DON’T LET RAIN STOP PLAY
Down is a brilliant insulator, with one aw – it loses warmth when wet, restricting its usefulness in bad British conditions. But with water-resistant Nikwax Hydrophobic Down, you can use this wonder-material with much more con dence.
DOWN IS NATURE’S miracle insulator. It’s the best naturally occurring material for keeping you warm. But what is down?
It’s the light, u y coating found beneath the feathers of ducks and geese, almost like a three-dimensional cluster of so laments. is material can be collected and used in outdoor jackets and sleeping bags, keeping adventurers warm in even the harshest of environments.
Huge amounts of technology and money have been poured into developing synthetic insulation that can rival down’s performance, but human endeavours have yet to surpass Mother Nature’s expertise. Despite brands spending millions, down still provides the best warmth-to-weight ratio out there. is means hikers and mountaineers can get the best of both worlds – lightweight products with excellent insulation. But there is one downside (pun intended).
In sustained wet conditions, down loses some of its insulating properties – it clumps together, gets heavy and doesn’t retain heat as e ciently. is can be particularly problematic in the volatile climate of these islands. But there is a solution to this problem. By applying a special coating to down insulation, Mother Nature’s blueprint can be improved upon. Ten years ago, the waterproo ng bo ns at Nikwax launched their rst ‘water-resistant’ down: Nikwax Hydrophobic Down (NHD). It has since been upgraded to NHD+, which is claimed to be 250 times more water-resistant than normal down.
Since then, they have continued to innovate and push the
boundaries of performance, creating the lightest, most thermally e cient and water-resistant down ever. It’s still not totally waterproof, but the extra water resistance it provides means you can use products utilising it with extra con dence and versatility. On my Warnscale bothy trip, I wore the Rab Microlight Alpine down jacket (made with NHD Recycled) in drizzle and spitting rain knowing that its performance would not be massively impaired. e prospect of getting a down sleeping bag wet can also be a source of anxiety, but it’s less so now with hydrophobic down; I used the erm-a-Rest Hyperion sleeping bag in the bothy.
Here are the full details – and ve reasons why you should look out for Nikwax Hydrophobic Down in your next purchase...
❶ NIKWAX HAS DECADES OF EXPERIENCE
Well-known in the outdoor industry for its expertise and innovation in the eld of waterproo ng, Nikwax introduced its rst downbased product in 2013 with the launch of the original Nikwax Hydrophobic Down (NHD). With a DWR (durable water-repellent) treatment, this down was a game-changer: it dried quicker, absorbed less water, repelled water for longer, and retained its ‘lo ’ ( u ness) better when damp. is meant hikers stayed warmer, drier and com er, for longer, in their down products.
❷ NHD+ IS 250 TIMES MORE WATER-RESISTANT
Building on the success of the original NHD, in 2020 Nikwax released an upgraded version known as NHD+. e plus here signi es the improved performance of the insulation, with NHD+ achieving incredible stats: it’s up to 250 times more water-resistant than standard down, and is the rst and only hydrophobic down to exceed 10,000 minutes of continuous shake time (that’s a lab test
equivalent to a full week of constant exposure to water). e result is that Nikwax has the raw data to market NHD+ as “the world’s best performing hydrophobic down”.
WANT BETTER ECO CREDENTIALS? A RECYCLED VERSION IS AVAILABLE
Nikwax never uses harmful uorocarbon (PFC) chemistry in its treatments, which means all of its products have good eco credentials. But for an even higher standard, Nikwax released NHD Recycled in 2020. Created for brand partner Rab, who wanted to give its customers a high-performance down product with rst-rate sustainability, NHD Recycled is the rst recycled down to achieve a 1000-minute hydrophobic shake time. By comparison, standard down lasts a maximum of a 20-minute shake time, whilst to be considered hydrophobic a treated down material must reach a minimum of just 40 minutes shake time.
YOU CAN EASILY TREAT IT WITH NIKWAX PRODUCTS
If you’ve invested in an expensive jacket or sleeping bag, you’ll naturally want it to last for a long time. e good news is that Nikwax a ercare products have been e ectively cleaning and proo ng down gear for over 25 years. Nikwax Down Wash.Direct is the technical cleaner you’ll need. It revitalises the durable water repellent (DWR) and insulating properties of hydrophobic down, without damaging its delicate structure. Next, you’ll need Nikwax Down Proof, a speciality waterproofer that protects and improves the natural insulating properties of down- lled gear from wet and damp conditions. is duo of care products can be used on regular down, as well as NHD, NHD+ and NHD Recycled.
IT ENABLES YOU TO ADVENTURE IN A BROADER RANGE OF ENVIRONMENTS
It’s important to remember that NHD products are not completely waterproof and are not designed to be used alone in sustained wet conditions. A er all, you wouldn’t wear a down jacket in all-day downpours without putting a hard shell over it, and you wouldn’t bivvy in a sleeping bag on a rainy hillside without a waterproof bivvy bag protecting it. But NHD products do enable adventurers to use down products in more diverse scenarios, whether that’s higher climbs, longer treks or more extreme environments.
is is because the lo , insulation and breathability of the down will perform better in wetter, colder and harsher places, thus extending the boundaries of its use.