14 DAY TRIAL // Mountain Hard Wear is proud to introduce the Refugium Jacket, a clothing article well worth the attention of every person living in a place where cold strikes at least once a year. Those who also own an iPod might be even more enticed by the product, whose specifications include a ten-watt power source that can recharge the player on the go, or generate heat inside the jacket itself – the jacket’s ten-watt battery can only do one task at a time.
Most jackets trap your own body heat inside, allowing you to stay warm. The Refugium, however, produces heat. “Heat your core – charge your electronics. This lightly insulated, low profile jacket comes pre-wired for Ardica Heat and Power Technology. Wear alone, or under a shell for extraordinary warmth and charge portable electronics on the go,” the product’s description reads.
Usage is aimed at backcountries, snowsports and resorts, Mountain Hard Wear says, while the jacket weighs just 3 lbs, 11 oz / 1680.00 g. Insulation is provided via “Thermic Micro,” a technology developed by Mountain Hard Wear and initially implemented in sleeping bags. The jacket’s lining is an embossed matrix taffeta, according to the company’s website. Additional specs include:
• Quilted body is Ardica Enabled; • Battery pack to be purchased separately; • Fleece-lined handwarmer pockets; • Interior zip pocket stores ID, keys, other small essentials; • Micro-Chamois-lined chin guard prevents zipper chafe; • Laminated Velcro cuff tabs seal in warmth.
Readers should note that the Refugium jacket complete with everything one needs as described so far will cost them a pocket-burning $375. This includes the USB adapter that can re-route the energy used to heat the jacket to an iPod.
Visit Mountain Hard Wear here to take a closer look at the Refugium Jacket, or even purchase your own. Leave your impressions in the comments.