by: Dave D’Abate
Hi-Tec Alpine Start Parka
You might already be familiar with Hi-Tec, a company that has been making great footwear for 35 years with an outstanding consumer value. What if I told you that after making technical innovations in the footwear industry, Hi-Tec will be launching a new line of Apparel this year? Your initial thought might be excitement at seeing some great new technical innovations in store for the Apparel market, and you are most certainly correct in that assumption!
According to the Hi-Tec Press Release,
“The inaugural collection was created with the same DNA that you’d expect from Hi-Tec brand; including the highest quality materials and components at the best possible end consumer value. This well-defined collection consists of 20 styles combined for both men and women, and it targets an active lifestyle consumer that requires the necessary technical features for the backcountry with styling that fits everyday life.”
Courtesy Image
The Men’s Alpine Start Parka features 2 zippered hand warmer pockets, 2 interior pockets, and a single hand drawcord adjustable hem. What really stands out on this parka is the Featherweight 40D Ripstop Nylon shell. The 40 Denier fabric makes this jacket more abrasion resistant than others I’ve seen which in turn makes it more durable without adding much more than a few ounces. This is one tough outer shell layer that will definitely last you a very long time and over the course of testing this piece, I have had minimal feather loss, which comes with any down jacket. The thicker fabric prevents the feathers from poking through and is certainly a huge plus. The zippers also have a very nice grippy texture somewhat resembling a micro-velcro that makes the pulls very easy to grasp in chilly weather. Hi-Tec uses 550 Fill Power Down for the parka’s insulation and I found it plenty warm in temperatures down in the twenties.
With any down-filled jacket, the key area of use is during cold and dry outings. I wore the Alpine Start Parka during a misty day with a slight drizzle and the nylon does not shed water so I would recommend those of you who wish to wear down without an outer hard shell to use some sort of spray-on waterproofing to help with repellency.
Down doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective in keeping you warm and Hi-Tec has taken that to heart in keeping their outstanding value pricing from their footwear and transferring it to their new line of apparel. I am elated to say that the Alpine Start Parka will retail for the low price of $109.95. The Alpine Start Parka keeps me just as warm as other down jackets I have worn for double the price.
The only problem I had with the jacket was possible just a manufacturing error. The left sleeve baffle closest to the wrist has very little down enclosed in this particular baffle. My guess is it was a mistake when the baffles were sewn together in the factory and not all the down had been distributed evenly. It doesn’t really impact performance other than creating a small cold spot in very frigid temperatures but putting your hands in the pockets of the jacket solves that problem immediately.
Along with bringing the Alpine Start Parka with me for insulation on more than a few winter hikes, I regularly wear it around town in day-to-day activities. A nice feature about down is since it is a natural insulation, it has a higher comfortable temperature range compared with synthetics and this then makes the jacket a great piece to wear in any situation where it isn’t raining.
Alpine Start Parka out in the field
After three months of testing in the cold, dry, and very snowy mountain climate here in Utah, the Alpine Start Parka still looks brand new. The nylon shell is clearly designed to take far tougher punishment than I could give it hiking through brush along the trails. The Alpine Start Parka will come in three colors when it hits the market and I got to test the Reign color, which I admit I am a huge fan of. The blueish color looks great on the trail and in town. Other colors the parka will come in are Black and Shadow. If you’re looking for an amazingly priced Down solution, look no further than Hi-Tec’s new Alpine Start Parka, part of their inaugural line of apparel coming soon to a gear shop near you!
Alpine Start Parka – $109 – hi-tec.com
