Available to consumers next Fall 2012 for $299, the Polar Hooded Jacket is a sleek, hybrid, body-mapped soft shell made of two new Polartec fabrics. This design maps key hot/cold zones and optimizes fabric placement for function and comfort, providing increased warmth and breathability where needed most.

The body is made of a new version of Polartec® Power Shield® soft shell fabric with a high loft fleece interior that’s both 25% warmer and 25% lighter thanks to a revolutionary new lamination technique. A new version of Polartec® Thermal Pro® is used in the sides, underarms and hood to insulate without inhibiting breathability and moisture vapor transport. Unlike down or classic synthetic fill insulation, Polartec® Thermal Pro® fibers won’t migrate, so The North Face was able to use an open mesh knit fabric on the inside to eliminate the vapor barrier phenomenon of most puffies.

The Polar Hooded Jacket combines the warmth of a puffy with the moisture-wicking properties of fleece and the protection of a soft shell to let climbers eliminate layers and give them freedom of movement. We’re not aware of a warmer, lighter, more compressible soft shell.

“The Polartec Challenge encourages the spirit and practice of outdoor adventure,” states Polartec North American Marketing Manager, Allon Cohne. “The 2012 Polartec Challenge Grant recipients exemplify Polartec’s commitment to expanding our perception of what’s possible, and we’re proud to help them.”

Hayden Kennedy

1. Malcolm Bass, Paul Figg, Simon Yearsley and Rachel Antill will attempt to make the first ascent of the southwest face of Rimo III. The Rimo group is a remote and rarely visited area in the Indian Karakorum, and Rimo III’s face is considered by many to be one of the last great challenges.

2. Kyle Dempster and Hayden Kennedy will attempt a Pakistani double header. They plan to complete their 2011 attempt on the east face of K7 and attempt the first ascent of the north face of the Ogre 2 on the Choktoi glacier. The Choktoi glacier has a rich climbing history, containing some of the most impressive mountains in the world, and has a zero percent success rate.

Nick Devore

3. Polartec Athlete Advisory Board member Nick Devore, Will Cardamone, Jake Sakson and Andy Jacobsen will attempt to climb and ski the unskied northwest face of Mt. Seattle in Alaska. The group plans to kayak from Yakutat to the Hubbard Glacier, where they will begin the glacial traverse to Mt. Seattle. Andy Jacobsen will shoot the trip for a segment in PowderWhore Productions’ new film next year.

4. Peter Doucette and Silas Rossi will attempt a new route on the southeast face of Mt. Bradley in Alaska. On their proposted route, the two-man team expects to find significant mixed climbing for the duration of the 4,500′ ascent.

Peter Ducette

5. John Frieh, Dave Burdick and Zac West will attempt the first ascent of Middle Peak in the St. Elias range in Alaska. Middle Peak’s 5,000′+ wall offers a unique opportunity for the team in a very remote region.

6. Freddie Wilkinson and Mike Libecki will travel to an area in Antarctica previously unexplored by climbers to climb first ascents on the Earth’s southernmost and most remote spires and big walls. Wilkinson and Libecki will take advantage of the continuous daylight during the winter solstice and attempt first ascents of as many spires as possible during the expedition. Libecki also recieved a Polartec Challenge Grant in 2011 for a climbing expedition to Franz Josef Land in Russia, which has been extended to 2012.
In addition to the grant money, all of this year’s Polartec® Challenge winners will be fully outfitted with Polartec® garments, designed to keep them warm, comfortable and dry in the harshest of climates.

About the Polartec® Challenge Grant
The annual Polartec® Challenge Grant seeks to assist frugal, low impact teams who respect the local culture and environment and serve as role models to outdoor enthusiasts worldwide. Applications are evaluated on the basis of their vision, commitment and credibility. Past recipients of the Polartec® Challenge Grant include outdoor pioneers and adventurers such as Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, Steve House, Jon Turk, Marko Prezelj, Andrew McLean and John Shipton.

A big shout out to goes to our Athlete Advisory Board member, Sari Anderson, on her victory last Saturday at the U.S. Ski Mountaineering National Championships!

The annual race in Jackson Hole, WY is one of the longest-running randonee races in the country, celebrating its 12th year last weekend. Using ultralight skis and boots with nylon skins that affix to the bottom of their skis to go uphill, racers climbed and descended over 8,000 vertical feet on and off-piste at the Jackson Holes ski area. Polartec Advisory Board member and mother of two, Sari Anderson, finished second in the National Champs last year after some equipment issues so she was back for redemption this year. Facing the most competitive field of women ever assembled on US soil snow, Sari had a flawless race this year and claimed the national championships in three hours and four minutes, a commanding eight-minute victory over the next woman.

Read more about her race here.

Sari and men's national champion, Luke Nelson

If you answered a big red suit, that is correct. BUT, if you answered Polartec NeoShell, you are also correct (and get extra credit). The first truly breathable, fully waterproof, temperature regulating fabric ever. Tested and proven by some of the most committed outdoor enthusiasts on the planet. With unprecedented breathability in a waterproof fabric, it’s the ultimate in personal climate control. The perfect fabric for a wide-range of conditions.

This week’s giveaway is one of the newest NeoShell offerings, as well as a 2011 Apex Award winner, the Vaude Alpamayo Jacket. This jacket is an ultra-warm 3 layer piece made for mountain conditions. It features articulated sleeves – 2 front pockets with water resistant zips – 1 sleeve pocket with water resistant zip – asymmetric, water resistant 2-way front zip – drawcord at the bottom hem, adjustable through pockets – adjustable cuff with velcro – attached, adjustable hood – and water resistant zips at the sleeves for ventilation.

MSRP is € 240.

We have a wide range of Men’s and Women’s sizes available for our winner to pick from.

To WIN YOU MUST:1) Head to the Polartec Facebook Page
2) Find this giveaway post
3) In a comment below the post, please answer this question: “What is your new year’s outdoor resolution?”

We will choose a winner at random on Friday December 23rd at Noon MST

Thanks so much and good luck!

This week’s giveaway is a Polartec midlayer piece from our friends over at Marmot- The Warmlight Jacket.

Marmot’s Warmlight Jacket made of recycled Polartec® Classic 200 weight fleece, with Repreve 100, the Warmlight Jacket is a midweight fleece jacket designed to wear as a light jacket or as a mid-layer in brisk conditions. The Warmlight Jacket offers high breathability, quick dry times, and exceptional warmth without weight. The recycled Polartec® Classic® 200 fleece is made with Repreve 100, and the Warmlight is one of the first garments in the world to be made with this revolutionary new yarn. Repreve 100 is made from 100% post consumer recycled plastic bottles. Polartec fabrics made with Repreve 100 achieve the same look, feel and performance as those made from virgin polyester, and every pound of Repreve 100 saves a significant amount of energy and greenhouse gas emissions compared to virgin polyester. MSRP $90

We will be awarding one Men’s medium in “gargoyle” – grey color only

To WIN YOU MUST:1) Head to the Polartec Facebook Page
2) Find this giveaway post
3) In a comment below the post, please answer this question: Since this week’s giveaway prize is a recycled garment, and there is nothing better during the holidays than some great gift “recycling”…Tell us, what is the worst gift that you have ever re-gifted during the holidays?

We will choose a winner at random on Friday December 16th at Noon MST

Thanks so much and good luck!

Cabela’s E.C.W.C.S Thermal Zone® Polartec® Power Dry® Crew Top

New Thermal Zone baselayers by Cabela’s use Polartec® Power Dry® High Efficiency fabrics to create a complete body temperature regulating system with antimicrobial treatment that allows the outdoorsman more versatility depending on the variety of weather conditions and situations faced in the field. Body thermography was studied in order to determine the critical areas that maintain core temperatures. Combining three weights of strategically-placed fabric, Thermal Zone provides maximum breathability, warmth and comfort where you need it most. Heavier weight Polartec® Power Dry® is used in the core and maximum exposed areas, mid weight is used in less critical areas, and lightweight Polartec® Power Dry® fabric is used in high-output areas prone to excessive perspiration, as well as the cuff areas to minimize bunching. Cabela’s Thermal Zone baselayers include crew and 1/4 zip tops, and bottoms.
MSRP: $79.99 – $89.99 (Huge muscles in photo sold separately)

To WIN YOU MUST:1) Head to the Polartec Facebook Page and ‘Like’ us
2) Find this giveaway post
3) In a comment below the post, answer this question: “This winning base layer uses three key fabric weights to achieve a higher level of performance. What three things do you always take into the outdoors to keep you at the top of your game?”

We will choose a winner at random on Friday December 9th at Noon MST

We have Men’s Medium, Large, or XL available.

Thanks so much and good luck!

The winner will receive The North Face Men’s Summit Thermal Jacket- Made of Polartec® Windbloc® fabric with a cozy high loft fleece interior. The Summit Thermal Jacket is a new all-around, windproof soft shell designed for a wide range of cold conditions. Water repellant Polartec® Windbloc´fabric provides warmth without weight, stretch for active comfort. MSRP $229

We will be giving away a Men’s Medium only.

Haven’t found your own Polartec NeoShell yet? Take a look at this article from the GearCaster.com and see the available options for this season.

Haven’t even heard of Polartec NeoShell yet? No problem! Check out this video explaining why Polartec NeoShell is the most waterproof, breathable, temperature regulating fabric on the market.

The New York Times magazine recently published an article, “The Evolution of Fleece, From Scratchy to Snuggie”, which takes a historical look at the product category Polartec invented.

Polartec fleece products are now more lightweight, warm, functional, versatile and durable than ever. And we keep working to make them better.

The Evolution of Fleece, From Scratchy to Snuggie

By HILARY GREENBAUM and DANA RUBINSTEIN

Published: November 25, 2011

Even in the heyday of the polyester age — during the height of John Travolta and white bodysuits — when people wanted to stay warm, they still wore wool. And that venerable material had its downsides. It was notoriously itchy. When it got wet, it stank. And moths liked to eat it.

By the late 1970s, however, Malden Mills, a Massachusetts textile maker that specialized in baby bunting, began experimenting with polyester’s outdoorsy potential. Under the direction of the mill’s owner, Aaron Feuerstein, a team of engineers wound superfine polyester yarn into a dense fabric resembling terry cloth, only lighter. After its fibers were brushed, the fabric’s volume greatly increased; they also provided insulation and could wick water away.

In 1981, through an unusual collaboration with Yvon Chouinard, owner of a little-known mountaineering outfitter called Patagonia, Feuerstein introduced his invention to the burgeoning sportswear market. “We had the finest technical group, engineering group and research group in the textile industry,” recalls the father of fleece. “We built performance into the fabric. We were so proud of what we did.”

“GAP HAD IT TO THE MAX”

The first-generation fleece, called Synchilla (as in synthetic chinchilla), was used in Patagonia’s seminal Snap-T pullover (1985), which was subsequently made famous by family ski trips across the Northeast. “For many, many years,” says Rob Bondurant, vice president of marketing at Patagonia, “Synchilla was the Kleenex of fleece, if you will.”

Within a decade, however, fleece had become an inescapable element of daily life. And just as the fabric’s lightness appealed to sportsmen, its colorfulness, lack of fur and relative inexpensiveness made it, in a word, trendy. Scott Schulman, who runs The Sartorialist, a popular style blog, is reminded of the transformation that jersey went through after Chanel used it in her early collections. Before that, he says, jersey “was thought of as underwear fabric.”

Eventually, Lands’ End, L.L. Bean and others incorporated fleece in everything. “In the late ’90s, Gap had it to the max,” explains Ingrid Johnson, a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. According to Nate Simmons, director of marketing at Polartec, the successor company to Malden Mills, “It completely changed the way the world dresses for cold weather.”

COMING IN FROM THE COLD

Ever since its early days, fleece has been continuously improved. The yarn — now about as fine as cashmere — was honed to prevent the fabric from pilling and wind from blowing through. As a result, the unmistakable fuzzy material is unusually lightweight and warm — an unreasonable expectation only a synthetic could fulfill. In 1993, Patagonia and Polartec began exploring how to make fleece from recycled content. The first iterations, however, were fraught with issues; they were also scratchy. By 2006, though, they were able to make recycled fabrics at costs comparable to the original.

Beyond embracing environmental issues, fleece’s greatest impact has probably been on the eco-chic fashion industry that blossomed around it. No longer does a man, come winter, have to hide his svelte figure beneath dowdy layers of down and wool. And no longer does he have to wear it outdoors. Lands’ End, for instance, uses fleece for monogrammable dog jackets with reflective trim, beanbag covers and Christmas stockings. Of course, for $10 anyone can enjoy the Snuggie, a fleece blanket cum smock that no mountain climber ever could have imagined.

The race is 162km, and 9600 m of elevation gain on a small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean that closely resembles the back drop of Jurassic Park. Regardless, 2500 competitors run this race every year including 250 females.

Besides the constant threat of T-Rex attacks, the course is also one of the most grueling in the world. Steep up and downs, volcanic rock, combined with mud and wet conditions are torture on runner’s feet.

The temperature also swings from 32 to 89 degrees- the perfect environment for Polartec’s new NeoShell fabric, the first truly waterproof, breathable, temperature regulating fabric on the market.

Laurent began at 300th in this race and finished at 117th after 38 long hours of running, and only 15 minutes of sleep. “The feet are badly worn, the muscles are evils, but the mind is very good,” Laurent told us. “In these races, courage and the power of the mind are forces that help you to the finish.” Only 50% of this year’s runners completed the race. Congratulations to Laurent on this huge accomplishment. Better you than us, my good man!

Polartec® Power Dry® FR boasts a patented bi-component knit construction which dramatically improves comfort by transporting moisture away from the skin and pulling it to the outer surface where is can dry faster.  Thus, keeping you warmer and drier while in the field.

Polartec® is the market leader and biggest supplier of American-made FR knits.  Polartec’s full-layering FR system has been protecting workers in the oil, gas, petrochemical, electrical utility, power generation, mining and industrial industries for over 10 years.  For more information, see Polartec FR.