'High-Voltage' Shell Jackets

With its “electro-spinning” process, Mammut is taking a new approach to outer layer manufacturing that could just change the way jackets and pants are produced. Indeed, with its men’s Lobuche and women’s Nanda Devi jackets, new for this fall, the company touts “80 percent better” breathability than other waterproof shell jackets on the market.

The jackets, high-end ($429!) shells designed for ski touring and other mountain pursuits, are made by incorporating the aforementioned electro-spinning process, an exclusive technique that uses a polymer that’s applied to a base fabric with a high-volt electric field. As a next step, that base fabric is then applied to the polymer side of an outer fabric, eliminating the need for a middle fabric layer, according to the company.

Because the polymer has super small holes, moisture can get out but it can’t get in, Mammut cites. According to the company, the process makes it “just under the waterproofness” level of a traditional three-layer jacket (like a Gore-Tex shell).

The Lobuche and Nanda Devi are moderately lightweight — about 17 ounces each — and stretch and move with your body due to the company’s DryTECH fabric. Plus, the jackets have features you’d want in an alpine jacket, including articulated sleeves with Velcro cuffs, a one-hand adjustable drawcord hem, fleece collar, pit zips, interior and exterior pockets, and a hood.

The Lobuche and Nanda Devi jackets are currently available in blue, black and red for men and red, black, and blue for women. Both retail for $429. www.mammutusa.com

—Ryan Dionne