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01Field Notes
Three pieces: what a fill power figure actually tells you, what separates a waterproof shell from a water-resistant one, and how to wash down and fleece without wrecking either. The sources behind the cold, sun and label claims are listed on how we update the catalogue.
A jacket at 850 fill is not automatically warmer than one at 650, and the number is the single most misread figure in outdoor clothing. What fill power measures, why a long parka at 650 beats a short shell at 850, where synthetic fill wins outright, and why no card on this site carries a temperature rating.
A water-resistant softshell and a taped waterproof shell are sold twenty feet apart and behave nothing alike in an hour of rain. What the two words mean on a card, why a seam fails before a fabric does, what taping actually is, when a softshell is the better call, and why a jacket that has stopped beading has usually not failed at all.
The commonest way to ruin a down jacket is to wash it correctly and then dry it wrongly, and the commonest way to ruin a fleece is fabric softener. What the care label is legally required to tell you, why wet down clumps, how long a proper dry actually takes, what softener does to a pile, and how to bring a shell back to beading.
Every Pioneer Camp layer, every size
Every size, colourway and fill in the Pioneer Camp wardrobe sits behind this button, with the price from our last update against each one.