Diamond Jacket
The Swiss know a thing or two about keeping warm in the cold and it seems as if all that knowledge has been distilled into the Mammut Diamond Jacket for skiing and snowboarding. This is a new softshell jacket that uses Gore-Tex’s comfort mapping technology that has been getting rave reviews. What makes comfort mapping cool is that Gore has figured out which parts of the body sweat most (like under the arms or along the spine) and these get a special wicking fabric to move moisture. The bits that get cold most like the kidneys and lower back get get an extra-warm fleece and the chest and shoulders get a normal fleece. This makes a lot of sense and beats having layers ofver the whole body that either leave you too hot or too cold. Putting insulation where it is needed most also cuts down on weight.
The other cool thing about these jackets is that all the clever stuff happens inside so from the outside it doesn’t look like a patchwork. Gore uses a new technique to laminate the seams to avoid stitching so that the different patches don’t become points of leakage.
Comfort mapping also matches neatly with Mammut’s own Alpine body-mapping project for base layers (underwear for people who don’t speak tech). This was the result of a three-year project to produce 3-fabric base layers with merino wool for extra warmth on knees and elbows, very light wicking microfiber to move sweat from under the arms and other pits (backs of knees too) and something in between for the rest.
The Mammut Diamond Jacket comes with all the bells and whistles you’d expect when paying for a top end soft-shell jacket such as pit-zips, a snow skirt and all the pockets you could ever want.
At the time of writing, not too many people have had their hands on this to test it or give a proper review. The Washington Post’s verdict in a round-up of new winter gear for 2009 is that:
You get warmth where you want it, flexibility where you need it, and wind/waterproof-breathable protection that’s required for serious winter alpine adventures (without the crinkly bulk in lesser-priced models).
I’ll update once there are some more opinions out there or once I’ve managed to get my hands on one. But I can already see one huge disadvantage, its price. At a list of almost $750 this is way out of most people’s reach. I guess the recession isn’t bothering the Swiss as much as the rest of us this winter.
