The pursuit of the perfect down is a serious one. Heaps of brands claim to have access to the finest feathers on the market, when in reality, their down may as well have been plucked from an inhabitant of the River Mersey. Putting feathers inside a jacket for insulation might seem like a simple process, but it’s not. There’s so much to consider – fill powers, down/feather ratios, and even the duck’s lifestyle and diet. Creating high-quality down products is an art form you could spend a lifetime getting lost in, and that’s exactly what one Japanese outdoor brand has done…
Named after one of the Himalayas’ deadliest peaks – Nanga Parbat, AKA the “Killer Mountain” – Nanga is a brand that is famed for producing down-filled outerwear of the highest quality. And like their namesake, the Japanese outfitter has a taste for uncompromising altitude and tough-as-nails kit.
80 years ago, though, Nanga was not as we know it – the brand’s humble beginnings took place far removed from icy summits.
In 1941, in Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, Nanga began its journey not stitching state-of-the-art down parkas, but instead sofas, under the name Yokota Sewing. The family specialised in meticulously crafting bedding for futons from high-quality cotton. They would continue doing this for forty years, until they suddenly pivoted. Spurred on by the ’80s Japanese outdoor recreation boom, Yokota Sewing would begin manufacturing sleeping bags, leveraging their sewing skills to meet the newfound hunger for outdoor pursuits.
After a few years producing the initial sleeping bags, Yokota Sewing would make the monumental step up to working with down-fill insulation, taking on a new name in the process… Nanga, inspired by ‘The Killer Mountain’s‘ brutal altitude. Just as they had done with futons, Nanga was grounded by a no-expense-spared approach to quality.
Thanks to this mentality, Nanga would quickly rise to the top of sleeping bag manufacturing, and by the mid-90s, they had hit the ceiling. They needed a bigger task, and so it was decided to graduate from down-filled sleeping bags to down-filled outerwear. Using the knowledge gathered through the production of sleeping bags, Nanga would launch their first ever down jacket in 2003 – The Aurora Down Jacket.
The Aurora Down Jacket was designed to be a comprehensive mountaineering companion, the type of jacket that could carry you through the worst of conditions, and keep you comfortable whilst doing it. Its waterproof construction, combined with high-fill power down, made it a firm favourite among those serious about summits and remains in the brand’s line-up to this day.
Where Nanga really excelled with down clothing, though, was thanks to their relentless focus on stitch accuracy, meaning they mastered the tricky science of cold‑spot‑free quilting – a skill derived from futon & sleeping bag manufacturing.
In the early 2000s, Japan offshored a huge chunk of its manufacturing, but Nanga made the bold move to stay put. When other factories quieted, Nanga’s kept buzzing – servicing sleeping bags, and repairing battle-scarred Aurora Jackets. This bold, hands-on approach to the country’s manufacturing crisis would only make Nanga more popular, opening the door to them experimenting with better quality and higher fill power down. By 2008, Nanga had an entire collection of outdoor-ready garments, with offerings suitable for both alpinists and weekend hikers.
The turn of the millennium would see the brand push towards new heights, guided by new president, Tomoyuki Yokota, who would see Nanga move from rooftop workshops in Hyōgo to opening its first Tokyo shop in 2015. By 2017, revenues hit an astonishing ¥1 billion, putting Nanga in good standing to tackle the international market.
One year later, the West was formally introduced to Nanga’s product, and the brand barely had to lift a finger to move it from shelves. The meticulous attention to detail, high-quality materials and sustainable practices shifted Aurora Down Jackets like wildfire. The West fell in love with Nanga before they even knew what summit the name referred to.
The reason for Nanga’s widespread success hasn’t got anything to do with marketing or PR stunts – it’s purely down to the product. The brand’s design language is irrefutably Japanese – quality is never sacrificed, and it is always of the highest priority. If you’ve never held Nanga product in your own two hands, it might be hard to wrap your head around, but once you have, it will all make sense. The gear just feels super solid.
Nanga’s continual relationship with down – the gold standard of insulation – is indicative of the brand’s ideology. There might be many more modern alternatives to the materials and fabrics the brand uses, but until they’re proven to be better, Nanga aren’t bothered. They don’t get sucked in by trends or fads, and it’s for this reason their product is consistently outstanding.
It’s not a brand that goes into hibernation for Spring-Summer either. Nanga has taken the design lessons learnt throughout their down journey and applied them to warm-weather silhouettes, developing their own lightweight breathable, DotAir fabric in the process.
It’s truly one of those brands you wish you had a lifetime supply of. It doesn’t matter whether you’re purchasing an expedition-grade down jacket or a lightweight pair of shorts, both are going to be produced to the highest of standards and look the business. The brand expertly straddles the line between mountaineering integrity and highly wearable silhouettes. They still handle sleeping bag repairs, still obsessively wash and assay their down in Japan, but also collaborate with similarly minded brands, and travel to international fashion shows.
If you can’t tell, we’re big, big fans and our favourite UK stockist of Nanga is most definitely SEVEN STORE, who just so happen to have a recent shipment of summer-ready essentials. Our picks-of-the-bunch are detailed below:
