Sherpa Nangpala jacket

Price: £250
Weight: 420g
Fabric: shell, polyester; insulation: PrimaLoft Gold 750 down/synthetic mix.
Colour: black
Country of manufacture: Vietnam
Recommended wash: 30C delicate cycle in mild detergent then low tumble dry

This stylish insulated jacket from the Nepal-based company looks from the outside like most other down jackets.

Its quilting uses small panels, helping to stop the insulation moving about and settling at the bottom of the panels.

But there’s another reason the 750-fill-power goose down doesn’t move about: it’s part of PrimaLoft’s innovative hybrid Gold 750 insulation, which marries the hydrophobically treated down with synthetic fibres.

Down jackets are great for when the temperature drops, but they have one drawback, and in a country such as the UK, lashed for much of the winter by Atlantic systems, it’s a big drawback: they don’t like the wet.

Even on a cold, dry day, perspiration if you’re hillwalking or climbing can seep out into the down and cause those dainty little feathers to lose their loft, and with it, a lot of their insulating properties.

PrimaLoft, who supplied the Sherpa jacket to us, make some bold claims about hybrid Gold 750 insulation.

The 70 per cent down is mixed with 30 per cent PrimaLoft fibres and, the company says, this hybrid combination absorbs water 10 times slower than 100 per cent down; it retains 95 per cent of warmth if it does get wet; and it dries four times more quickly than down.

It also says the micro-grid ripstop polyester shell is water resistant and has a tight weave to stop feathers escaping.

Let’s just nail that latter claim now. We’ve never, ever, worn a jacket containing down that doesn’t leak an odd bit of its filling through the shell. The black cloth seats of the groughmobile always have the tell-tale evidence of escaping down in the winter months, and the Nangpala is no different.

The Nangpala uses PrimaLoft's hybrid filling to good effect

But, the durable water repellent coating on the shell did its job and rain beaded off the jacket nicely. We certainly wouldn’t recommend treating this garment as a waterproof coat but, despite a definite nervousness about walking about in some pretty heavy showers in a down jacket, the Sherpa offering did its job.

The loft in its insulation remained; the warmth remained; the windblocking properties, which are very good, also remained.

The reason seems to be that the micro-fibres in the synthetic element of the mix act as a sort of skeleton, keeping the volume of the insulation and allowing the down to continue to stay in place rather than collapse and lose the ability to trap those little air pockets that provide the insulation.

It helps too that the down is treated with non-fluorocarbon hydrophobic chemicals to help shed water.

We had the Nangpala out in a variety of conditions. The jacket is just about the right warmth for the British climate and we reckon it is equivalent to something like a conventional 700-fill jacket.

Work hard uphill on a cold day and there is no sense that the insulation is being affected by perspiration. And on some pretty wet days when we really were worried the warmth would decline, it didn’t.

The Nangpala has two zipped hip pockets, part lined with fleece to provide warmth for the hands. They are in the hip-belt area though, so rucksack or harness will interfere with access to them. There’s another smaller, zipped chest pocket easily big enough for a smartphone or GPS unit.

Inside the jacket are two unzipped pockets, each large enough – just – to take an OS map or, say, a 500ml drinks bottle.

The one-way main zip is backed by a baffle to keep out the wind and the jacket’s hem has a drawcord to cinch it in if you’re getting an upward draught.

As with most down jacket, there is no sleeve cuff adjustment, but the elastication is about right and does allow the sleeves to be pushed a little way up the arms if you’re overwarm.

The hood will just about accommodate a helmet, but there is no volume adjustment. The front of the hood can be cinched down by drawcords and two spring toggles, with the loose excess leading into the inside of the jacket so they don’t whack you in the face when the wind whips up.

The Nangpala is a little heavier than a purely down-filled jacket and doesn’t pack down quite as small, but is still fairly compact in the rucksack.

A down jacket that you don’t have to protect from every raindrop is a definite advance and PrimaLoft’s hybrid filling represents a useful innovation.

A very useful piece of kit for winter in the UK. Recommended.

Warmth 25/30
Windblocking 12/15
Versatility 13/15
Packability 3/5
Features 3/5
Quality 7/10
Value for money 13/20
Total 76/100

More details on the Sherpa Adventure Gear website and on the PrimaLoft website.