Airvantage Inflatable Insulation Jacket

[Dale Wambaugh]

I found this Airvantage insulated jacket today. Made for EMS, it has Primaloft in the sleeves and the Gore Airvantage inflatable insulation system in the main body. Total weigh is 26 oz. It has waterproof zippers, typical handwarmer and Napoleon pockets, drawstring hem and pit zips. It inflates with a couple breaths using a tube mounted near the front zipper. It deflates by reversing the cap for the inflation tube.

[Christopher *]

Dale,

I realize I am digging up an old thread but I was looking for one of these. If you are still around, any idea what EMS call this jacket? Cannot seem to find it on their website.
TX

[Tom Lyons]

I think the Gore has been out of production for a while, but I have the Klymit inflatable vest, and that works very well, IMO.
And it's currently available.

It has no sleeves, and is a vest.
There is another model with sleeves called the ULAAR, but it hasn't been released as far as I am aware.

I think the concept is good, and I have used it and like it.

I hope you have some luck with finding the Gore Airvantage, but if you don't find one you might look into the Klymit vest.

[Dale Wambaugh]

It was an interesting idea, but it was very expensive, relatively heavy and didn't breath. It would need to be made from far lighter materials and techniques to be as light as jackets with filler and would never be breathable.

I don't recall what EMS called it, but it is long out of production. The concept was just a blip on the radar screen of outdoor gear.

I would love to see this concept applied to hammocks for bottom insulation.

[Don Selesky]

Sorry, but how would that be different than just lying on an inflatable pad? Particularly, if the hammock is double bottom.

[Christopher *]

Does the Klymit suffer from the same breathibity/weight issues? I actually saw the jacket on Kickstarter.

I rode the Great Divide Mountain Bike route late last season and had a bugger of a time climbing 10,000 foot passes, building up quite a bit of heat, only to descend and have biting wind freeze me to my seat. I had to strip and relayer at the top of every rise … which are frequent on the divide. The idea of something inflatable occurred to me on that trip. I was surprised/excited to see it was tried by big manufacturers years ago.

[Dale Wambaugh]

IMHO, hammocks are most comfortable when you are supported by the breathable skin of the hammock without a pad directly under. The current solution is to use an underquilt, which is bulky, heavy and expensive. Underquilts can shift and leave air gaps and they add even more strings and fittings to a gimmick setup.

My solution would be to have inflatable insulation incorporated below the hammock surface. Since it would only need to hold up its own weight, it could be lighter than any pad made for ground sleeping. Something on the order of a space blanket would work; in fact a reflective Mylar or polyethylene surface would add to the warmth

[Dale Wambaugh]

"Does the Klymit suffer from the same breathibity/weight issues?'

There is no way it will hold air and breath. The vest is reported as 13.2oz and $179. The jacket coming out this Spring is $250 and I didn't see a weight listed. I could see these garments working for camp or belay use, but not for active wear.

If they could meet Coast Guard regs, they would be an interesting multiple use item for packrafters.

A number of manufacturers have made hybrid tops with a windproof front and breathable back panel. I've always wondered why they weren't more popular for hiking, as you have a pack covering your back anyway– pretty much the same theory as using a quilt vs a full sleeping bag.

[Daryl and Daryl]

The air pockets in the coat are fairly large. Anyone have an idea of the insulating value of the air pockets…..when dry and when wet?

[Dale Wambaugh]

"Anyone have an idea of the insulating value of the air pockets…..when dry and when wet?"

No idea. There was a Primaloft layer in the sleeves, but not in the air pockets. There was an additional layer of cloth on the outside. This product is just old enough to fall out of the Internet "radar screen." That and the fact that it was a flop.

Keep in mind this was a ski jacket, made for falling downhill gracefully at great expense vs hiking, which is going uphill slowly at great expense :)

[Tom Lyons]

The vest is easily vented at the neck, front, and arm holes, and has a drawstring waist that can be left open if desired.

I don't think it breathes well thru the fabric, but it can vent easily.

Regarding insulation value, the Klymit website has a chart on that.
Anecdotally, the vest with air is generally sufficient down to about 20F, and below that temp it is recommended to use the argon gas fill for more insulation value.
I just use the air. I don't have the argon or fill kit.
The advantage is that when you get warm from changing conditions or whatever, you can just let out the air, and reduce insulation value, so you don't get hot. When you slow down or get to camp, you inflate it again with the hand-bulb in the pocket while still wearing it, and it gets warmer.
It's not like a down vest which you have to take off and stow in the pack when you get too warm. When it's deflated, it hangs loosely on the body, and isn't prone to building up heat then.

[Daryl and Daryl]

Per the Klymit website their 2.5" thick Insulated Static V inflatable sleeping pad is R 4.4. The non-insulated version is R 1.3.

So I assume this coat and the coats and vests that Klymit sells (if filled with air only) would have an R of less than 1.3 because they are thinner than the sleeping pads.

REI's .38" thick closed cell foam sleeping pad is R 1.3, for reference.

Wouldn't these coats and vests be about as warm as comparable garments made from bubble wrap of the same thickness? Bubble wrap, of course, would not have the inflate/deflate option. (Well, actually I guess it would have the deflate option….once.)

[Tom Lyons]

It's a little different application than a sleeping pad, but if tested under sleeping pad conditions, it would probably perform in that range.

In use as a vest, it is close to your body when inflated, and is covered by your outer shell top layer, so it is not exposed to the conduction losses to the cooling air or ground like a sleeping pad would be, and the thin convoluted air chambers exhibit much lower convection losses than a thick chamber would.

I think it works well for what I need it for.

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