It all started with down. In the early 1980s, when Roman was still a student at the Šumperk grammar school and watched his mother sewing a sleeping bag at home, he thought that it could probably be done better. And so he set about it.

He's hand-sewn hundreds, maybe thousands of down sleeping bags. At first just for himself and his climbing buddies, later also for their friends' friends. 

archive, 1987, probably planning some expedition

Nevertheless, you would not find a single down jacket in our collection in the entire existence of Tilak. The high-end synthetic insulation materials we use instead of down simply work perfectly. But our range is expanding. From purely outdoor items, to equipment specially adapted for rescue and security forces, to the design and technical Poutnik collection. Suddenly there's a space that's begging to be filled. More precisely, to be filled with down.

And why start from scratch when we can follow our feathered friends at Patizon, for whom working with down is their daily routine. We worked well together and after a few months of development, the first samples were born. 

Roman immediately tested them in Tatshenshini-Alsek Park

They proved to be excellent and after a few minor adjustments it was done. Sewing down sleeping bags for friends and our first down jacket are separated by more than 40 years, but the imaginary circle has closed and we can present you the Tilak x Patizon DownLite Infinium jacket. It's the first ray of dawn, promising that more are to come in the future.

Tilak x Patizon DownLite Infinium

A hybrid down jacket filled with the finest European goose down, combined with the reliable protection of GORE-TEX® Infinium™. Clean design with no visible stitching, polished details and significantly increased wind and water protection.

colors Hawaian surf and Warm olive

WHATS UNDER THE HOOD

Technically, it's actually two jackets - a hybrid down jacket hidden inside a membrane jacket. This has the great advantage of covering cold seams, but more on that below. The construction of the "inner jacket" uses two insulating materials, which is why we call it a "hybrid":

• 70 g of premium European goose feathers with 850 cuin fill, IDFL and RDS certificates and hypoallergenic treatment.
• Climashield Eco 75 g/m synthetic insulation panels under the arms, on the sides and on the hood. It provides great insulation and better moisture management. It is also better resistant to compression.

The insulation is sewn inside the Toray Airtastic material (38 g/m2), which you can see on the reverse side

It is treated with DWR treatment and normally works as an outer, but we have "dressed" it from the face side in a membrane outer material made of two-layer GORE-TEX® Infinium™ Windstopper®. This is currently the most breathable membrane material that Gore produces. As a result, the jacket's utility value has increased dramatically - it's resistant to wind, light rain, snow and moisture in general. The jacket isn't waterproof because it doesn't have taped seams, but with a down jacket, the assumption is that it will be used in the winter and not in a downpour.

• Breathability of GORE-TEX® Infinium™ Windstopper®: Ret: < 2.50 m2.Pa.W-1
• Waterproofing: minimum 10,000 mm water column. No taped seams.

COVERING COLD SEAMS

In such a lightweight down jacket (the men's M weighs 445 g) it is common that the seams between the chambers are not covered in any way and this is actually the place where warm air can escape from the body. They are therefore called cold seams. However, by "dressing" the jacket in a top, extra membrane material, the air cannot escape so easily and the heat loss will be noticeably less. The membrane therefore not only helps against moisture and wind, but also increases the thermal comfort of the whole jacket, even with its minimal weight.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

1. INNER AND OUTER POCKETS

On the jacket you will find a total of 5 pockets. Two classic ones, at the bottom of the front, are zipped and are great for keeping your hands warm. In fact, they are lined with a merino wool and synthetic blend to make them comfortable for frozen hands and also suitable for storing your phone or other small items. 

On the outside, you'll find 2 zipped pockets on the sides, lined with a merino and synthetic blend.

Inside there is one zipped chest pocket.

And two large, open pockets, for gloves and the like.

Detail of the print on the left inside pocket. Detail of the printing of the right pocket is in the article above.

2. THE HOOD

The hood is compact and simple, adjustable with one-touch drawcord. This works well thanks to the clever design and the hood sits nicely on the head and protects the face when pulled down.

Instead of down, the hood is insulated with Climashield Eco, which provides better moisture management.

The drawstring is hidden under the outer material, so the hood is always clean and smooth by design.

At the back of the neck you will find an internal collar that provides wind protection when you don't have the hood on.

3. SLEEVES

The sleeves are anatomically shaped and raglan cut as you are used to from our other models. This ensures maximum freedom of movement.

They are finished with a pleasant elastic hem that prevents heat from escaping and at the same time does not interfere with the use of gloves.

You may be familiar with this type of cuff from the last generation of Ketil jackets.

The bottom hem of the jacket with one-touch adjustment.

Ladies model in Hawaian Surf and Warm Olive colors

HOW TO USE IT BEST

Wherever it's cold and you don't want to carry extra grams for thermal comfort. The jacket is easy to pack, you can put it in your backpack under the hill, climb up, and whether you're skiing downhill, crossing a ridge, or belaying a partner while the'yre climbing, you'll appreciate its insulating qualities as well as its resistance to wind and moisture. The mechanical resistance of the outer material is rather lower and the jacket is not suitable for climbing as such, but you can easily pack it, for example in a small bag, and clip it to a harness. 

THE CREDIT..

..goes to the guys and girls from Patizon who helped us with the development and production of our first down jacket! It's also worth mentioning that all the photos with the models on the hills were taken by Ondra Vacek, who deserves a big thank you! You can see a selection of photos in the gallery below or directly on the product website. You can find the men's jacket here and the women's jacket here.