This winter sees the launch of our new Kryos, Xeros, and Exo jackets, and our new Kryos pants, all developed through rigorous testing both in the lab and the mountains. It’s been a fascinating journey that’s united our product team and pro partners in the pursuit of kit that makes the difference on the most serious modern routes.

The Kryos Jacket is the result of over two years of prototyping and development work, with jackets put through their paces by Paul Ramsden in China and in Nepal and in Pakistan with Tom Livingstone, Uisdean Hawthorn, and Chantel Astorga. Tom Livingstone’s success on Kyo Zom was made using a Kryos Jacket.

The Kryos is exceptionally warm, extremely protective, very lightweight and allows you to climb unencumbered. The unique combination of baffles has been laboured over and the hood is brand new, being more protective and better in extreme cold weather than any hood we have previously developed. In lab tests the Kryos Jacket came out 10% warmer than the Vega Jacket, our classic jacket that has been used to over 7000 metres.

The Kryos Pant was developed specifically for Nick Bullock’s and Paul Ramsden’s ground-breaking expedition to Minya Konka in China last year. Two pairs were handmade in the office and the feedback on them was so good (“best insulated legwear I’ve ever worn”) that we have introduced them into the range.

With an outstanding fit and the Firestorm construction providing unrivalled weather protection, they can be worn all day or carried ‘just in case’. They have a similar weight to many synthetic overpants but are two or three times warmer. Our extensive cold chamber work over the last five years has consistently shown that for a typical mountaineer, adding insulation to your legs is usually the best way to increase your warmth.

The Xeros Jacket is the younger brother to the Kryos Jacket. The protectiveness of the Firestorm construction and outstanding hood design remain, but the jacket’s weight has been reduced, making this the perfect jacket for everything from lightweight expedition use to ski touring or alpine climbing. Lab testing has shown that the Xeros is a full 20% warmer than an equivalent stitch-through baffle jacket. The weather resistance of this garment also means that environments traditionally reserved for synthetic jackets are now opened up to a down jacket, with the associated warmth, weight and bulk benefits this brings.