Mallory's Everest jacket: gussets out there today?

[JeffOYB]

I tried to search this subject. I thought it had been done up here to an extent.

OK, they're working on reproducing Malloy's Everest attire. They found his body, right? They've also analyzed the performance of his apparel...and found it superior to today's outfits. I recall this was largely due to it being custom tailored.

I've often wanted to do outdoor activities in a traditional wool blazer. But the arms bind. I gather that gussets are the key. This doesn't seem like a big mystery---but they were also key to the Mallory jacket.

Are gussets for free-motion hard to find in wool blazers? I haven't found any in my thrifting---but should I be hopeful?

I note that the Duluth Trading Company catalog offers quite a few "working man's sportcoats"---and dress shirts---which are gusseted. And wool. And traditional yet snappy. But I'll still try to go vintage here, if I can.

Any likely tips for the bargain gusset hunter? ---Maybe they really are scarce and I should just find a sale on the Duluth stuff. (I got a GREAT canvas/leather shoulderbag from them online for $55. I never saw it in their print catalog and now other bags are $110 and up. So they do have sales and unusual items online.)

[nobodyspecial]

I've been scouring thrift stores for something similar and have yet to find one. I'm too frugal, some would say cheap, to pay retail for this style jacket as I won't wear it enough to justify the cost. Eventually I'll find one, but at times patience is hard to come by.

[Alan Eardley]

I had the pleasure of examining the replica Everest jacket at a seminar on performance clothing at Lancaster University.

Alan

[Rufus]

Ooh.. Did you manage to take any pictures Alan?

Kind regards,
Rufus

[Alan Eardley]

Ooh.. Did you manage to take any pictures Alan?

Kind regards,
Rufus

Rufus,

Sorry, no. I don't do pictures. Well, I do oils and watercolours, but I didn't have time for that. If you do a search on the forum, you'll find some photos of the stuff on a rack that someone (BT?) posted ages ago.


Here's a picture of the development team (from Southampton, Leeds, Lancaster and Derby Universities and from OMM Ltd). The two characters in the middle give a comparison of the Mallory era gear with a modern monutaineering outfit. No comparison for class!



Here's mountaineer Graham Hoyland on Everest. The original jacket was by Burberry. It cost less than 2000 USD.



Just to add that Conrad Anker and Lee Houlding reached the summit successfully on June 14th 2007 and returned safely to base camp. They reported that the clothing performed well, although it wasn't as warm when static as the more bulky modern suit. Also, they were wearing underwear by John Smedley of Matlock - I have a set of 1950s 'long johns' by Smedleys and swear by them.

Alan

[Trotsky]

This stuff is GREAT. I have been wanting to get my hands on some of Scott/Shackleton era Antarctic windproofs.
There was, at one point, a reenactment group in the UK that did Shackleton's 1909 expedition. They were very well outfitted.

[BellyTank]

..from your fondling of said jacket, can you explain the construction of the pivot sleeve/gusset arrangement..? From the photo's I've seen, it seems rather odd-


B
T

[Alan Eardley]

..from your fondling of said jacket, can you explain the construction of the pivot sleeve/gusset arrangement..? From the photo's I've seen, it seems rather odd-


B
T

Very perspicatious, my Antipodean chum, the gussets were odd. Assuming that the reproduction was accurate (which we are assured they are), I guess that they were added to the orginals as an afterthought. They are just a segment-shaped insertion into what seems to me to be a relatively normal 1920s sleeeve. This cannot 'work' in tailoring terms and will 'bag out' when the arm is held normallly. The nearest I can relate it to would be the gusset in a 'Parsons' or M1941 jacket, although the insert in the 1924 Everest jacket is longer than either of these.

The jacket I examined (only one of those made for the expedition, and the designs differ) was basically an Alpine climbing jacket such as are often seen in contemporary photographs of climbers in the Alps or even Scotland. It is basically a Norfolk jacket design in a finely woven cotton gabardine (somewhat like Grenfell cloth but not so fine as Ventile). It had bellows pockets, a removable belt (although the 1924 photos often show rope being used in this regard) and a throat latch. Most significantly, it was self-lined (i.e. double layered) as is often done today with the more expensive Ventile garments. It is surprising how light the kit is - more like Alpine gear than the Antartic gear that was available for extreme low temperatures.

It seems incredible that such light gear could be worn at thirty below. I think the key is in the people themselves - Sandy Irvine, particularly, was notoriously tough. On the way to Base Camp, there are photographs of both Mallory and Irvin wading through near-freezing Himalayan streams naked. This is sometimes commented on as some sort of deviant British public school practice but I suspect that, in fact, it served to keep their clothing dry (very important with wool) and to harden their bodies to the cold. I notice that the current crop of mountain 'hard men' don't do this....

Incidentally, I once had the opportunity to examine a jacket that was worn by one of the support team in the 1952 Everest expedition. It was owned by a man who had (if I remember correctly) been a medical student and keen climber and frequented Snowdonia (particularly the Pen-y-Gurid Hotel) at the time that the British contingent was doing its technical preparation there. He was taken on by the succesful expedition and served in a support role. Much later (perhaps after he retired), he became a noted personality in the Snowdonia area and was sometimes seen wearing the jacket he had worn on the expedition. As I recall it, it was mid blue, in Grenfell-type cloth (I suspect it was by Grenfell) and had a plain hood and full-length nickel zip (an Aero, I think). Nowadays, most people would think twice before wearing such a jacket to play golf in...

Alan

[nobodyspecial]

This book is a good read if you are interested in the development of clothing and gear from a British perspective. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...70414359&itm=1

Getting back to wool and fleece, they both have their place depending upon the activity. Wool will hold heat in longer as it dries much slower than synthetics. This can be a mixed blessing as your synthetic clothes dry faster, but your body also cools down much faster. I had a bad experience on a canoe trip once where I got REALLY COLD FAST while wearing synthetics. Wool tends to be more windproof and does not melt when a campfire spark lands on your clothes. Important safety tip - always remember not to pick up a hot pan with a synthetic glove. I still have the glove with the hole in it and still have the scar on my finger.

Years ago when I camped I wore wool as that was what was available, then I switched to synthetics because that was the latest and greatest, then I went retro to all wool and now I use some of each. I live in Minnesota and camp in forests and do not have any altitude issues. All these factors affect what I wear when I am in the bush.

[Alan Eardley]

This book is a good read if you are interested in the development of clothing and gear from a British perspective. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...70414359&itm=1

The authors of this book led the project to reproduce and test the 1924 Everest clothing. It is on sale at Amazon.co.uk (10.50 GBP)

Alan