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Eiderdown Puffer - Exosphere Blue edition - Pre-Order

Name: Eiderdown Puffer - Exosphere Blue edition - Pre-Order
Brand: Vollebak
SKU: JKT056NVYXSM
Price: 5995.00 GBP
Availability: InStock

Filled with the lightest, warmest, rarest down on Earth.

$5,995

Colour: Exosphere Blue edition

Eiderdown Puffer - Fljót Valley Brown edition - Pre-Order

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Insulation is 100% Icelandic eiderdown
Gathered by hand in the Fljót Valley, northern Iceland
The down is a by-product of a natural moulting process

The Eiderdown Puffer is filled with the lightest, warmest and rarest down on Earth. Sourced from a sanctuary of free-nesting eider ducks in the remote Fljót Valley in Iceland’s northernmost extremes, our eiderdown is hand-gathered by third-generation Icelandic eider duck caretakers. They collect the feathers only once the eider ducks have shed them naturally and have no further use for them.

Eider ducks are large seabirds native to northern Europe that spend 11 months of the year diving in icy waters for fish and shellfish. So their down has evolved to help them survive in some of the harshest conditions on the planet. It’s made of superfine feathers with microscopic hooks that latch onto each other, creating a cohesive network that traps air and repels water like no other material. It’s also thermoregulating – intelligently expanding and contracting as it responds to temperature changes.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Insulation is 100% Icelandic eiderdown

Eiderdown hand-gathered in the Fljót Valley, northern Iceland

Outer material made in South Korea: 100% polyamide

Ultra lightweight 7D (denier) outer material

Water repellent

Windproof

Insulating and thermoregulating

Two zipped side pockets protected by storm flaps

Internal zipped chest pocket

Two-way front zipper

All zips by Riri

Elasticated cord tightening at the hem

Fill weight approx. 440 grams

Jacket weighs approx. 615 grams

Outer materials weigh 30g/m2

Wipe clean

Insulation is 100% Icelandic eiderdown

Eiderdown hand-gathered in the Fljót Valley, northern Iceland

Outer material made in South Korea: 100% polyamide

Ultra lightweight 7D (denier) outer material

Water repellent

Windproof

Insulating and thermoregulating

Two zipped side pockets protected by storm flaps

Internal zipped chest pocket

Two-way front zipper

All zips by Riri

Elasticated cord tightening at the hem

Fill weight approx. 440 grams

Jacket weighs approx. 615 grams

Outer materials weigh 30g/m2

Wipe clean

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Eiderdown is the lightest, warmest, rarest down on Earth

Eiderdown isn’t just the lightest, warmest, rarest down on Earth. It’s also the only down that’s sourced as a by-product of an entirely natural moulting process. It begins with the eider duck, a seabird native to the icy waters of northern Europe. Each spring, female eider ducks return to land to breed and nest. The layer of down that keeps them warm in the water is such a powerful insulator that it doesn’t allow their body heat to escape. So to keep their eggs warm they moult from their underbellies, exposing a small bald area known as a brood patch. Once the feathers have come loose the ducks have no further need for them.

It’s hand-gathered by third-generation eider caretakers

The down is collected from the eider ducks’ nests by experienced eider caretakers. They relocate close to the nesting ground during May and pick up the feathers by hand after the ducks have shed them. Our eiderdown is collected by Àrni Örvarsson, a third generation caretaker whose family has looked after the ducks for nearly 80 years. It takes 65 man hours, and 66 nesting ducks, to generate a single kilo of eiderdown.

Our eiderdown comes from a remote Icelandic valley

Every gram of eiderdown inside the jacket comes from a small area of land called Hraun, in the remote Fljót Valley in Iceland’s northernmost extremes. Hraun, which translates to ‘lava’ in English, sits between two fjords known as the Troll Peninsula, and is home to a wild sanctuary of some 3,500 nesting eider ducks that have evolved to thrive in this harsh environment. They are capable of diving 60 metres into Iceland’s freezing waters to retrieve mussels, clams and other shellfish thanks to their soft layer of under feathers that keep them insulated from the brutal arctic conditions.

Eiderdown is the lightest, warmest, rarest, most high performance down on Earth.

The world’s only naturally hydrophobic down

Eiderdown’s incredible water repellency isn’t just the result of millions of years of evolution. It’s also thanks to a uniquely low-intervention cleaning process that allows the down to retain its natural hydrophobic qualities. That’s why it’s guaranteed to keep you warm, even when it gets wet.

Its extraordinary properties come from its structure

Eiderdown is superior to all other types of down because it’s evolved to survive one of the harshest environments on Earth. A look under a microscope reveals a sprawling network of fibres covered in tiny hooks that latch onto each other. This creates a cohesive mass that traps tiny pockets of warm air and gives eiderdown its unbeatable warmth and lightness.

It takes 65 man hours, and 66 nesting ducks, to generate a single kilo of eiderdown.

It acts like a living organism to keep you warm

Eiderdown acts like a living organism to keep you warm, responding intelligently to the environment it finds itself in. Inside the jacket it expands to make more warm air pockets in the cold, and contracts when it’s warm to keep you cooler. It’s been shown to be 40% more durable than standard down – as it can be compressed again and again, and will keep returning to shape. And it’s why eiderdown duvets are often passed down as heirlooms in Iceland.

Our eiderdown beats even the warmest goose down

If you ever have the opportunity to plunge your hand into a clump of eiderdown, it's a surreal experience. It’s so astonishingly soft and warm that it doesn't really feel like anything else on Earth. And that makes talking about the numbers feel slightly arbitrary. On fill power – a standard measurement for the warmth of down – eiderdown is between 760 and 850, which is high, but not the highest. But when you test for CLO value – which tells you how much a material insulates – eiderdown has been shown to be even warmer than 1000 fill power goose down, which is the warmest you can find. So it's not just a better insulator gram for gram than goose down. It's less bulky, too.

The eiderdown is hand collected by third-generation eider caretakers, after moulting from the birds’ underbellies.

It’s dried using volcanic water

After the eiderdown is collected it’s cleaned in custom-made machines to remove any impurities, then dried on racks in ‘down houses’ heated by volcanic water held at a steady 55°C. Iceland’s abundant geothermal and hydroelectric energy reserves allow them to sustainably pump 1 tonne of water through this room every 24 hours to maintain the temperature needed to dry the eiderdown.

Protected by an ultralight water repellent shell

The eiderdown is protected by an ultra lightweight Nylon shell. It’s so lightweight that it’s almost translucent, so you can make out the natural colour variation of the eiderdown underneath. It’s windproof, downproof and treated with a water repellent coating, so that light rain and snow roll off its surface.

Our eiderdown comes from a small area called Hraun in the remote Fljót Valley in Northern Iceland.

1 kilometre of the yarn weighs under 1 gram

The yarn we use to make the outer shell is incredibly fine and lightweight. The weight and thickness of the material is defined with a unit of measurement called a ‘denier,’ which works by weighing 9000 metres of a single thread to get a measurement. For example, 9000 metres of silk weighs 1 gram, so silk is 1 denier (1D). An average human hair is around 20D. It’s rare to see materials lighter than 10 denier even in high performance outdoor gear. But the Eiderdown Puffer’s outer shell is made from 7 denier Nylon.

Three zipped pockets and a two-way zipper

You’ll find two side pockets on the outside of the jacket, both of which put your hands underneath the eiderdown for warmth. There’s a third zipped pocket inside on the left chest, and a two-way zipper runs down the centre of the jacket. At the hem you’ll find an elasticated cord adjuster, while the cuffs come with a clean elasticated finish.