The eco, evolution story behind our new off grid, grid fabric Aratus gilet.
If you’ve been following the Polaris rebirth story so far you’ll know we’re big fans of gilets body warmers, sleeveless vests - whatever you want to call them. So much so that we decided to make our dream gilet: The Aratus Thermal.
We always knew it was going to be a grid based fabric with micro squares of furrier fleece lifting it away from the layer underneath. That way we could trap a bunch of warm air to keep you a lot warmer than you’d expect for the weight. Grid materials also stretch easier and move sweat / dry better than solid fabrics when you start pushing the pace of getting active with your moves.
A closer weave ‘harder’ face fabric also helps the wind and showers bounce off without restricting / interrupting wicking and adding noise / killing stretch like a separate hard shell can.
The first rounds of samples came out really well in terms of overall features and the rear pocket mix. Getting some bike time in on them made us realise that the heavyweight grid fabric we’d used was overkill for all but the coldest conditions. It didn’t wick or vent as well as we wanted either so unless it was sub zero and we were just cruising we ended up in a hot mess. Even with our clever belt system the pack size was bigger than we wanted for ‘taking just in case’. To be honest the mods and changes we made each time were taking ages with our factory and never quite hitting the spot either.
Moving to a new, top tier European manufacturer not only made the development process far quicker and ticked a whole load of eco and worker welfare boxes, it also gave us a whole new toy box of premium fabrics to play with. Straight away we found a super light, soft and mobile ‘barely there’ double weave grid material that looked ideal. It’s Italian made, 90% GRS certified recycled and the factory is both Oeko-tex and blue sign certified too. So we ordered gilet and jersey samples straight away and then waited impatiently for delivery a few weeks later.
Our initial worries that we might have gone too light didn’t last longer than the first 15 minutes of our test rides either. It’s definitely a much more subtle piece of kit than the first samples, with a ‘be bold, start cold’ vibe to those first few minutes before your blood starts warming up. By the time your legs are turning and not just creaking the Aratus is settling into a sweet spot that’ll stay with you for the whole ride. Moving moisture off your skin or base layers to keep you dry and regulate core temperature. A slightly tighter face fabric than the Array jersey also keeps your chest and belly warm on descents or headwind hilltop battles. It’s got a PFC free DWR coating that’ll delay damp penetration and makes it easier to clean.
Going for a lighter fabric keeps it super stretchy for a flap free fit and a broad silicon hem and high collar close down the most noticeable weather gaps. Minimal bulk and medium warmth also make it super versatile for layering over or under other kit compared to the chunkier, hotter originals.
We’ve kept the classic three back pockets (one zipped) design but added bellowed bottom edges to increase capacity. It’ll reverse into the zipped pocket to form a 14 x 14 x 5cm pillow for easy carrying too. Although as it doesn’t have a protective shell element we’ve actually dropped the Trail Stash feature as it would just end up a soggy mess if you strapped it on your bike. We also found the straps could actually get in the way of easy pocket use so we spent the money on a top quality YKK main zip and reflective details instead.
While all our samples are black which makes the details a bit hard to see in our trip to the Scottish seaside pictures, production versions will be in forest friendly Fern green in four women’s and four men’s sizes.
