Experiment 063 - Supermarine Slash Parka

Additional Information

Story

A hard update to our Supermarine Soft Core set up. Like the Soft Core, it’s a breathable insulation using non-migrating Primaloft Infinity plus Supermarine Cotton on the outside for protection from the elements. On the inside, though, is a tough yet slick American woven Supplex plain weave. It’s still super breathable, especially compared to down and the like, but the woven interior gives a more straight forward no-nonsense feel to take on the cold in.

The slash front setup contains four pockets in total, two rotating wine bottle pockets up top and two gusseted S120 Merino lined hand warmer pockets lower down. An interior left chest pocket makes it five pockets in total. An insulated Eyes Wide Hood with a four-point adjustment system hugs the face for warmth and optimal visibility. Two shock cord adjusts in the front for cinching up against the weather, one shock cord adjust to lock to the head for rotational visibility and one cotton webbing slide adjust for z-axis hood rotation. The cotton webbing extends down the back creating a hanger handle as well. A hidden knit Supplex cuff softly but snuggly seals the arm. Zero snaps and an oversized two way zipper close up the front. Zippered arm vents allow for extra temperature calibration for precision in comfort.

Fabric

The secret to the future, they say, is hidden in the past. Supermarine® Cotton is a 21st century edit to a nearly forgotten World War II fabric. You can think of it as the pinnacle of cotton technology, extremely breathable, highly water resistant and completely windproof. 100% Cotton fibers woven together in a complex weave that swells up and seals when exposed to water. The result is a beautiful cloth that we think is the best rainy day fabric around.

For decades it's been obscured from the public, kept alive mainly by demand from a few Air Force units, Antarctic explorers and funnily enough, bird watchers; all who have different understandings of its unique properties. Supermarine® Cotton stays comfortable under pressure and there is none of that sweaty/clammy feeling you get with GoreTex and other synthetic "waterproof-breathable" fabrics. The dense weave combined with the premium fiber results in a fabric that is simultaneously tough and supple and it breaks in beautifully.

Historically this fabric is an updated version of a fabric the British invented in World War II to keep their pilots alive in the North Sea if they happened to get shot down. It was later used by the British Navy, in Antarctic exploration and by Edmond Hillary during the first ascent of Mount Everest. It was even used to make firehoses and eventually found its way into high-end hiking gear. Since it requires a very dense weave of the most expensive cotton fibers on the market, it never quite broke through into the mainstream and with the advent of GoreTex it faded from the general marketplace. Bird watchers still sought it out since it's significantly quieter than the loud synthetic fabrics that took over, while Antarctic teams prized it for its amazing windproof quality. The main customer of the past few decades however has been various Air Forces who understood just how superior a fabric it is, and are willing to pay for it.

We source this version of Supermarine® Cotton from Switzerland and it differs from the historical British version in two important ways, it is lighter and it is treated with a premium durable water resistance (DWR) that is not wax-based. The water resistance in the historical formulation comes from two factors, the denseness of the weave and the fact that cotton fibers swell up when exposed to moisture. Adding the DWR treatment into the mix results in a significantly superior rain repellant and breathable fabric that far outclasses both the synthetic "waterproof-breathable" fabrics of the world and the heavy, clammy Barbour-style waxed cotton. It looks better, wears better and is dramatically more comfortable.

Details

Experiment 063 - Supermarine Slash Parka

Outer face: Supermarine Cotton (100% cotton, 200 gsm)

Insulation: 100% Infinity Polyester

Supplex lining

Slash front with four total pockets, bottom pockets lined with S120 Twill

Interior left chest pocket

Eyes Wide Hood with four-point adjustment system

Cotton webbing back stripe with hanger handle

Two way front zipper and zero snap closure

Zippered arm vents

Spot clean or dry clean only.

Made in the USA with imported fabrics

Sizing

Fits true to size.

Please refer to the table below for garment's exact measurements.

Garment measurements in inches, measured flat

Size	S	M	L
Chest	24.75	25.75	26.75
Length high shoulder to bottom	29.13	29.75	30.38
Sleeve length center back to cuff	37	37.5	38

Body measurements in inches

Size	S	M	L
Chest	36	38	40

Colors

Ghost

Anthracite