Here, we are trying to take all precautions. Even our TROLLs want to help!
EN : Given to the current events which concern us all, the company has stopped its activity until further notice. However, we remain available by email at: postbox@valandre.com Thank you for your understanding and see you soon.
FR : Compte-tenu des évènements actuels qui nous concernent tous, la société a arrêté son activité jusqu’à nouvel ordre. Cependant, on reste disponible par email sur : postbox@valandre.com Merci de votre compréhension et à bientôt.
Given to the current events which concern us all, the company has stopped its activity until further notice.However, we remain available by email at: postbox@valandre.comThank you for your understanding and see you soon.Compte-tenu des évènements actuels qui nous concernent tous, la société a arrêté son activité jusqu'à nouvel ordre.Cependant, on reste disponible par email sur : postbox@valandre.comMerci de votre compréhension et à bientôt.#RestezChezVous #ResteChezToi #COVIDー19 #CoronaVirus#StayHome #StaySafe
Finally – The La Fayette received the recognition from the Spanish specialized climbing magazine DESNIVEL. The La Fayette was the first differential cut bag from Valandre using pre-cut, but circular baffles. We used circular baffles to make it easy and basically test, if it was possible to develop and produce such a technology. Once knowing that it was possible, we developed the anatomical baffle system in a “full gas high tech style”, presented in the Shocking Blue.
The La Fayette was and is a bag intended to be used under extreme conditions: The colder the better, but in warm conditions not the right choice: It’s a super light non compromising design: Comfort – forget about it – this one kilo bag has to be as effective as possible.
So in reality, once it’s f…… cold, the cold also comes from the ground, so in order to protect the vital parts (heart and lungs), you have to sleep (read rest) laying on your side. So the La Fayette is a “center half size zipped bag”. The zipper length is calculated to allow to just enter the bag that is in connection with the “guillotine styled draft collar”. Once the collar closed it is very difficult to get a heat loss from the neck, so the heat stays in the bag.
To minimize the heat circulation, and to concentrate it to the vital upper breast part, a draw cord is placed at the waist.
And finally, as you get up on your side, and take protection in a fetus position, your knees put pressure on the front of the bag, with the risk of the down to shift away. To solve this 3 smaller side closed compartments are installed in the bag, eliminating the risk of down shift.
The La Fayette is a super sharp non compromising climbing and expedition bag. A kind of Lotus SUPER 7 without shock absorbers.
At the end of a hard day, all of us needs to chill out, get some rest, food, drink, and then get the necessary good night sleep, vital for next day’s performance.
Quality sleep is key, in high altitude climbing but also to any outdoor adventure. Our high-end expedition oriented sleeping bags: Shocking Blue, Odin and Thor, offers not only insulation but also a five star hotel comfort. This is due to the use of anatomical shaped and precut baffles connecting the inside liner bag and the outside shell fabric in a perfect differential cut.
Our famous duck down sleeping bags the SWING’s offers an excellent price/quality/insulation offer due to the use of a selected high-end duck down 90/10, and a technically simplified compartment system. In the SWING’s you get what you need, at a low price.
The complete backwards design principle.
In the beginning of 2016, we decided to mix the high tech anatomical baffle technology (Differential cut), with our high end duck down creating the first technical top of the line and state of the art duck down bag. The idea is to make high tech construction available to a broader part of the outdoor market, a kind of socializing high tech!
On the outdoor market, sleeping bags the majority of bags uses an outside color to appeal to the consumers, as if OUTDOOR and Climbers select their sleeping bag due to a “funky color”, and then use a black or gray inside color.
What is important in a Sleeping bag is the Down quality/Baffle system things that are on the inside, so why not reverse the color game and come out with a unified line with a 450g, 650g and an 850g filling.
In addition, simply use a “North Korean bunker gray” on the outside, and then use the color effect on the inside liner? 850g is Orange, 650 is Purple and the 450 is Sky blue.
A true design process is never ending, so we still have some minor technical modifications to make. The Chill Outs are expected to go into production in October, and be available in November.
First photos of the Chill out 850 in the prototype version 04, 850g of high-end duck down and total weight 1395g.
(Photos)
The Chill Outs 450, 650 and 850 will be presented at the OUTDOOR trade show in Friedrichshafen and at the OR in SLC in the P 04 version.
After the return to France of Elisabeth Revol, who was forced to retrieve and decent at 7800m just 300m below the summit of Nanga last winter, we at Valandre realized that our standard Combi suit, had never been designed to confront such brutal conditions.
We know well our Combi and know that is has been key for many successful high altitude non ox expeditions on the 8000, but it reached it’s limit at 7800m on Nanga Parbat 2015.
So with the help of Elisabeth we started in the spring, the project of upgrading the performance of the combi, by increasing the baffle height and down load in two versions: +25% and +50%. Both versions was tested by Elisabeth on the Mt Blanc massif in the summer of 2015. Elisabeth concluded that +25% should be enough to do the trick.
Elisabeth is a MINI woman and the Small size combi used in 2015 was too big for her, so we down sized the Small into an Extra Small. And finally to maximize the head protection, we installed the “MESSERSMIT storm hood”, which we developed for the IG2 lightweight expedition jacket.
The C25 SUPER COMBI, was then sewed up and filled in an M size for Tomek, and an L size for Arslan. As with high altitude combi technique, the tree C25 SUPER COMBI’s were made in different colors.
Elisabeth Revol with the first C25 SUPER COMBI
A cross check was made to see if the C25 SUPER COMBI would fit into the inside volume of the SHOCKING BLUE, which it did, so we produced 3 SHOCKING BLUE but removed the draft collar.
The team received an IG2 down jacket and a THOR NEO for BC as well.
Using the C25 SUPER COMBI eliminates the need for multiple underlayering, and the result is a super light team.
