This Puffer Jacket is Practically Indestructible and Cold Temps Literally Make it Even Tougher

Welcome to Talking Points, a series that looks at what makes certain products worth talking about, brought to you by Gear Patrol Studios.

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Vollebak is known for releasing unconventional, technical garments often made with advanced materials and experimental fibers. As temperatures drop, it’s the perfect time to dive into what exactly makes the brand’s Indestructible Puffer ($995) – indestructible.

The brand sums it up succinctly, explaining that the Indestructible Puffer is “built from the strongest fiber ever created, and 15x stronger than steel.”

If you’re not familiar with that “strongest fiber ever created,” it’s called Dyneema, and it’s amazing.

At the molecular level, the superlight fiber is stronger than steel. Today, it’s being used more and more in outdoor equipment and apparel, especially winter-centric products. Dyneema’s strange properties take especially well to winter because the colder it gets, the stronger it gets. Originally used to make the mooring lines on deep-water oil rigs, Dyneema is the perfect material for frozen seas, giant ships and, now, puffer jackets.

Vollebak

The Backstory

This Technology-Forward Brand is Making Clothing for the Apocalypse – and Beyond

Vollebak is one of the most inventive, materials-forward apparel brands out there, though the exciting fabric technology space is ever-expanding. On its site, the brand titles every product with provocative, funny – and very accurate – full sentences that are worth reading for entertainment alone: “The Solar Charged Puffer. It stores sunlight, glows in the dark and keeps you warm down to -40°C.” and “Apocalypse Jacket. Built to withstand black lava, flash fires and chemical erosion.” and “Mars Jacket. Comes with its own vomit pocket for space adaptation syndrome (puking in space).”

Forget lasting through the season – Vollebak wants its products to last beyond the end of the world. The company has already won innovation awards from TIME, WIRED and Fast Company. CEO and co-founder Steve Tidball explains that Vollebak is “starting work on the next 50,000 years of clothing.”

The Gist

What Really Makes the Indestructible Puffer Jacket Stand Out?

This is more than just a durable puffer jacket. Vollebak emphasizes that “every fiber on the outside of the jacket is up to 15x stronger than steel,” and the Dyneema material is “so tough it was originally used in body armor, anti-ballistic vehicle armor, mooring systems for giant container ships and ropes used to tie down oil rigs in violent, icy seas.”

The Indestructible Puffer is built to endure extreme cold weather – testing has confirmed it keeps a person warm to -40°C (also -40° F). Thanks to Dyneema – which is, chemically, a lightweight polyethylene – the jacket also remains fairly light despite its strength.

The way Vollebak integrates Dyneema into the Indestructible Puffer is what really sets it apart from other Dyneema gear. Traditionally, the material is used as a composite: other brands typically combine Dyneema into a textile blend to help strengthen a lesser material, but the exterior of Vollebak’s Indestructible Jacket is made from 100 percent Dyneema.

As a result, the jacket is light enough to float in water. It’s also resistant to the long-term effects of moisture, UV light and chemicals. Blunt force does little more than mark up the jacket, making it difficult for a passing rock to scrape or rip through the material.

Our POV

The Indestructible Puffer is a Durable Winter Jacket Built to Last

While other puffer jackets may be lighter-weight or easier to pack up on the go, this is a jacket that will last for years to come, and through the worst weather conditions you’re likely to encounter.

The trade-off with those lighter-weight jackets is they utilize material that’s so thin it can easily tear, leading to a loss of feathers or insulation. The Indestructible Jacket will not suffer that fate. It is purpose-built to withstand harsh conditions.

Insulated and triple-lined, Vollebak prioritized innovation and used only the best material in every step of the Indestructible Puffer’s design and construction. It’s built to aid you in conquering anything – so gear up and prepare to wear it past the end of time.

Price: $995

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