PAKA Apu Assessment: Alpaca Fiber Parka Rivals Down

It was dumping snow, and I used to be midway to the resort once I realized I’d forgotten my ski shell. I had two choices: Flip round and drive house to seize it and miss one other hour of powder snowboarding, or I might use the PAKA Apu Parka that I had stashed within the trunk with my après garments. It wasn’t essentially a “ski jacket.” But it surely was waterproof, and the day can be chilly sufficient I figured in all probability wouldn’t overheat.

I didn’t flip round. As a substitute, I made a decision to go away my midlayers within the automotive and swimsuit up with the Apu. I’d worn it loads round city and on a day-to-day foundation. However I hadn’t worn it for any sort of high-output exercise but. I’m somebody who runs sizzling, and it was too heat to put on on hikes or ski skins. This may be the primary time I exercised within the parka.

My ski companion and I donned our gear and hit the hill. By about noon, I’d nearly forgotten I used to be carrying the Apu parka in any respect. The insulation was maintaining me heat towards the mid-20-degree temperatures, and the moist snow was beading off of the jacket simply. We spent over 6 hours getting as deep as we might, and by the top of it, the flexibility of this parka was actually beginning to shine.

Briefly: The PAKA Apu Parka ($350) is insulated utilizing alpaca fiber as an alternative of typical down or artificial insulation. It is rather versatile for such a heat piece of substances. I principally used this jacket round city, operating errands, strolling the canine, and doing chores outdoors, for which it was excellent. However I additionally used it snowboarding, and introduced it on a winter tenting journey. Its heat rivals that of a few of my greater down parkas. However its lack of packability was a tradeoff.

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PAKA Apu Parka Assessment

PAKA has a repute for making extraordinarily comfy and heat alpaca fiber sweaters and fleeces. Nevertheless, the model has additionally began taking part in with insulated jackets utilizing its patent-pending alpaca fiber insulation, known as PAKAFILL — like within the Apu Parka. PAKA alleges that this parka is hotter than any artificial jacket at the moment out there, with a 2.1 thermal CLO worth examined by IDFL Laboratory and Institute.

I’d put that to the take a look at over a number of months of use. I took this parka on quite a few ski journeys and a winter tenting journey; I wore it day by day as my around-town insulated jacket and commonly used it for outside chores like shoveling snow.

Match, Minimize, and Design

One in all my favourite facets of this jacket is the way it suits and appears. I’m a 5’11”, 165-pound male, and I put on a big. It suits me precisely how I like insulated jackets to suit, leaving just a little room for further layers.

Personally, I feel its a extremely handsome insulated jacket. The comparatively low profile doesn’t make you appear to be a Keep Puft marshmallow man.

The rear hem comes down beneath the butt, so once I sat on snowy benches or chairlifts, it protected my rear. The hood is helmet-compatible however can even cinch down onto your head with out one. I had loads of room within the shoulders and the arms however by no means felt as if the jacket was saggy.

If I bought too sizzling whereas carrying it, the pits are outfitted with water resistant pit zips. The waterproof entrance zipper additionally has a twin zipper design, so you might put on a climbing harness with this jacket. There are additionally large dump pockets inside, giant sufficient for a Nalgene or ski skins.

Supplies

PAKAFILL is an eco-friendly materials sourced from free-roaming alpacas in Peru. Like common alpaca fiber (and most naturally primarily based fibers), it’s moisture-wicking, anti-bacterial (so it doesn’t get smelly), and retains you heat even when it will get moist.

It’s additionally thermoregulating. In keeping with PAKA, this insulation helps preserve you in a “impartial consolation vary” whether or not you’re sitting nonetheless in freezing situations or actively shifting and producing warmth.

PAKA used a 100% recycled, PFAS-free DWR-coated four-way stretch materials for the outer layer of the Apu Parka. I’ve but to have any points with the waterproofing. The stretch helped me transfer freely, even when I used to be carrying my ski backpack with the straps cinched tightly. The interior lining is 90% nylon and 10% spandex, so it has stretch functionality as properly.

It’s additionally a reasonably rugged jacket. I wasn’t light with mine, stuffing it into duffel luggage, loading the pockets with heavy objects for transport, cinching packs tightly to my torse over it, and bushwhack snowboarding by way of tight bushes. Up to now, there aren’t any indicators of wear and tear and tear to the supplies.

Within the Area: PAKA Apu Parka Assessment

That powder day once I wore the Apu Parka actually opened my eyes to its technical use circumstances. Up till that time, I’d solely worn it in informal on a regular basis situations — going to the shop, getting beers with buddies, strolling my canine, and so on.

That ski day was a testing gauntlet, although. Not solely was it one of many greatest (and wettest) powder days of my season, however it was probably the most continuous, high-output downhill days as properly.

The parka shielded me from the moist snow all day lengthy. It additionally saved me heat — too heat, at factors. It was 25-30 levels all day, and once I was actually working exhausting, snowboarding lengthy mogul or tree runs, I’d begin to sweat. However with only a baselayer underneath the parka, I didn’t really feel like I used to be getting swampy inside it. After I began to actually overheat, I simply opened the pit zips for the downhill and closed them once more on the chairlift.