review

Outdoor Vitals LoftTek Adventure Jacket High Neck Hood

Monday, February 25, 2019

Down of water-birds (waterfowls) is a fantastic natural fluffy insulator used in the making of the popular down feather jacket.
Compared to regular winter jackets, down filled jackets do a better job at keeping you cushty warm; however, the problem with down jackets is that birds get harmed in the process of getting their feathers, making down jackets a hard choice for those with a conscious.
side zipper pocket
backside
Fortunately though, there are down alternative winter jackets such as the Outdoor Vitals LoftTek Adventure Jacket which is down free but performs very much like a high-fill power down jacket regaining its loftiness (fluffiness) even after being compressed inside a backpack.
LoftTek synthetic down
The Outdoor Vitals LoftTek Adventure Jacket is made of 525+ fill power synthetic down made to mimic the water resistance of waterfowl down and feathers although no man-made synthetic really comes close to the mighty insulating powers of waterfowl down.
While synthetic down jackets aren't as insulating as natural down jackets, synthetic down jackets have an advantage and that is they don't lose their loftiness when wet like down jackets do.
The LoftTek Adventure Jacket synthetic down looks and feels like the soft, fluffy undercoating of waterfowls and the best part is that birds were not directly harmed in the making of the jacket.
Compared to regular down, the LoftTek Adventure Jacket "does what it says on the tin" and that is you can get the jacket fully and completely soaked in water without the LoftTek jacket becoming a heavy bag of wet feathers. 
The LoftTek Adventure Jacket synthetic fiber filling is not made of a natural material like cotton, which is a natural hypoallergenic, but it uses siliconized polyester filling which repels allergens and bacteria preventing allergic reactions.
The LofTek synthetic down is hydrophobic down so it repels water via a Durable-water-repellent (DWR) coating applied to it the same way as rain jacket shells. 
The DWR coating is the reason why the LofTek synthetic down is able to maintain loft and retain warmth even when wet. However, DWR does not last forever and does contain flourcarbons or PFCs which are toxic chemicals similar to BPA.
It's unclear whether the LoftTek Adventure Jacket is DWR PFC free but most top outdoor clothing brands including The North Face, Patagonia, Gore-Tex and Arc’teryx use PFC chemical for their DWR coatings.
thumbhole
Speaking of top brands, the LoftTek Adventure Jacket does a good job at rivaling its direct competitor The North Face Thermoball hooded jacket by offering additional features such as underarm zippers, elastic cuffs and thumbholes to prevent the sleeves from rolling up when extending the arms.
The LoftTek Adventure Jacket stitching has a baffle box construction similar to the stitching of duvets so the shell of the LoftTek Adventure Jacket is sewn in stitched pockets which are then stuffed with thinly scattered down.
Compared to other down jackets, the LoftTek down stuffing is minimal and translucent so light can actually pass through the jacket.
If you own a high fill power (900+) down jacket, you won't find the LoftTek jacket as fluffy; but it's worth keeping in mind that the LoftTek jacket is an ultralight synthetic down jacket that weighs only 400 grams and is much more breathable and faster to dry than a natural down jacket after being washed.
As far as temperature range, the LoftTek Adventure Jacket is able to keep its coziness in the damp and cold English weather of February performing well under freezing (approx. -1 Celsius) and humid conditions. 
The LoftTek Adventure Jacket has a unisex design so the jackets suits both male and female although it's worth noting that the LoftTek Adventure Jacket has an athletic fit with a hip length design that drapes over your hips and your bottom.
The LoftTek Adventure Jacket is designed to be a fitted jacket around the waist so if you have wide hips, you may need to go a couples of sizes up to accommodate your hips and bottom.
cord lock
adjustable hem jacket
The LoftTek jacket hem is adjustable so you can always tighten the cord lock drawstring toggles on the hem of the jacket and fold the hem upwards towards the waist if you don't want the jacket hanging over your thighs.
smooth zippers
The LoftTek Adventure Jacket hood is also insulated and waterproof with a high neck zip up and two cord lock drawstring toggles on the front and one cord lock drawstring toggle on the back of the hood to adjust the hood around your face and tighten the back of your head.
The neat thing about the high neck zip up is that you can wear it without the hood, turning the LoftTek Adventure Jacket into a high neck jacket.
made in Bangladesh
The fabric material used for the shell is made of 20D ripstop breathable nylon coated with "VitalDry" Durable-water-repellent (DWR) coating, making the jacket durable and water resistant so water literary rolls off the jacket.
back of hood cord lock
Having said this, DWR isn't the same as waterproof but having DWR coated on the shell means it helps the shell shed water and dry faster when wet.
zipper insulated pocket
The LoftTek Adventure Jacket zipper pockets are sewed-in behind the down insulation of the jacket, which is protected by 10D ripstop nylon lining fabric.

Even though 20D material is heavier and less breathable than 10D material, it's nice that the LoftTek uses 20D fabric for the shell because it has a higher abrasion resistance and because 20D fabric has a windproofness of 1cfm (Cubic Feet per Minute), which is almost windproof. A regular rain jacket and fleece have a fabric windproofness of 0.6cfm and 195cfm respectively.

In the event that you rip or tear the LoftTek Adventure Jacket, you won't have to worry about losing the filling because the LoftTek down is made of continuous strands of siliconized polyester rather than lose feathers. Check out the new Shadowlight Ultralight

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