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What is the Vega Jacket?
The M.E Vega Jacket is a lightweight down jacket designed for fast-paced yet technical winter missions such as alpinism and ski touring. It provides ample warmth and light weather resistance for cold conditions, with a full feature set to maximise performance in challenging terrain.
What is it made of?
Face Fabric: Introduced almost 30 years ago, Drilite® Loft was totally ahead of its time. Drilite® Loft is a specialised fabric that offers lightweight, breathable, water-resistant protection. It uses a polyurethane membrane bonded to the reverse of a 100% nylon face, to exceed a hydrostatic head (HH) of 1500mm, making it ideal for both down and synthetically insulated products. It's often intended for extreme use and adventures in the depths of winter.
Lining: The Vega is primarily lined with recycled polyamide for a more durable finish. However, the inner hem and hood lining use Drilite® Loft, mentioned above. This recycled inner is comfy on the skin (should you be wearing a short-sleeved baselayer underneath), yet breathable, and, being recycled, much better for the environment too!
Insulation: This jacket uses a minimum content of 90-10, 800 fill power, Goose Down insulation for maximum warmth with lesser weight. Goose Down is some of the highest quality down on the current market, making this piece super high grade and efficient to ensure you get every bang for your buck.
Concerned about animal welfare? So are we! These fluffy little feathers actually come from a Down Codex® audited source to give you extra peace of mind. Down Codex® stamps indicate that there was no unnecessary harm caused to birds when sourcing 100% of the down, and that it came from an ethical, traceable source.
Can't quite catch the lingo? Here's a quick breakdown.
800 Fill power - Fill power measures the warmth and efficiency of the down, alongside its ability to loft/fluff up. A rating of 800 fill power means that 1oz of this down fills 800 cubic inches of space when fully lofted.
What are its features?
A Mountain HC (Helmet Compatible) Hood provides extra protection and versatility in the mountains. You can wear it over a helmet, making it ideal for multi-activity adventures like ski touring, mountaineering and alpine climbing. When you're not wearing a helmet, you can cinch in any excess volume using the adjuster cords to keep it in place. The hood is insulated with its own halo baffle, helping to retain warmth around your most valuable source of heat - your noggin!
An offset, pleated boxwall construction optimises the loft of the down, meaning it can fluff up more effectively and trap more heat inside. Offset baffles help to reduce the amount of warm air escaping through the stitching, as each line of stitching is covered by another baffle. This clever design enhances overall performance and warmth for exposed, wintry conditions.
Down Migration Control Baffles are placed over the shoulders, designed to prevent down from moving around and creating cold gaps when wearing a heavy backpack.
The two-way centre zip is handy when wearing a climbing harness, as it allows access around the bottom of the jacket without having to unfasten the top half. An offset, insulated rear baffle runs alongside the zip, behind the face material, to maximise warmth and help prevent heat from escaping through the zip itself.
Two zipped hand warmer pockets are perfect for warming your digits or storing small essentials like gloves, trail snacks and energy gels. Two inner stuff pockets are also ideal for keeping chunky, insulated mitts, sunglasses or even water bottles, as they're well protected from rugged terrain and harsh weather yet easy to access, even with one hand.
Adjustable cuffs allow you to adapt the fit around accessories like a smartwatch or gloves, while you can use the dual tether hem drawcords to cinch in the material at the bottom to keep the heat in.
Features:
- DRILITE® Loft 30D outer fabric; totally windproof and highly water resistant
- 245g (Size L) of Goose Down with a minimum content of 90/10 800 fill power
- Pleated baffle construction for improved loft
- Mountain HC insulated hood with halo baffle
- Down migration control baffles across shoulders
- Two-way YKK® moulded centre front zip with offset insulated rear baffle
- Two zipped hand warmer pockets with moulded zips
- Two inner stuff pockets
- DRILITE® Loft 30D inner hem and hood lining
- Adjustable cuffs and dual tether hem drawcords