For decades, Mustang Survival has had teams of people in the Pacific Northwest figuring out how to design and make safety gear, clothing and more for military use in the harshest marine environments. About five years ago, the company decided to leverage that knowledge to add more products for recreational boaters. As a result, this winter, yachtsmen have new options to help them stay out on the water longer.
“This winter is really about extending the marine season and trying to keep people warm in wet or nasty conditions as winter approaches us,” says Joshua Horoshok, vice president of recreation business. “Traditionally, for us, that has always been through flotation clothing. This winter, we took a step out and worked with some really good materials to build out a more complete apparel line in terms of midlayers, drysuits and base layers.”
One example is the Torrens hooded thermal jacket ($259), which is available in men’s and women’s versions. Mustang Survival makes it with Polartec Alpha insulation.
“This was developed for military uses,” Horoshok says. “It’s really great for keeping you warm, even if it gets a little bit wet or damp. It’s really breathable as well.”
The company used body mapping to figure out how much of the insulation to use and where.
“We have a lab at our headquarters, and we looked at where you get cold on the body, where you need extra layers, so there’s extra thicknesses across different parts of the body,” he says. “Maybe you don’t need it as much under your armpits, but you need it more on the small of your back. We used temperature gauges on people and looked at data on where you would sweat and where you don’t.”
Additional features, such as an insulated hood, gaiters and an elasticized hem, help to block the wind. Different types of materials in the jacket’s underarms eliminate the feeling of winter-coat bulkiness.
Military clients have enjoyed these features for some time, Horoshok says, but “quite frankly, the designs and styling and features weren’t exactly right for recreation. So, we retooled those materials.”
