The luxury British brand Jöttnar have a collection of mountain clothing and technical outdoor wear for those seeking to push the limits, conquer giants and reach new heights. Jöttnar provides superior clothing for making the most of the outdoors. Going above and beyond in ensuring that every product supports those who wear it to push the boundaries. This includes the updated Fenrir Men’s Hooded Down Jacket.
Designed for weight saving without compromising on features, the Fenrir is a waterproof, goose down insulated jacket for when the temperature plummets and is stuffed with great warmth for weight 850 Fill Power hydrophobic goose down. The premium 93/7 down/feather ratio is viewed as the highest that can be guaranteed. It is not possible to fully remove all feathers, but the fewer feathers and more down means more loft and warmth.
A water repellent rip-stop face fabric resists the wet, and potential moisture zones at the cuffs, hem, and collar contain synthetic insulation. Unlike inferior versions, the water repellency of the Fenrir Down Jacket won’t wash out and is free of harmful fluorocarbons. The Fenrir Down Jacket also features a cinched hood, stretch technical cuffs, and is supplied with its own stuff sack for easy carriage.
Insulation
The 850 Fill Power hydrophobic goose down is wrapped inside a windproof lightweight micro ripstop outer and further zoned with synthetic insulation in potential wet-out areas. Jöttnar only uses goose down as it is seen generally as the best, with higher fill power and larger down clusters, trapping more air, while being more resilient and longer-lasting. This allows for the high fill power rating, which is a measure of the loft of the down clusters. The more loft clusters achieved the more air is trapped, achieving more insulation. So the higher the fill power number, the warmer the wearer. Higher the loft, the less down is required for a given level of insulation, and the lighter the jacket can be, for the same amount of warmth.
The hydrophobic down works to maintain loft, prevent clumping and loss of loft and warmth, resisting the degradation by special treatment to the down clusters, increasing the surface tension, helping prevent water build-up. This treatment lasts some time and a little knowledge bomb……. Jöttnar was one of the first UK brands to use hydrophobic down!
The down used has undergone DownTek™ ZeroPFC water repellent treatment. Seen as environmentally safe using the perfluorocarbon-free process (PFOA & PFOS free) which uses lipids as the down coating in a proprietary method of nano-level liquids, to retain the same fill power as untreated down. This produces down that absorbs 30% less water, dries 60% faster, and retains significantly more loft than untreated down after exposure to moisture. This water repellent treatment adds no measurable weight and prevents the down from gaining weight by preventing the absorption of water. DownTek™ products can be washed without losing the ability to repel water and can be topped up with downwash. DownTek™ is certified a Sustainable Down Source, a company fully committed to the values of the Responsible Down Standard. Containing only down which is Responsible down Standard Certified (RDS Certified).
The synthetic insulation in the cuffs and neck, for continued warmth and quicker dry time in the wetter contact area.
On The Mountain
The Fenrir men’s hooded down jacket is designed for the usage of all-mountain, skiing, climbing, hiking & mountaineering activities. Like a camel, specialised to handle the cold snow, loose footing, and terrains of vast distances, of Canada and northern America. The Fenrir is built for cold mountains and harsh environments with all the necessary features smoothly integrated for use on the mountain whilst providing warmth in multiple terrains.
So we thought about how we needed a lightweight, packing small and comfortable piece to handle the fast-moving extremes of trekking in the bush, the cold safari drives, facing down the crag, active adventures and extreme sports of the fast and light get-away, and the chilled and frosty camping nights in the Namibian desert.
Style
The Fenrir Men’s Down Jacket is available in the new Night Shadow colourway which is a very stylish colour. The embroidered chest and rear logos are subtle with the matching of the jacket colour for many of the colours on offer. The jacket’s design is slick and stylish. The minimalism of the styling is spot on.
The Night Shadow colour works in many environments, from fast and light travels, to adventure sports, keeping warm out on the open road, huddling around a braai, scrambling up rock faces, to hardcore cold climbs, and worked well as an evening warmer when you are heading into the cities, but didn’t have room to pack additional warm evening city wear.
Warmth
The 850 Fill Power hydrophobic goose down with a 93/7 down/feather ratio meant that the insulation was of a very good standard. The 120g/m2 synthetic fill in cuffs and neck reduced the chance of wetter contact areas being a concern.
The insulation of the hood also ensured warmth throughout and pulling over the hood really makes you feel the benefits of a secure fit. The elasticated brim of the hood means the warmth stays in and does not just escape as you move. The snug and fitted feel is consistent even when moving at speed in open-top vehicles, or standing on large elevations as strong winds draw in. During all this, your head will be warm with the down-filled hood, sitting nicely over you.
The hemline comes down at the back, covering the buttocks, and helps keep you warm throughout your whole trunk. This hemline insulation is a synthetic fill to ensure no issues with moisture when sitting.
I stayed warm and comfortable even when sat stationary for some time in the evenings, and at times of more active adventures pull over the jacket, without removing anything, to stay warm and comfortable during rest periods, or stopping for snacks.
Weight
A competitive warmth-to-weight ratio is a must when looking at lightweight active insulation gear. The jacket weighs in at 300g / 10.6 oz. for a men’s medium. Which puts it in the lighter range category, as a major competitor to the other lightweight down jacket offerings.
However, when you look at the fact is boasts a thicker than the average face fabric for more durability, you should be rather impressed with this.
This has been achieved with very clever weight-saving measures, designed for weight saving without compromising on features. The focus has been on lightweight efficiency and stripping back unnecessary features specialising the jacket in many ways to the needed tasks it’s made for and slickly integrating them so there are no clunky parts to the jacket.
Sometimes the additional features can have the tendency to get in the way, so as a layering piece and as a lightweight warmth piece the possible additional features are not missed.
Additionally, often the best gear is gear that is well specialised as it actually becomes an unintentional multi-skill multi-use jacket. The Fenrir Down Jacket is a great option when the warmth-to-weight ratio is of high importance and is lightweight enough to make it perfect for long-distance travel.
Water Resistance
The fabric weight and synthetic weight is 100g/m². Windproof, micro rip-stop, nylon with a water repellent outer layer. At 30 denier, this is considerably thicker and more durable material than many jackets at the same weight range designed for similar tasks. The fabric doesn’t feel fragile or vulnerable to damage.
The durable waterproof treatment on the Fenrir Down Jacket is impressive – you can hold the jacket under a running tap for some time before you see signs of impregnation, and even then the loft of the fill is not heavily compromised. While performing the test, my mind wondered into questions of if the rain jacket would be needed?! Naturally they still have their place, and additionally, other jackets such as the hard-shells perform so many additional roles. Even during this test, the down continued retaining most of its loft even after water perhaps could have got into the jacket. This residual back up against the wet is largely due to the impressive hydrophobic down used.
The waterproof treatment to the down and the durable water resistance (DWR) of the jacket, ensures that the whole jacket is in a way a weather-resistant jacket. Water-resistant, windproof and weatherproof.
Fit
The standard-fit allows light layering underneath, and the scoop drop back hem shapes your trunk and bottom nicely. The fit helps add warmth with the hemline coming down just after cupping the bottom at the back and covering the groin at the front. This helps retain warmth and ensures the whole trunk is warmed without cold spots. The nicely fitting hood fits close to the head, and snugly, which will make for additional layering to be a lot easier.
The buttery soft feeling fabric on the inside reminds me of the inside of a lightweight down sleeping bag. The design would allow it to easily be put over a harnessed climber, and taken off again when the time comes to be active again.
When you have the right size for your build, the arms are well articulated, long enough for reaching up above your head, and with limited riding up or no riding up when having a glove on or similar. The chest and back, and the whole shoulder fit are a nice balance between enough room for easy movement, and no feeling of restriction, and a clean non-bulky look of a well-fitting jacket which will layer well under a hard shell.
When climbing, kayaking, quad biking, bouldering, reaching over and managing fires, and cooking, camping and all the things associated with this, there were no problems with movement, no tight spots, and felt very warm.
Compressibility
The Fenrir down jacket comes with its own separate stuff sack included and and stuffs down small into its own compression sack. The stuff sacks are slightly different sizes, depending on your garment size selection, which means they are far more accurately obtaining a stuff sack that is just right for the jacket. No larger than required, it still needs a little focus to get it all in, however this is not hard to achieve and can easily be done on the go, leaving you with a small compact, lightweight sack.
The 850 fill count down and the lack of any unnecessary additions such as clips or buttons means that the jacket can stuff down easily, even when with a larger denier fabric. It packs down to the size of a single litre Nalgene bottle. Both impressive and amazingly practical for travel, and fast and light use.
Other Features
The jacket comes in many colours, Aegean Blue, Black, Dark Ink, Oat, Nightshadow.
The hood is an elasticated stuffed hood with rear cinch, this makes easy work of drawing the hood snug, and ensuring secure hood positioning. This comes with a cord lock, for easier use and security. This can get a little uncomfortable if you sleep in the jacket and want the hood up and lay directly on the cord lock with the back of your head. However, is not a noticeable point during any other uses or activities. The hood and zipper covering the face can zip up to cover the mouth and nose if necessary but generally sit just below the nose which allows for the use of a mask or eye protection and offers great face and mouth protection from the elements.
The drawcords are no loop, anti-snag hem drawcords which are glove compatible, easily used even when layer and wearing gloves. These snag-free, anti-snag hem cords discourage tangling with gear, a problem with outdated loop cords. Keep cold air out with effective cord locks and easy use, making the jacket great for climbing, mountain use, and general adventure. Theoretically, the only trouble with cord locks is they do sometimes press in a little, if you are sleeping in the jacket, for incredibly fast and light travel, and roll over a little onto them. However, this wasn’t experienced during the review.
The cuffs have technical stretch cuffs with synthetic insulated cuff fill. This means you can leave your gloves on, as the stretch cuffs mean no need of removing gloves to put your jacket on – bulky gloves just push right through and seal in body heat. This makes life easy when you are wearing gloves and a hard shell or other layers already, and you need to just pull over the Fenrir to keep some warmth in for a while, as activity drops or temperatures shift eliminating the need to remove your gloves, and the layers, and the hard shell, just to put on the warmer piece.
As temperatures plummet, you can quickly grab this jacket out of the stuff sack, and slip it on over everything, and pull your arms and hands through with ease allowing you to continue with the adventure at hand. No need to stop everything and take layers off to re-layer which is never an easy task while up a mountain. Convenience is king, and the Fenrir Down Jacket takes the crown!
There are 2 ‘handwarmer pockets’ with front-facing insulation. The long zipper pulls make opening and closing these zips easy when wearing gloves, meaning there is no need to remove a glove to access a pocket space.
Also, there is one internal valuables pocket for ‘internal storage’, with an internal zipped pocket-sized to take phones, keys, and maps. Mini maps! The pocket will not fit a larger map. For less bulk, this doesn’t have a zipper pull which means that the use of this internal pocket does sometimes need the gloves to be removed to operate. It’s easy to understand why there is no zipper pull and I actually preferred not to have one. You could easily add one on if this was a personal preference. All the zips are YKK®, with YKK® hand pocket zips, and KK® internal valuables zip.
Features of the Jöttnar Fenrir Down Jacket
- One Internal Valuables Pocket zipped for security
- Elasticated own-stuffed hood with rear cinch
- YKK® zips throughout
- Pockets have two handwarmer pockets with front-facing insulation
- Draw Cords, no loop, anti-snag hem drawcords, Glove compatible.
- Cuffs have a Technical stretch cuff with Synthetic insulated cuff fill
- Standard fit allows light layering underneath
- Scoop drop back hem
- 850 Fill Power DownTek™ Hydrophobic Down Insulation, PFC (PFOA and PFOS) Free, with a great 93/7 down/feather ratio
- 120g/m2 synthetic fill in cuffs and neck
- Windproof, micro rip-stop, nylon with water repellent outer layer. 30 denier. with a Fabric Weight and Synthetic weight of 100g/m²
- Comes with its own Separate stuff sack included
- Logo Embroidered chest and rear logos
- A selection of colours includes Aegean Blue, Black, Dark Ink, Oat, and Night shadow.
- 300g / 10.6 oz. (men’s medium)
- Sizes S, M, L, XL
Jöttnar’s Fenrir Down Jacket is another very comfortable and warm product from Jöttnar that’s built to handle the extremes. In a category where everyone has some form of down jacket offering, there are only a few that meet a class of comfort, usability, and packability that Team SLOAN! would be willing to wear and pack into our fast and light kit bag. The Fenrir easily makes the cut and will continue to prove itself over the coming winter months in many different environments.
Fenrir Men’s Down Hooded Jacket is £295 available from www.jottnar.com
The Jöttnar Story
Created by two former Royal Marines and tested by professionals, Jöttnar mountain clothing goes above and beyond in ensuring that every product supports those who wear it to push the boundaries. The Jöttnar Pro Team of brand ambassadors includes Tim Howell who is in the process of becoming the first person to climb and BASE jump the six ‘classic’ North faces of the Alps, and Tom Grant who was the first to ski down the Caroline Face of Mount Cook in New Zealand. Each Pro Team member is at the top of their game and tests every Jöttnar item to the limits, to ensure its endurance, quality, and suitability for the most challenging of environments.