Adapting to the elements – A revolution in thermo-regulating technical clothing
Sponsor Content created with Musto
How do animals remain comfortable and regulate their temperature across a wide range of temperatures and activity levels? Their fur is a key to the answer. It has a naturally open structure, promoting airflow when they are active, yet traps a large volume of air when they are resting.
Could an insulating fabric with similar properties make sailors more comfortable when faced with varied conditions and engaged in a typical mix of short bursts of sustained effort, followed by long periods of inactivity?
Musto has never been afraid to push boundaries to new levels and this is exactly what it set out to achieve with its new EVO Autumn/Winter 2025 collection. An extensive development process focussed on using synthetic materials in a novel way that replicates the benefits of natural fur.
The company is also renowned for extensively testing new innovations to demonstrate their effectiveness. For independent verification of new Primaloft Active Evolve fabric used as an insulating material in the EVO Thermal Primaloft Waterproof Jacket Musto turned to Dr Andy West at the Institute of Applied Sciences at the University of Chichester.
He led a team of researchers who benchmarked the EVO Thermal Primaloft Jacket against two established Musto products: the Sardinia jacket that’s intended for warm-weather use and the Corsica jacket, which is optimised for cooler climates.
Test subjects had to swallow a biometric sensor that would track their internal body temperature and were then placed in a temperature controlled chamber, going as cold as 1°C and as warm as 8°C. Two additional sensors on chest and forearms helped to track body temperature changes during light and moderate activity.
At the lower temperature the EVO Thermal Primaloft Jacket performed as well or better than the fleece lined Corsica jacket, while the same was true at the higher temperature when compared with the Sardinia jacket. The process therefore validated the efficiency of the new insulation over a wide temperature range.
Sailors can therefore be confident of the performance of this impressively flexible garment that bridges the two existing single-purpose jackets and brings a new level of comfort and performance, both for racing and cruising.
In addition to the men’s EVO Thermal Primaloft jacket, there’s a versatile EVO Polartec 3-in-1 Adapt Waterproof Jacket that’s styled for both men and women and has a waterproof shell, plus removable fleece liner, offering flexible layering options for changing conditions.
These advances represent an important step forward in materials science and technology, promising sailors greater comfort in changeable weather, or when long periods of inactivity are interspersed with short bursts of intense activity.
They even offer the prospect of helping to improve the performance of a raceboat before it even leaves the dock. It has long been known that exposure to cold during pre-race preparation reduces mental sharpness, with a lasting impact on performance on the water. Therefore clothing with a high degree of thermal regulation, that you can also wear while racing, can deliver improved racing results.
The collection extends to more than a dozen items, with pricing from £25 up to £225. In addition to the outerwear there’s a full range of technical garments, each has a body-mapped construction that optimises warmth, breathability and freedom of movement.
The EVO Windproof Knit, for example, has a two-layer windproof lining beneath a merino wool and cotton outer fabric. Meanwhile, lighter mid-layers in the range use similar thermoregulating principles to maintain core warmth without overheating.
Find out more about the whole Musto EVO Autumn/Winter 2025 collection at musto.com
The post Adapting to the elements – A revolution in thermo-regulating technical clothing appeared first on Yachting World.