Layering Explained with David
Part Two Continued: Insulation Layers

David explained last newsletter: that the best insulation for active outdoor wear is brushed polyester, polar fleece. Bulky, light, absorbs very little moisture (just 3% of its weight), has superior thermal efficiency compared to wool and allows body moisture to pass through it to ensure the outer waterproof/breathable layer breathes to its maximum potential. We still use the original USA made Polartec® fabrics. Polartec® 200 is a good option for warmth and versatility and we offer three different types of fabric in this category:

Polartec® 200 Thermal Pro®

• extremely durable outer surface
• 100% recycled content
• doesn’t pill
• maintains thickness with constant wash & wear
• ideal as extremely warm under layer or outer garment

Polartec® 200 Thermal Pro® High Loft:

• soft, extremely durable’ fur’ construction
• warmer and more compactible than standard Polartec® 200
• doesn’t pill or shed
• 64% recycled content
• ideal when warmth, weight and space are critical
• Polartec® 200 Thermal Pro® Texture

The same properties as Polartec® 200 Thermal Pro® but with a knitted outer surface. 100% recycled content.

Tui De Roy is a renowned wildlife photographer and author specializing in capturing little-known species in remote corners of the globe. Her work has taken her to all seven continents, often in extreme environments where pristine habitats still exist. Read about Tui’s impressive bio of a lifetime of photography, book writing and adventuring in the world’s most remote spots here.

May 2009: Andean Cloud Forest Expedition Tui contacted us before heading to the Andean cloud forest on a woolly tapir expedition, searching for reliable raingear to protect her and her camera. She needed something durable that could withstand constant brushing against wet surfaces. After trying various breathable jackets that failed, she sought our advice.
‘I have five breathable “waterproof” jackets from various brands; unfortunately, they all soaked through within a few weeks of use. Do you have any suggestions to solve my dilemma?’

Post-Trip Report: Upon returning, Tui reported, “All we found was rain and fog, but your jacket performed admirably, keeping me dry even after scraping through scrub all day with a heavy pack. My travel companions were impressed as they got miserably wet.”

January 2010: Antarctica Trip Tui shared photos from her Antarctica trip, praising the gear’s performance. She noted that our outfits were far superior to the parkas provided on board, especially highlighting the hood’s coverage of the neck and chin and the freedom of movement offered by the overtrousers and stretch pants.  She added ‘the 4×4 stretch pants were superb, and the combination of merino and wicking underlayers worked a dream.’

February 2010: Laikipia Plateau, Kenyan Highlands
Tui and her team were invited by a local conservation group to photograph in the Laikipia Plateau in the Kenyan Highlands. In exchange for assembling a large-format book, we were to be hosted by a series of private wildlife reserves across the region. Completing ‘Kenya’s High Country’ took two years, four extended stays and about 350 photographer/days in the wilds.

2013: Return to Galapagos Tui returned to the Galapagos Islands to care for her ailing mother. Climbing volcanoes, diving with sharks, turtles, orcas, penguins and iguanas, and discovered behaviours that neither I nor anyone else had ever witnessed or and rediscovered her love for the islands. She spent months climbing volcanoes, diving with marine life, and documenting behaviours never before seen.

January 2017: Galapagos Conservation Tui became an active patron of Friends of Galapagos NZ (FOGNZ), volunteering with the Charles Darwin Research Station to study the endangered Galapagos Vermillion Flycatcher. They spent three weeks on Alcedo Volcano, home to thousands of giant tortoises. This place had been the subject of her first published photos and article aged 18, returning 45 years later made it a it a dream come true.

2020: Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative Tui wrote an article about her Giant Tortoise expedition and the broader history of the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative.

May 2020: Covid Lockdown Tui described feeling like a “butterfly suspended in a spider web, perfectly intact, but frozen in time and space, ageing.”

January 2024: Return to New Zealand Tui celebrated her 70th birthday in New Zealand. She returned to Galapagos despite her concerns about tourism due to the political situation in Ecuador, continuing on her current project, sea turtles.

June 2024: Sea Turtle Project Tui is working on a large-format book, “The World of Sea Turtles,” blending science with natural wonder. Her research has taken her from Mexico to the Maldives, the Caribbean to Indonesia.

She has created a collection of blog posts about highlights of these trips and

launched a KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN to support her project.

Tui’s Earth Sea Sky  favourites:

• Prolite classic shirt and shorts: ideal for hiking under heavy load in the tropical heat; they never seem to get dirty even after profuse sweating
• Taslan Shorts:  perfect around boats, as they shed water and hardly get wet; very comfortable.
• Vertical (now Whipper) Hoody: superb for cold, damp evenings and dawn photography; snug hood keeps mosquitoes away from my neck and cheeks.
• Synergy (now Echo or Victory): super-duper to whip out of my pack pocket at the approach of a thunderstorm; excellent hood keeps the water out of my face and even helps protect my camera.
• Hydrophobia (long rain jacket): my absolute workhorse in colder, wetter conditions; has never let me down no matter how persistent the rain, with load, through brush, anything.
  excellent, with exceptional freedom of movement over the various other layers.
• Vent X Overtrousers: excellent, with exceptional freedom of movement over the various other layers.
• Merino Beanie: the ONLY beanie I’ve ever owned that doesn’t creep down over my eyes.  I’ve lived in fear of losing it (actually I DID lose it on the Antisana Expedition and back-tracked painstakingly until I found it!).

July 2024. Support Tui as she embarks on her self supported project with the SEA TURTLES

The Earth Sea Sky Extreme Cold Weather Down Jacket is one with a proud history. The original design was put together by Roland Ellis, David’s grandfather (Michael’s great grandfather) in 1956. The family company Arthur Ellis & Co was Dunedin based. Roland was a keen mountaineer with a good understanding of design and what was required for survival in harsh alpine conditions.

Roland’s son Murray, David’s father, was a member of the Hillary led tractor trip to the South Pole in 1956/7. These ECW jackets were issued to all 23 team members, who were the first to winter over at Scott Base.

The jacket features a 100% Ventile cover, chosen for its high breathability and windproof properties. The edge of the hood was lined with wolverine fur. This fur was prized by the Inuit hunters of the North Pole as its long hair provided protection from windblown snow and prevented vision loss.
Murray handstitched extra features including large external pockets, an extension to the hood and polyester ‘fur’ inside the collar. The jacket now resides in our Earth Sea Sky showroom in Christchurch.

New Zealand’s, Trans Antarctic Expedition depot laying team, the “The Old Firm”, arriving at the South Pole 4^th January 1958.

Left to Right: Peter Mulgrew, Sir Edmund Hillary, Murray Ellis, Derek Wright. (5^th member, Jim Bates missing from photo)

In 2007, Earth Sea Sky won a contract to design clothing for Scott Base, modeling the outer jacket on Murray’s 1956 design, but with modernised fabrics, components and a women’s size range. The ECW was introduced into our range in 2012.

The Earth Sea Sky Extreme Cold Weather Down Jacket features:

• Heat exchange hood – designed to cover your lower face so you can “pre-heat” inhaled air. The design also gives plenty of room to comfortably fit hats, and the collars and hoods of all the undergarments
• 106 individually cut panels per jacket.
• 8 hours for a fully experienced machinist to sew one jacket
• chest height, fleece lined, hand-warmer pockets.
• 9 different specialised fabrics sourced from Canada, Japan, Italy, and Taiwan.
• Large see-through, below the waist mesh storage pockets on the inside to hold spare gloves and hats.
• 12 pockets in total.

More recently a heritage version of the ECW has been introduced to our range. In 1956 there was no branding but there was a First Day Cover, the image of which is on this jacket:

The Extreme Cold Weather Jacket is available here.

THE CLIMATE CANARY is a film tackling climate change in a different way. Told through three women, from three different generations and their remarkable scientific work in Antarctica climate change is looked at through science and very personal perspectives.

The film features Prof Pat Langhorne, Dr Natalie Robinson, and PHD student Jacqui Stuart.  They are particularly interested in sea ice and the ecosystem that lives in the platelet ice in McMurdo Sound. “This is a science film from a very personal perspective that possibly asks more questions than it answers.”

In November 2018 the producer/director, Vanessa Wells, was in Antarctica for another project when she met Natalie Robinson … “I knew there was a bigger story here – how did this wonderful woman with a beautiful laugh and crazy orange earrings end up working on the sea ice in Antarctica?  And why?”  … the seed for THE CLIMATE CANARY grew from there.
The production has received support from the science community, NIWA and Antarctica New Zealand as well as the Christchurch Antarctic office and the International Antarctic Centre. It has had strong international interest, however, as is usual for a documentary, a rough cut is needed before there is a committment to investment and distribution. This requires funding.

This is a story Earth Sea Sky believes is important. So much that we have agreed to be a sponsor in the crowd fundraiser launched this week to enable this rough cut to be produced.
We are matching dollar for dollar contributions made up to $10,000.  Join us in this important mission here.

Everyone who travels with Antarctica New Zealand to Scott Base is fitted out in a wardrobe of Earth Sea Sky cold weather clothing. We asked the four women from the Climate Canary to tell us about their favourite item…

Vanessa Wells – Film Producer/Director.    The ECW Down Jacket.
“This year, without a doubt, it was the ECW jacket.  The temperatures were lower than expected as we were there early in the summer season, and in -35 I was relying on my ECW to keep me warm! Not only that – the inner pockets had plenty of space to stash extra chocolate as well as a spare lens or two!”

Prof Pat Langhorne – Antarctic Sea Ice Scientist. Turbo Guide
“For November work on the sea ice, the wind makes life more challenging than the low temperatures. The windproof soft shell jacket, (Turbo Guide) is a great outer layer as it is not bulky and allows freedom of movement to do fiddly tasks, while still keeping the wind out. I like that it is nicely fitted to body shape which makes it feel more comfy and it has lots of pockets to store (and lose) things in.”

Dr Natalie Robinson – Antarctic Oceanographer. Nano Primaloft
“My favourite piece of kit is the primaloft down jacket (Nano Primaloft). It’s warm, light, easy to put on and easy to work in. It layers-up quickly and comfortably – a must when the weather can turn unexpectedly. It’s my absolute go-to when I’m in the field. (And often around Base, too!).”

Jacqui Stuart –  PhD student, biologist and “self-confessed algae-geek”. Rocket Guide Salopettes
“Figuring out the best layering combos for all conditions last season was a great adventure in itself, but without fail the salopettes (Rocket Guide Salopettes) were donned. They held up to all skidoo-ing, drilling, lying/sitting and kneeling on ice (happens more than you think). Mega bonus was all the pockets, to store (or lose) your tools or belongings in!”

Vanessa Wells film director/producer at Scott Base’s pressure ridges (Photo: Adam Jones)

Top Photo:  Adam Jones – Director of Photography, working on the sea ice in McMurdo Sound (filming along Big John ice crack)

After making New Zealand alpine history as the first person to ski the length of the Southern Alps, Erik was in touch regarding clothing. He had a lot of ideas about what would make the ideal back-country ski outfit. This was our first introduction to Erik. It would be hard to find someone with more energy, entrepreneurial ideas and commitment to making these ideas reality. The first visit was a full afternoon where most items from the range were examined, fabric samples were viewed and discussion about styles and fabric combination was intense.

A long standing success of this intial meeting was Erik discovering and testing our Merino Boxers. He had been afflicted with a painful rash on his ski traverse which he had remedied at the time with ash from the fire. He found the Merino Boxers prevent this being an issue and has worn them ever since. Erik relates the story here.

Our relationship with Erik grew when we agreed to sponsor the Erik led, Back Country Ski Clinic in The Remarkable’s Ice & Mix Festival

In 2016 Erik attended the Sustainable Summits meet at Aoraki Mount Cook. He was stunned to learn of the time and expense required to get a hut constructed and into place in the mountains. His entrepreneurial brain yet again went to work and the idea of using a plastic farm water tank was born. By August 2017 the first Turk was installed and our Back Country Ski Clinic headed into the Crown Range to celebrate.

Since then the Turk story has continued. First an order from Antarctic Heritage Trust where Erik and his friend Richard prepared Turks to be shipped to the Cape Adare, Antarctica where they were installed as a base for hut restoration work.

Then the idea of the Haute Ski Touring Route was born. Erik talked enthusiastically about this in August 2019. Where most ideas would have still been talked about, Erik swung into action forming a club and underwriting the project with his wife Christine. By 2021 the five Turks were installed and the Manu Whenua Traverse was in operation. The story about the Turks including the traverse is here. We were delighted to support the making of a documentary made about Erik, the Turks and the traverse. The film won best documentary at the 2023 Mounain Film Festival.

Erik’s Earth Sea Sky wardrobe includes:

Protective layer

Mid Layers

Base Layers

Accessories