Mountain Equipment: The Alpinist Way

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Mountain Equipment (451 articles)

The British brand Mountain Equipment was founded in 1961 and has outfitted countless expeditions. This can also be seen in its range: jackets, especially down jackets and hardshell jackets, sleeping bags and sleeping mats for extreme temperature ranges, and bivy bags. The brand’s philosophy is equally clear: robust, high-performance clothing and equipment for extreme conditions—and all this without compromise.

The outdoor label is especially well-known amongst alpinists and ice climbers. At home on glaciers and in steep ice and mixed terrain. This is what the Alpine veteran Nick Bullock from the Mountain Equipment Pro Team stands for like no other.

Wild: Mountain Equipment for climbing

Another group of sportsmen and women who appreciate Mountain Equipment clothing is climbers. In this case, the origin of the British Isles is also felt. Climbing in the UK is wilder than, for example, in well-known Spanish sport climbing areas. And it’s not only due to the weather but also the local trad-climbing mentality, i.e., climbing on more or less reliable mobile belays.

For all intended purposes, there’s only one name here to drop: Dave MacLeod. He is one of the best Trad climbers in the world and is part of the Mountain Equipment athlete and tester team.

Awarded with “Bullock-proof”

The feedback from athletes like MacLeod, in turn, helps to develop ME clothing and equipment further. The toughness of the tests can be seen from the Bullock proof.

Athlete Nick Bullock is a merciless ice climber who knows the Scottish gullies from all perspectives. Few people manage to wear out material so quickly. Bullock pushed the first generation of the Gore-Tex jacket Tupilak to its limits; in the revised version, however, the jacket pushed Bullock to the limits of his destructive abilities: Gore-Tex jacket and trousers held. That is why the Tupilak series was given the “Bullock-proof” rating.
Functionality and durability are the top priorities for mountain equipment in order to create uncompromisingly good, perfected clothing and equipment. This is because the equipment must function under all circumstances, especially under extreme conditions.

Functionality and durability are the top priorities for mountain equipment in order to create uncompromisingly good, perfected clothing and equipment. This is because the equipment must function under all circumstances, especially under extreme conditions.

Down Codex® – Down from Mountain Equipment

Down is part of Mountain Equipment’s core competence. After all, it is a fantastic material: no synthetic alternative achieves such insulation values. However, because there was disagreement with how the down was obtained, the Down Codex® was established in 2009, which contains strict guidelines for suppliers on the conditions under which the down should be obtained. These criteria are essential:

  • no live-plucking
  • no forced fattening and other cruelty to animals
  • no pollution of the environment when processing the down

These guidelines have been developed in collaboration with the UK’s Animal Welfare Society (RSPCA) and are regularly monitored by an independent institute, the International Down and Feather Laboratory (IDFL). This means that the IDFL closely monitors on farms, in the abattoir, and at every stage of production that the down goes through.

In 2009, Mountain Equipment was the first manufacturer to claim that its down is produced in accordance with animal welfare guidelines. Even if other companies have since followed suit – the Down Codex® still contains the strictest criteria and most consistent control of the entire supply chain.

Mountain Equipment meets the problem of down production with transparency: all down products contain a code that allows the down's origin and proof of quality to be traced on the Mountain Equipment website under Down Codex®.

Down Cycle® – High-quality recycled down

Thousands of clothing, pillows, and bedding are thrown away yearly. Valuable down and feathers, which, with the right care, could be used for a long time, often end up in the trash. Quite wrongly so!

Down is a material that retains its insulating properties for many years and, with the right treatment, can be reused sensibly. From old products that end up at textile collection points, down is carefully removed, washed, sterilized, and re-sorted. In this way, many products bring valuable natural materials back to life.

It is much better for the environment to recycle than to produce new. Recycling preserves the environment and resources!

Good to know

  • Around 95% (proportion in kg) of the old products can be recycled!
  • Only 3-5% of the outgoing quantity is disposed of.
  • The water-saving of recycled down is more than 70%.

Details

  • Only a tiny amount of down is of high enough quality for our requirements and is used in the Mountain Equipment Down Cycle® products (with a loft of 700+ cuin): Earthrise Jackets & Vest / Earthrise Sleeping Bags / Triton Jacket.
  • Most of the recycled feathers and down are used to produce new bedding. Pillows for decoration are also filled: Insulation performance and loft are no longer critical here.
  • Cover fabrics of clothing and bedding are processed into filling material (e.g. for car seats), insulation materials and “painter’s carpets”.
  • Down and feather breakage is processed into organic fertilizer.
  • Only a very small proportion of residual materials (e.g., zips and buttons) is finally disposed of.
  • Disconcertingly less water is used to produce new down. The main reasons are the lack of animal rearing and the lower cleaning effort of the down—in contrast to raw material coming from an abattoir.

Sleeping bags and down jackets from Mountain Equipment

Many Mountain Equipment sleeping bags, such as the Helium or Glacier series, are now classics. The range here extends from high-quality expedition sleeping bags such as the Everest with a comfort range (!) down to minus 40 degrees Celsius to ultra-light trekking sleeping bags (also made of synthetic fibers). New inventive constructions are constantly being invented in the experimental rooms to optimize insulation on the one hand and reduce weight at the same time.

With down jackets from Mountain Equipment, you will find everything from jackets for expeditions and styles for sub-zero temperatures to light insulation jackets for everyday wear.

Production and Sustainability

You have to strive for quality—that is one of the core principles of Mountain Equipment. This includes not only development but also production. To guarantee the high quality required for Gore-Tex jackets and trousers, for example, all Gore-Tex products are manufactured in Hungary.

Mountain Equipment has set itself clear rules, not only about the production of down but also concerning working conditions: Since 2013, clothing and equipment have been produced according to the criteria of the Fair Wear Foundation, which means employment contracts, adequate pay, no child labor, working time limits, occupational safety and much more.

Brand-check Mountain Equipment

  • Mountain Equipment …  was founded in 1961 near Manchester by Pete Hutchinson; today, the company belongs to the OSC (Outdoor & Sport Company) of the British family business Bolling Group
  • Dave MacLeod, Nick Bullock, and the German Alpine Group Exped squad are particularly well-known athletes of this brand.
  • Classics are the expedition down jacket Annapurna and the Helium sleeping bag series.
  • Sustainability: Down Codex®, Fair Wear Foundation, unavoidable packaging from recycled plastic, where possible processing of recycled materials.