The Tierra Roc Blanc jacket
A new top-end brand of outdoor gear is about to hit the UK’s High Street stores.
Tierra is described as Sweden’s best kept secret in the world of outdoor clothing.
Part of the stable that includes Fjällräven, Primus and Hanwag, the brand will appear in a couple of shops this year, with a more extensive range of stockists from 2014.
It has been chosen as the official clothing for the International School of Mountaineering.
A company spokesperson said: “In a country where exceptionally poor conditions are more the norm than a talking point and challenging ascents all part of the fun, the brand has built a firm following thanks to its intuitive designs that offer exceptional attention to detail, which it couples with great quality fabrics.
“Tierra’s UK launch is its first venture outside of Scandinavia.
“It was one of the first Nordic brands to incorporate Gore-Tex into clothing and will integrate the ingredient brand’s latest generation Gore-Tex Pro into its upcoming autumn-winter 2013 range.”
Tierra was founded by Anders Andersson in Borås, Sweden in 1983.
The Tierra of today has its foundations in the Himalayan expeditions of the early 1990s and the clothing has proven its performance credentials on a number of Everest and K2 summits since then.
grough had a look at some of the Tierra gear at the recent Outdoor Trade Show, and its quality is evident, with the gear firmly pitched at high-end users such as Alpinists and winter mountaineers.
The Tierra Ace Jacket
The Tierra spokesperson said: “Tierra’s tight-knit development team are passionate about the outdoors and spend their time in the mountains, believing the only way to test the product is to expose it to real life conditions.
“It teaches you that the best garments are not just developed during life-challenging expeditions, it’s as much about the everyday adventures and sitting in front of the fire recounting tales after a tough day on the hills.
“Take a closer look at the zips, the buttons, the angle of the pockets; each has had specific consideration based on the experiences of the company’s test team which includes experienced mountaineers and mountain guides.
“On shell jackets, pockets are placed so that you can still access your fleece pocket underneath, without having to open your jacket.
“Ventilation zips sit slightly forward of a traditional pit zip because experience tells you that a zip that clashes with your backpack harness is a redundant zip.
“With Tierra, it’s the subtle differences that make winning apparel pieces, especially when you have underestimated the approach in extreme conditions.”
Top of the range is the Roc Blanc Jacket, constructed to offer protection in extreme conditions.
The jacket has a minimalist design for low weight – it tips the scales at 440g.
Made using Gore-Tex Pro 3L which is rugged and offers greater breathability and waterproofness, the jacket has a strong 70D nylon face fabric.
The Roc Blanc Down Jacket
The athletic fit is tailored to sit close to the body but offers excellent movability so it doesn’t ride up above a harness when the wearer lifts ice tools above the head.
Cut longer at the back for increased weather protection, the jacket has a fully adjustable hood with adjustment at the back and sides to get a good tight fit around the head and room for a helmet underneath, if preferred.
The wired hooded peak is reinforced with a non-PVC sheet adhesive to form a protective peak for protection in the worst conditions.
The Roc Blanc Jacket will retail at £400.
The Ace Jacket is a heavy-duty windproof and water-repellent softshell made with a durable double-weave fabric.
A close fit is designed to keep the jacket in place regardless of the activity but four-way stretch fabric.
It features a longer cut at the back for better weather protection, while the pre-bent elbows add to freedom of movement with high quality Velcro adjustments at the cuff to hold the sleeves in place.
It has two large pockets which double up as storage but have a mesh backing so can be used to vent the jacket and high quality Rentex lining inside the collar prevents abrasion on the move.
The Ace Jacket costs £115.
The Roc Noir Jacket
Other items in the Tierra range include the Roc Noir jacket, a lighter 40-denier waterproof using Gore-Tex Pro Shell, at £360.
The Roc Blanc Down Jacket uses sustainably sourced down and has a Pertex Microlight shell and costs £375. It tips the scales at 965g.
The Roc Noir Down Jacket is lighter at 500g and again features a Pertex shell, and comes with a price tag of £200.
More details of Tierra products are on the company’s website.
