Balance

Breathable waterproof jacket

£229.99

Quite simply the best tech fabric, uncomplicated design: with both form and function. Highly breathable, waterproof, durable with a great cut

Move fast, work hard. Stay dry.

Your fully-featured waterproof jacket for high activity days in the mountains. Designed to move with you when hillwalking, scrambling, climbing and riding. With an active alpine cut and highly breathable waterproof fabric made in Japan that's completely free from PFCs.

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At a glance
  • - Exclusive performance fabric, made in Japan
  • - Active alpine cut moves with you and works with rucksacks and harnesses
  • - Fully adjustable hood, hem and deep pockets with mesh ventilation
  • - 3-layer waterproof with 20,000mm HH and 25,000g/m2/day MVTR
  • - Fabric that's free from PFCs
Vital stats

Performance

Hydrostatic head: 20,000mm
MVTR: 25,000g/m2/day

Construction

Outer Fabric: Ripstop nylon
Membrane: PU membrane
Inner fabric: Nylon tricot backer
DWR: Free from PFCs

Weight

335g (size 12)

Fit

Regular

Origin

Fabric made in Japan, constructed in China

Product overview
  • - Active alpine cut with a drop hem and subtle stretch
  • - Designed for high intensity, high movement activities and wearing over fewer layers
  • - Fully adjustable roll-away hood with stiffened peak
  • - YKK Vislon Aquaguard front zip 
  • - Zipped hand pockets with mesh venting 
  • - Velcro adjustable cuffs 
  • - Shockcord hem adjuster
  • - Harness friendly
  • - 3-year Alpine Bond Guarantee
Care and repair

Washing instructions

Wash: 30˚C, delicate cycle at or hand wash with lukewarm water.
Dry: Line dry or tumble dry on low heat.
Iron: Use a cool iron to reactivate the DWR.

Use a technical wash product (like Nikwax Tech Wash or Grangers Performance Wash) or pure soap. DO NOT use detergent, fabric conditioners or softeners. Rinse thoroughly in clean water.

Caring for your DWR

To keep your jacket’s DWR treatment in good condition, wash it regularly in pure soap or a specialist cleaner. You may also need to refresh the treatment once or twice a year dependent on usage. To maintain the DWR, first wash and then treat using spray-on or wash-in re-proofer. Heat treat with iron, tumble drier, radiator or sunshine to finish.

Repairs

We have dedicated Repair Stations in our stores and we're fully equipped to breathe new life into your old kit. This includes spare parts, patches, new zips and wash and reproofing of your down and waterproofs. Pop into any store or contact us online for more info.

World class fabric

Creating the perfect active waterproof starts with choosing the right materials. Head of Clothing Design, Ronnie, has pushed our fabric tech to the next level with the Balance; working with one of the world’s best fabric mills in Japan to produce an exclusive fabric that’s highly breathable, waterproof and falls right in the sweet spot for durability, weight and next-to-skin comfort. The result is a jacket with a forget-it’s-there feel and complete freedom of movement; that keeps you dry and protected for longer on high intensity days in the mountains.

Waterproof. Breathable.

20,000mm HH
25,000g/sm/24hr MVTR

Alpine Bond Guaranteed

Built to last; Balance is covered by our 3-year Alpine Bond

100% free from PFCs

We're one of the first outdoor brands to eliminate PFCs from our range.

Details matter

A fully adjustable hood with stiffened peak lets you batten down the hatches when the weather turns - compatible with a helmet for multipitch routes or on the bike. The deep map-sized A-line pockets are set high to maintain access over your rucksack waist strap or harness, with internal mesh panels that let you dump heat quickly when moving fast and working hard. The streamlined active cut with subtle stretch fits neatly over your layers without excess fabric to flap around in strong winds and a slight dropped rear hem keeps your bum dry for longer against sideways rain. Adjustable cuffs and a hem drawcord complete the set.

Designer's notes

We wanted the Balance to be equally as comfortable on the bike as on the north face of Tryfan, so we spent a lot of time streamlining the feature set and fit to achieve this. The result is a jacket with all the features you need and none that you don’t.

Ronnie, Clothing Design Manager

Environmentally preferable materials

PFC-free DWR

Balance has a durable water repellent (DWR) that's completely free from PFCs. PFCs are potentially harmful and have been found to build up in the environment. We don't like the sound of that and are one of the first outdoor brands in the world to eliminate them from our range.

3-year Alpine Bond guarantee

If one of our products doesn't meet your expectations upon delivery, or if during its lifetime it doesn't live up to the demands placed on it, please return it to us for repair, replacement or refund. Find out more about ourAlpine Bond.

Responsible supply chain

Our products are made in the best factories in the world. We know the factories personally and they have all signed up to our Code of Ethics in our supply chain. This includes the Ethical Trading Initiative base code, fair pay, safe working environments, no child labour, no modern slavery, no bribery or corruption, no materials from conflict zones and humane farming methods.

All our factories sign up to our Code of Conduct. Find out where we make our product by visiting our Factories of Alpkit factory zone.

Carbon footprint and end of life

Reducing our carbon footprint

We are carbon neutral under PAS2060 and offset our Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 operations and transport emissions. We recognise that offsetting is not part of the solution but a point to pass through on a journey to Net Zero. Carbon Neutral is just a step in that journey.

We have joined the Science Based Targets Initiativewhich sets independent targets for us to achieve to do our bit to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Our targets are to halve our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2025 based on 2018 base year and reduce our total carbon intensity by 15% every year to achieve genuine net zero by 2050.

End of life

When your partnership with this product is over send it back to us and we will pass it on to someone that needs it through our Continuum Project.

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