Allied Feather + Down is not a company that most boaters know, but it plays a role in many of the brands that boaters buy. The California-based firm sources the materials that go into products sold by Vineyard Vines, Under Armour, Sail Racing and more. If you like the way a particular jacket stays warm but not too hot, materials from Allied Feather + Down may be at least part of the reason.

Since about 2010, the company has been trying to solve the problem of down having a bad relationship with water. “For boating and water sports in general, down has always been considered not applicable because of the high levels of moisture, from rain to humidity,” says Creative Director Matthew Betcher. “So even with a brand like Helly Hansen, it’s never something we really saw in their boating pieces until recently, where we can start to develop solutions for that problem.”

That solution is called ExpeDry. The idea is that instead of making water bead up on the outside, or shell, of a product, such as a jacket, ExpeDry will fight the water from within.

Think about how a down jacket or blanket has baffles, which are the squares that look kind of like a quilt. Inside each one of those baffles is what Betcher calls an insulation chamber. His team worked with a technology called FUZE to create tiny gold particles that permanently bond to the down inside the insulation chamber, creating an electrostatic barrier that stops, say, humidity from condensing into water.

“What would happen without it in a down blanket, for example, is that humidity would continue to be picked up by the down, and it would grow mold, lose loft, just get gross,” he says. “It will never really have a chance to dry out. What this does is help keep that down dry. It keeps the whole inside of the blanket drier.”

ExpeDry also makes it possible to hang a down product on a line and have it actually get dry without the need for a home-type, heat-based dryer—a boon for boaters who otherwise have no way to dry those products. “In a laundry situation, it helps the product dry over 50 percent faster,” he says. “Those comforters can take hours to dry properly. This saves a tremendous amount of time and energy.”

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Call it the big reveal. Mustang Survival’s new line of paddling PFDs and apparel has been a long time in the making, and provides big hints about what will come from the company next.

The brand, which is based in the Pacific Northwest, has been making gear that can handle adventurous environments since 1967. Its flotation devices and apparel have long been favorites among hardcore sailors and fishermen. Fast-forward to 2020, and paddling entered the company’s plans in a much bigger way. Mustang Survival merged with Massachusetts-based MTI, which specialized in US Coast Guard-approved life jackets.

MTI had a substantial catalog of foam-based PFDs that differed from the inflatables Mustang Survival had long produced. Since 2020, Mustang Survival has been rebranding that foam line, including PFDs for paddlers, and working on a line of paddling-specific apparel to go with it.

This past spring, the whole paddling collection was made widely available to the public for the first time. The goal with the apparel was to create a more versatile version of Mustang Survival’s drysuits—pieces to be layered and worn all day while comfortably paddling that keep the water out and the warmth in.

“The idea was inspired by kayaking,” says Gaby Hebert, who works on recreational product design. “The typical design in kayaks is that you have the hull of your boat, you put a neoprene skirt over the top of it, and if you flip your boat, the water has to go through a series of ups and downs to get into your boat. We used the same concept. It’s as close as you can get to watertight without having a drysuit.”

The apparel line is built in pairable pieces that work individually with the various PFDs for a good fit on most body shapes. Women’s PFDs, for instance, have different foam distribution than men’s.

“There’s actually a lot of different foam shaping that we’ve done, as well as a unique system called Adjust-a-Bust,” says Jonathan Liu, product manager for recreation. “It’s basically foam inserts in the chest area to support women of different chest sizes. Those are removable so women can be comfortable.”

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Al perkinson spent almost 17 years at the sunglasses behemoth Costa. He left about three years ago, did some consulting, and decided it was time for a new company to enter the market. In April 2021, together with some other industry veterans, he founded the brand Bajío. “We wanted something for the next generation,” he says.

They launched with a catalog of 12 styles and expect to add another eight this year. Bajío glasses are already being sold by about 500 retailers in 35 states, with a heavy focus on Florida, Texas and the Carolinas.

Perkinson says Bajío glasses offer the same kind of polarization and ultraviolet-light protection as other brands—with an added twist.

“The light we’re really focused on is blue light,” he says. “It’s been in the press a lot about people who look at computers a lot, and it’s super-topical with young people. The biggest producer of blue light is actually the sun. When you’re outside all day in the sun, you need to block that blue light as well.”

The company also has built the idea of eco-friendly materials into its entire line. Bajío’s frames are plant-based, created with a resin made from the castor plant. “And our packaging is all recycled paper, our case is made out of cactus leather—all across the board, we’re sustainable. We’re carbon-neutral from inception,” he says. “And we offset any carbon use by planting mangroves.”

Those mangroves are part of Bajío’s business plan to embrace conservation efforts in fish-filled waters.

“We travel and work with scientists and local communities to protect the shallows,” Perkinson says. “That can be a saltwater marsh in Charleston [South Carolina] or the flats in Florida. It involves trash cleanup, planting mangrove trees, doing fish-population work to help the local folks understand sustainable practices—really, everything we’re doing is focused on those shallows.”

All in all, he says, the hope is for Bajío’s glasses and company culture to appeal to old-school anglers and newcomers alike, because no matter the type of fishing or boating, “the quality of that visual experience adds to the quality of the overall experience out on the water.”

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A few years ago, when Costa Del Mar entered the research-and-development phase for its Untangled collection, the team realized there was a problem making certain styles of glasses. Costa was designing the first generation of Untangled glasses using material that California-based Bureo creates from recycled fishing nets. It was a great step forward in sustainable eyewear, but because of impurities, the material wasn’t yet able to be shaped into some styles of glasses that many boaters and anglers prefer.

Now, those styles are part of the second generation of Untangled designs. Bureo has enhanced its process, so the recycled material it delivers to Costa is virtually indistinguishable from virgin plastic.

“It’s really enabled Costa to not be as limited in the different kinds of colors and wraps that they were limited with in the first generation of the product,” says Kevin Ahearn, co-founder of Bureo.

Popular wrap-style sunglasses are now part of the collection. Shields can be added to block sun from the side, hooding details can be used to block light up top, and ventilation can be built into the nose piece to reduce fogging.

“We really took a giant leap forward with the 2.0 frames in terms of style and performance,” says Casey Lopez with Costa product development. “These will be glasses that can handle a day out there on the boat.”

Costa’s team says it is proud of not only the quality of the new glasses but also the fact that Bureo is a partner doing more than just providing recycled materials. Bureo is creating a new supply chain and jobs, and is continuing to improve its processes so Costa can offer recycled products of ever-increasing quality.

“It isn’t just the frames,” says John Sanchez, senior vice president of product strategy at Costa. “The logo is made of recycled aluminum. The lenses are glass, which originates from sand. The case is recycled material. This is the whole package. Bureo has a full, vetted process. You’ll see a lot of people saying they make sunglasses out of recycled plastic, but we see only one that’s vetted this way. That’s why we have this partnership and why it’s so special.”  

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Allied Feather + Down Launches Extreme Foul-Weather Apparel

Instead of making water bead up on the outside, ExpeDry material from Allied Feather + Down fights moisture from within.

Mustang Survival Enters Paddling Market

The company known for safety apparel for sailors and anglers is adding products for paddlers.

Bajío Glasses Made with Greener Future in Mind

The company is focused on conservation in the shallows, starting with its sunglasses’ plant-based frames.

Costa Del Mar’s Eco-Friendly Untangled Series Sunglasses

With Costa Del Mar’s second-generation Untangled sunglasses, there are no limits when it comes to styling and color.

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Helly Hansen outerwear can keep yachtsmen warm and dry during an extended cool-weather boating season.

All-Weather Apparel

Voormi says just one of its high-performance pieces can replace four other pieces in a boater’s luggage.

Gill Expands Apparel Line

Gill Marin is broadening its product offerings to include sunglasses, backpacks and more.

Play with Panache

This fall’s Cruise Collection from Swims is designed to go from the dock to the beach to the yacht club.

New Shoes for Quick Trips Ashore

Helley Hansen’s Aquapace 2 is a men’s slip-on made for tender rides to the dock.

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Grundéns introduces commercial-grade rain gear for women anglers and boaters.

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Find your next timepiece in this collection of first-class yachting watches.

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Try on the year’s must-have shoes for boat show season.

Madsen Sailing Shoe by Rancourt & Co.

These boat shoes are hand sewn in Maine.

Watches for Yachtsmen

Time to upgrade your wristwear? Yachting‘s lineup of nautically inspired timepieces includes the best in both form and function.

Sperry Top-Sider Authentic Original

Sperry Top-Sider’s boat shoes are tried and true.

Best Father’s Day Gifts for Boaters

Father’s Day is synonymous with dreams of new boats, gear and electronics. We rounded up the best and newest products from across the Miami Boat show and included them in this gift guide. _
Story by Daniel Harding, Jr. Photography by Kim Kuhn._

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Yes, we know. Typically at this time of year, the ritual of putting away the boat for winter is well underway or altogether complete. But 2020 is anything but a typical year, and many yachtsmen are looking to extend the cruising season into the cold-weather months, to continue enjoying socially distant cruising during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Enter Helly Hansen, the Norwegian company that knows a thing or two about cold-weather performance apparel. These are the folks who teamed up with the US Ski & Snowboard team a few years ago as the official provider of base layers, and who partnered with Canada’s alpine-ski team. Helly Hansen is also a longtime favorite of serious sailors, sponsoring the National Offshore One Design Regattas.

Heading into this winter’s extended cruising season, Helly Hansen is marketing jackets made with LifaLoft. It combines the company’s Lifa technology for base layers with Primaloft insulation. The result, according to the company, is apparel that retains more heat while staying 20 percent lighter than other designs and, thus, remaining more comfortable during strenuous activity—say, dropping a hook in a Northeast cove in late November, or manning the lines on a side deck in the Pacific Northwest in early December, all the while being able to see your breath in the air.

There also are more-traditional offerings from Helly Hansen this season, such as the Verglas half-zip shirt and the Pier 3.0 jacket. That jacket is specifically designed for rugged sailing, with features such as double-cuff adjustable seals, high collars and fleece-lined warming pockets.

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If there is one thing all boaters can agree it would be nice to have more of, it’s stowage. Whether the itinerary is two days or two weeks, there always seems to be more stuff than places to put it.

Enter Voormi, a Colorado-based company whose goal is to get all the clothes a sportsman needs into a single duffel bag. Each T-shirt, hoodie and additional piece is built from custom-made textiles that, chief marketing officer Timm Smith says, can go from hot to cold and rain to shine while keeping boaters comfortable.

“I’ve taken the River Run hoodie on our two-week sailing trips to Anegada,” he says of his family’s cruises in the British Virgin Islands. “I sailed for two weeks with that thing on every single day. Wool is naturally anti-odor; it doesn’t hold odors like polyester and other sun shirts do, so you don’t have to wash it. Wool also recovers well, so when you put it on for day six, it fits the same as on day one. And I was taking kitesurfing lessons when I was down there, so I wore it for sun protection, and it dried out super fast when I got back on the beach. Our river guides in places like the Grand Canyon love it for all those reasons too. It’s the killer piece.”

Voormi makes its textiles and does its sewing in the United States, combining natural fibers such as wool and cotton with advanced manufacturing for qualities such as moisture-wicking. The company also came up with a way to add a waterproof membrane not by gluing it to other fabrics but instead by inserting it into the machine while the textile is made.

“We call that core construction,” Smith says, adding that the process eliminates the stiffness of, say, a big winter coat.”It basically gives you the comfort of a sweater with the protection of a shell—and you get rid of all the crunching noises.”

After nearly a decade in business, the company offers not just tops but also base layers, vests, outerwear, socks, gaiters and more.

“We’re for people who appreciate good stuff,” Smith says. “Anybody can make a jacket, but making one that you’re truly blown away by every time you wear it, and you’re excited to be a part of a company full of good people, that’s what we are.”

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Boaters know the brand name Gill. They know it means waterproof outerwear that can stand up to the seas. They know it means quality ­construction that holds up for years. When boaters see the Gill logo, they know what to expect.

Therein lies the problem for David Pritchard, Gill North America’s senior vice president.

“One of the challenges we’ve had is that we’re seen as tried-and-true,” he says. “It’s like the old Ford Model T. We’re solid-performing, very reliable, very capable for many years. What we’re striving toward now is to modernize and be more inclusive, and attract not just the older demographic, but also the younger audience with more modern designs and styles.”

Gill is now offering three product lines: Active, Performance and Race. Each is being tweaked with new styles, colors and features, with the hopes of impressing boaters in the nearly 40 countries where Gill products are sold.

The Active line is not just for the boat, but also for the boating scene, with pieces that include shorts, skorts and shirts resistant to ultraviolet rays. The company has updated styling as well as materials to keep the clothing at SPF 50+ while allowing each piece to hang better off the body.

“It’s absolutely perfect for on and off the boat use,” he says. “They look great at the bar, and they’re also water-repellent with lots of pockets. It’s just a really nice lifestyle short.”

Also new in the Active line are entry-level sunglasses. Whereas Gill used to sell all its sunglasses at a retail price of $90, these are $60 and $65.

“They’re 100 percent polarized with a high-quality lens,” Pritchard says. “The Performance sunglasses float, but the Active ­sunglasses are wire frame and don’t float. It still offers 100 percent polarized protection, which is important on the water.”

The Performance line of outerwear is what most boaters will recognize, with offshore and foul-weather gear. The new product to watch in that line is called the OS2, version four.

“This is an offshore rain suit that is the cornerstone of our line,” he says. “It’s what all the cruisers, all the racers to Bermuda, all the people who are on the water regularly are going to want.”

Also coming to stores this spring is a line of backpacks and luggage.

“Younger customers are all about the next experience, the next ­adventure — they’re always on the move,” he says. “We’re building more marine luggage around that: dry bags, backpacks, luggage that is durable and waterproof, ­something that you can throw in the tender.”

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About a decade ago in Norway, a designer reinvented galoshes. He kept them weather-resistant but added style — and the Swims brand was born.

In 2010-11, Swims ­debuted its take on the Italian driving loafer, with a water-friendly nod to the Scandinavian lifestyle. Now comes the fall 2017 Cruise Collection, which evolves the loafer further, especially in terms of color.

“We inject fresh colors into a time of the year when our customers are already looking to escape winter and find a taste of summer,” says Jake Brandman, president of Swims.

The Braided Lace model is molded construction, while the Breeze Lace is mesh and lighter. “Both perform equally well,” he says. “The Breeze Lace is sort of a nod to a sneaker.”

And a nod to summer, which can’t come fast enough.

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Helley Hansen’s Aquapace 2 is a men’s slip-on shoe designed for tender rides, dinghy sailing and walking along marina docks.

The Aquapace 2 has a “speed-lace” feature for quick pull-on, plus a rubber outsole made of HellyGrip rubber. The upper part of the shoe combines synthetic and mesh for breathability and quick-dry action.

Available sizes are men’s 7 through 13. Retail price is $85.

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