Clothing

The Proper Guide to the best Mountain Equipment jackets of all time

Having wrote our post about the best Berghaus jackets of all time last week, we’ve since realised something, it’s a bit of a revelation really – you don’t need a famous musician to wear a piece of clothing for it to be cool.

Obviously, we’re joking, everyone, or we hope everyone, knows that. What makes a piece of clothing cool in our eyes is ultimately the design – the heritage behind the design, the functionality of the design and it helps if there’s a cool story to accompany how the design was perceived. One outdoor clothing manufacturer that incorporates all of those contributors to coolness in good measure is Mountain Equipment.

Mountain Equipment was birthed slap-bang in the middle of the northern trifecta of Sheffield, Manchester and The Peaks, in a town called Glossop. A man by the name of Peter Hutchinson had recently left the British military and retained an enthusiasm for adventure that he developed during his time in the forces, but was left unimpressed by the outdoor gear available to British mountaineers at the time. This led Peter to start stitching his own down-filled sleeping bags which he purportedly would test in a deep freeze freezer to make sure they were up to scratch for expeditions to mountains such as Makalu, K2 and Everest.

Fast-forward a few years and Peter had become something of a down connoisseur and was crafting some of the finest sleeping bags and down jackets known to man. His slightly nerdy infatuation with duck feathers had developed into a leading British outdoor brand called Mountain Equipment, who were now kitting out leading British mountaineers to tackle some of the most inhospitable locations on the globe.

To kit out these tough outdoor types, Peter was producing some very heavyweight down jackets which were actually referred to as down duvets, so today we’re going to observe some of the finest down duvets ever produced by Mountain Equipment, we’ve assorted them in terms of cost and also done some super complicated calculations to tell you what they’d cost in 2024.


Cerro Torre

The Cerro Torre was Mountain Equipment’s first synthetic-filled parka, utilizing the ground-breaking Dacron Hollofil insulation to keep wearers toasty. Mountain Equipment was one of the first brands to construct their jackets with offset stitching lines, this meant there were fewer ‘cold’ spots where insulation was dispersed poorly. In 1976 the Cerro Torre would’ve cost you £34.90, which in today’s money is £229.

Dolomite

The Dolomite jacket was introduced as Mountain Equipment’s most budget-friendly down jacket and was often favoured by more moderate mountaineers and hillwalkers for this reason. The Dolomite managed to be cheaper than its more battle-ready alternatives by using poorer quality duck feathers which then had a lower down fill-power, making the jacket heavier and not as warm. Nevertheless, we think the Dolomite might be the best colour of any Mountain Equipment jacket ever – that green exterior with orange interior is too good. In 1976 the Dolomite would’ve cost you £35.80, which in today’s money is £235.

Annapurna

The Annapurna is the first Mountain Equipment jacket in this list that was designed purely with outdoor expeditions in mind, the lightness and compactness of the jacket made it best suited for Alpine, Scottish or Himalayan climbing. The Annapurna was filled with 14oz pure white duck down and unlike the Dolomite used elastic in its hem to keep drafts out – a very common feature of down jackets today, but not so much in 1976, a time when the Annapurna would’ve cost you £43.80, which in today’s money is £288.

Fitzroy

The Fitzroy jacket was introduced a few years after the Cerro Torre and was created to claim the title of being Mountain Equipment’s best synthetic-filled jacket. The Fitzroy was introduced in the ’80s, around the same time as when football casual culture was receiving widespread attention among British youths across the country – this led to the Fitzroy being as easily spotted in the terraces as in the peaks. We’re not sure what the Fitzroy cost in 1976 because it didn’t exist then.

Snowline

We’re getting into pretty serious stuff here. The Snowline was Mountain Equipment’s secondary expedition duvet and only the finest of duck feathers made the cut. The Snowline had a removable hood, elasticated cuffs & hem, two large handwarmer pockets, a zip & press stud closure and of course, a fantastic two-tone colour design – the best of which being the navy and yellow you’re seeing here. The Snowline is the kind of jacket that would’ve seen Peter testing it in industrial deep freezes. In 1976 the Dolomite would’ve cost you £49.60, which in today’s money is £327.

Redline

What does the colour red signify? Danger. And that’s what the Redline jacket was created to deal with. The Redline was Mountain Equipment’s finest expedition down parka and one of the most proven expedition jackets of its time. The Redline had a special three-layer outer construction which wasn’t waterproof, but meant moisture would take a long time to reach the down-fill, waterproof down jackets weren’t available until many years after the Redline was introduced. If you were going on an Antarctic expedition or summiting Everest in the ’70s, the Redline would’ve seen you through your business safely. In 1976 the Redline would’ve cost you £57.10, which in today’s money is £373.

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