OUTDOOR RESEARCH UBERLAYER WOOL FULL

Shake them out to make sure there’s no dirt inside the main hand chamber or down in the fingers. Storing them while they’re still damp and dirty can lead to stink and mildew.

OUTDOOR RESEARCH UBERLAYER WOOL FULL

We recently put both the Uberlayer and the Deviator to the test in the field and found that, in practice, OR’s prototyping and research reaped full rewards for the modern adventurer who wants to do everything from ski touring to rock climbing to traveling in style but only wants one midlayer.Before you stash your winter gloves away for the season, give them a wash. “What are the sweat zones of the human body? What does an athlete look like under an infrared camera when they’re running? There’s a lot of conversation around how your body naturally heats or cools itself, and how do we amplify or control that, or maximize it so that we’re taking advantage of it.” “I did an innovation project that’s ongoing where we took some photos,” says Lauver. In other words, it makes use of a number of different materials to give you warmth and breathability specifically where you need them most. The Deviator, one of the more unique active insulation pieces on the market, features hybrid body mapping. You only need to decide whether or not you need some waterproofness for the way down.” “We created something that adapts to a lot of those types of conditions. Ideally, you wouldn’t want to have to de-layer before you start going up, then put a bunch of stuff on at the top, then come down and switch it all back out,” says Lauver.

“During a ski tour, you’re going to work up some heat and moisture going upwards. “We created a solution for changing conditions and changing environments.” Both the Uberlayer and Deviator were designed with two sports in mind - climbing and ski touring - though they can certainly be used in other applications. “It’s all about adaptability,” says Alex Lauver, Outdoor Research’s product manager for outerwear. Writers AJ Powell and Tanner Bowden testing jackets in the Idaho backcountry. The latest in OR’s innovative technologies focuses on active insulation in jackets, like the Uberlayer and the Deviator hoody. Today, the company is still on the front lines of pioneering technical, smartly designed pieces built for serious adventurers.

For example, there’s the Seattle Sombrero, a sombrero-esque hat constructed from Gore-Tex perfect for hiking in the rain the first soft-sided medical kits designed specifically for outdoor use and the Water Bottle Parka, which is still the standard for keeping water from freezing on mountaineering expeditions.

Since then, Seattle-based Outdoor Research has pioneered a number of iconic outdoor pieces.

Gregg was convinced that there was a better way to build a gaiter, and with that in mind, he created the X-Gaiter - Outdoor Research’s first official product. His partner had to be airlifted out, a moment that changed mountaineering and outdoor sports forever. Gregg’s partner, who was already suffering from extreme frostbite, got snow lodged between his boot and gaiter - exacerbating an already dire situation. In 1980, Gregg, a physicist by trade, was on an expedition on Denali with his partner when disaster struck. But unless you’re in the know, you probably haven’t heard the name Ron Gregg. You’ve heard of Yvon Chouinard, Doug Thompkins and Royal Robbins, the founders of Patagonia, The North Face and Royal Robbins, respectively.

Outdoor research uberlayer wool