MATERIAL WORLD

The outerwear market has boomed in recent years, driven not just by people becoming more active, but a change in working lifestyles that prize gilets and fleeces over suits and ties.

Tom Daniels

There are outdoor brands, and there are outdoor fashion brands. One is about performance. The other is about looking good. But there is one other brand that’s an outlier to both those ideas. Vollebak (vollebak.com), a start-up based in London, is an outdoor brand that makes modern-looking, high-performance clothes for the outdoors. But every one of its garments also comes with a story. A really good story. Vollebak sits at the cutting edge of material science, using technology, wit and imagination to make clothes no one ever thought possible – largely because no one has ever had its ideas. Take its Apocalypse Jacket. Built with a material invented for Nasa’s Apollo Programme, it comes with an integrated system of 23 hidden pockets and is resistant to black lava, flash fires and chemical erosion. Or its Titan Pants, made from the same extreme-strength, parachute material used to land probes on Titan and Mars. Or its 100 Year Hoodie, a fireproof, windproof and water-repellant hoodie that’s designed to outlive you. “We use science and technology to make the future of clothing happen faster,” says the company’s mission statement. Vollebak is in a category of one.

Life In Mars

Outdoor brands

The best outdoor brands all sit at the intersection of quality, durability and sustainability. Up there with the best is NorrØna (norrona.com) a Norwegian brand that has been making all-weather premium jackets, tops, T-shirts and trousers to suit the inclement local terrain since 1929. While its provenance only dates to 1975, Klättermusen (klattermusen.com) has excelled at not only making refined Scandinavian mountaineering equipment but also clothing collections, including its lightwear range, which caters to the needs of high-energy activities such as fast trekking, trail running, biking, climbing and bouldering. Arc’teryx (arcteryx. com), meanwhile, has been a name that professional climbers have known about for decades. But lately it’s found a broader audience thanks to its incredibly well-made ripstop hooded jackets, puffers and Gore-Tex shells. One outdoor brand that made global headlines last year was Patagonia (patagonia. com), after its maverick founder ‘gave away’ his own company to fight the climate crisis. With all future profits going towards saving the planet, its range of unimprovable and largely recycled fleece jackets is great at keeping out the wind – and will give you a warm feeling inside, too. When it comes to the world’s most recognised name in puffers and parkas Canada Goose (canadagoose.com) reigns supreme. The company knows that on the mountains and the slopes every extra gram of weight has to count, so its versatile and lightweight clothes are designed to move with you. Which is why you see its products worn by researchers and scientists working in remote, Arctic regions. It also supplies parkas to the United States Antarctic Program.

Get Down

With technical down insulation, the Arc’teryx Cerium hoodie has a high warmth-to-weight ratio

Raining Champion

Klättermusen’s waterproof Asynja Levitend Cutan rain jacket is light and packable

Fashion brands

Just because you’ve got a phenomenally well-made, technically brilliant piece of kit that’s waterproof to 5,000mm and built to see you up the north face of your nearest mountain, it doesn’t mean that’s where you have to wear it. The growth of technical clothing as everyday wear has been a big boom area for the industry; witness the success of Moncler (moncler.com), which now makes superdesirable collaborations with designers such as JW Anderson and Craig Green, very few of which have endured anything more gruelling than a trip jetting across the Atlantic. And Wander (andwander.com) is a Japanese outdoor-wear brand that excels in minimalist mountaineering garments using Polartec and PrimaLoft insulation, but that are designed to look as good in the city or on the golf course. You probably wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near St Andrews Old Course wearing Acronym (acrnm.com), the ‘techwear’ brand cofounded by Errolson Hugh – who also models the kit online – but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth having a look at. Sitting somewhere between avant-garde design and functionality, this is the place to come for jackets with removable storm hoods, bi-lateral pocket bags and ‘jacket slings’, straps that allow you to carry your jacket round your body. More down to earth is Goldwin (goldwin-global. com). Founded in 1951 in Japan, this sporting-goods brand is particularly noted for its skiwear, and its light jackets and half-fleeces are second to none.

Face Value

Help protect your skin with Dr Jart+ Ceramidin Ectoin-Infused Cream: an ultra-rich, highly concentrated moisturiser with five ceramides and Ectoin, which delivers extreme moisture and intensive barrier strengthening to dry, dry skin. drjart.co.uk

Precious Things

A tip sheet of must-haves, for him and her, as compiled by Ultratravel editors

Tech Savvy

The ATH-M20xBTWH over-ear headphones by Audio-Technica deliver high-quality audio and an incredible listening experience with full-range, high-fidelity audio. audio-technica.com

Dram Roll

Imagined within the immersive world of acclaimed graphic artist Frank Quitely and created in collaboration with Master Blender Ron Welsh, Bowmore The Changeling is a 22-year-old single malt worthy of any bar. bowmore.com

Crystal Clear

Infused with the highest grade of detoxifying Japanese charcoal to cleanse pores deeply and remove excess oil, Clinique Take The Day Off Charcoal Cleansing Balm melts away all traces of makeup and oil without stripping the skin, while charcoal works its detoxifying magic. clinique.co.uk

A Write Of Passage

To commemorate The Year of The Rabbit, Caran d’Ache has released a Limited-Edition Haute Ecriture collection of writing instruments, employing a proprietary technique of Chinese hand lacquering passed down by great masters of East Asia, which takes 12 days to complete. carandache.com

Extreme Horology

It took three years to develop, weighs just 36 grams – including the strap – and was conceived with the help of six professional athletes, including two legends of motorsport – Aurora Straus and Margot Laffite – as well as triple-Olympic-gold medallist skier and snowboarder Ester Ledecká, the top-ranked golfer Nelly Korda, and two stars of athletics, Yuliya Levchenko and Nafi Thiam. The result is the Richard Mille RM 07-04: a collection of six timepieces that together comprise the ultimate women’s sports-watch assemblage. No questions asked. richardmille.com