment without the use of bleach or any other nasty chemicals. What household washing agents can (and often do) is remove the water repellent coating on the fabric of the jacket, whilst also damaging the delicate array of feathers inside.
Step two: We’ll assume in this instance that you’ve been washing other products prior to your down jacket and have used a bleach based detergent. Therefore it’s a good idea to run the washing machine for half an hour or so without anything inside to rinse it clean before adding the Nikwax or putting the jacket in. Also, don’t forget to remove the detergent drawer to give it a wash inside, outside and behind, as detergent can clog up and still enter the washing machine if not cleaned out thoroughly. This ensures that any remnants of detergent are removed and that the Nikwax products will work effectively.
Step three: Set the washing machine to a cold wash (check the garments care label, most tend to be around 30°C) and as delicate as possible. Most washing machines have a “wool” cycle which is ideal.
Step four: If using Nikwax Down Wash Direct, place 100ml in either the tray or directly into the washing machine inside a small pot/ball. If you choose to use another washing product, place the appropriate amount in the machine in the same way.
Step five: Set the washing machine to run on a slow cycle, allowing plenty of time for the jacket to soak up the cleaning/re-proofing product. Most washing machines will have a pre-set time for different washing cycles.
When the cycle has finished be prepared for a shock, your precious bit of kit will come out looking like a soggy ball of material. But don’t worry, you haven’t ruined it, it’s just that all that fluffy down insulation has become water logged and has clumped together. The trick is to now get all that down nice and dry to reinstate its superb insulating properties. Simply hanging it up in a warm place will not work that well. It will take days to properly dry and you will have to constantly break up the clumps to get it thoroughly dry. The best way is to use a tumble dryer; either a domestic one for smaller items or a commercial drier for sleeping bags.
Step six: Pop the garment into the dryer and make sure to select a low heat; a high heat runs the risk of melting seams and fabrics within the garment. It sounds weird, but shove a few tennis balls into the drier with the garment; the tennis balls will bounce around and help to break up the clumps of down. Every 20 minutes, pull the jacket out of the dryer and lie the jacket down on a table. Run your hands over the jacket until you find a 'clump' or ball of down; tease apart this down clump and spread it evenly into the baffle. Once you're confident you've pulled apart every clump to the best of your ability, stick it back in for another 20 minutes. Keep repeating this until there are no more clumps left.
Step seven: When the cycle has finished and you are sure that you have got the garment as dry as possible, hang it up in a warm dry place, an airing cupboard is ideal, for 24 hours. This drives out the last of any dampness and allows the down to loft fully. Take it out and give it a good shake and, hey presto, it’ll be as good as new.