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In early June, Adrian Ballinger, the virtuoso 41-year-old American alpinist who, along with his climbing partner Cory Richards, recently flash-burned in the pop culture spotlight for his #EverestNoFilter summit attempt documented on Snapchat, returned from his seventh Everest expedition. For the past two months on the mountain, Ballinger had been testing a new, cutting-edge mid-layer jacket built by Eddie Bauer, one of his main sponsors. It’s called the Evertherm, and it’s one of Eddie Bauer’s most technologically advanced jackets to date. In a video, Ballinger explains the Evertherm’s amazing properties: “For so long, down jackets have felt so big and bulky, and make it hard to actually climb when the climbing is difficult. This is first time real down doesn’t need baffles. It’s actually bonded into a single thin sheet, enabling this incredible construction and warmth.”
It’s true that all product endorsements from sponsored athletes should be taken with a grain of salt, but Ballinger is right. Down insulation is, more often than not, big, puffy and cumbersome — which can lead to inhibited body movement. The Evertherm, on the other hand, is as slim as a quarter-zip fleece, and toasty warm down to minus 15-degrees Fahrenheit. The single sheet of down means no cold spots near the baffle seams and edges, where down tends to thin out. It’s also wind- and water-resistant, as all Everest-ready jackets should be. The hooded version is $279, and the non-hooded is $249. Both versions are available now for pre-order and will be released at all Eddie Bauer stores nationwide on September 24.
