Skip to main content

New ultralight technical jacket The Shell lets you breathe in any weather

Introducing: The Shell — Ultralight Technical Jacket
Every backpacker and mountaineer knows the true weight of apparel — all of those layers really add up. They also create bulk in your pack, making for a challenging stuffing experience. Hyperlite Mountain Gear solves this problem with the company’s first-ever jacket, The Shell — weighing more than half a pound less than most alternatives on the market. 

Hyperlite Mountain Gear has been a leading producer of high performance, ultralight products since 2010. The firm is famed for its incorporation of Dyneema — the wonderfabric 15 times stronger than steel — into outdoor gear, including tents, stuff sacks, and backpacks. Hyperlite’s first apparel product, The Shell, utilizes Dyneema Composite Fabric with waterproof breathable properties, known as DCF-WPB. The Dyneema contributes to its light weight and durability while the “eVent” membrane provides for breathability and waterproofing.

Recommended Videos

The use of patented eVent technology contributes to the company’s stated breathability rating of 32,000 gm2/24hr and waterproof rating of 10,000mm. The characteristics paired with Dyneema make for an equally comfortable, high-performance jacket ideal for alpinists, backpackers, skiers, packrafters, and climbers. This ultralight technical piece weighs between 5.16 and 6.20 ounces, depending on the size. 

The Shell features YKK Aquaguard zippers with a high collar placement for weather resistance, a Polartec Power Dry chin guard, and adjustable Velcro cuffs. In addition, the jacket offers a front and rear hood as well as bottom hem shock cord adjustment, and a helmet compatible hood with a stiff brim, ensuring comfort during adventure sports in which you need to protect your head. Attributing to its excellent compressibility, The Shell is crafted with a low-profile stuff pocket, so that the jacket can become its own carrying case. The carrying case features a waterproof zipper and clip-in point for easy accessibility, enabling it to be hung from a harness or other adventure accessory.

Dan Ransom
Dan Ransom

“Our goal was to design a jacket that was so light and functional that there was no reason not to bring it on every trip,” stated Mike St. Pierre, founder and CEO of Hyperlite Mountain Gear, in a press release. “We could not be more excited about introducing The Shell. We’re eager to get it on the backs of our devoted customers and any outdoor adventurer looking to significantly lighten their gear load without sacrificing performance.”

The Shell retails for $450 and can be purchased on Hyperlite Mountain Gear’s website.

Amanda Ellis
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Amanda is an outdoor junkie and digital nomad with an insatiable hunger for gear. Based out of Raleigh, NC she travels to…
The best hurricane trackers for Android and iOS in 2024
Best hurricane tracking apps.

The hurricane season instills fear in those who find themselves in the paths of these storms, and in their loved ones who are concerned for their safety. A hurricane app is essential if you’ve stayed up all night worrying about a family member who's alone during a destructive storm.

Many hurricane trackers are available to help you prepare for these dangerous events, monitor their progress, and assist in recovery. We’ve compiled a list of the best apps for tracking storms, predicting their paths, and providing on-the-ground suggetsions for shelters and emergency services. Most of these apps are free to download and supported by ads. Premium versions are available to remove ads and add extra features.

Read more
Best lawn mower deals: Cordless, gas, electric and robotic
A robot lawn mower in a backyard while a family relaxes.

Mowing a lawn can be very therapeutic unless you have an older lawnmower, which makes life difficult and constantly causes you frustration. Luckily, you can snag a new lawnmower for a pretty good price, and even the more budget-oriented options have a lot of quality-of-life features that you wouldn't find on lawnmowers ten or even five years ago. To that end, we've gone about and collected some of our favorite lawnmower deals across the board, including some great robot lawn mowers that are worth checking out.
Litheli Cordless Lawn Mower U20 Handy+ -- $120, was $140

If you want a solid lawn mower, this offering from Litheli has a 13-inch cutting width, which is pretty good for the deal that you're getting. Even better, you get a 30L grass bag so you're not having to clean up after yourself, and you can mow for longer without having to stop. You also get 5 height adjustments so you can hone in the length of your grass to the perfect height, plus you get a 4.0Ah portable battery included.

Read more
Juiced Bikes offers 20% off on all e-bikes amid signs of bankruptcy
Juiced Bikes Scrambler ebike

A “20% off sitewide” banner on top of a company’s website should normally be cause for glee among customers. Except if you’re a fan of that company’s products and its executives remain silent amid mounting signs that said company might be on the brink of bankruptcy.That’s what’s happening with Juiced Bikes, the San Diego-based maker of e-bikes.According to numerous customer reports, Juiced Bikes has completely stopped responding to customer inquiries for some time, while its website is out of stock on all products. There are also numerous testimonies of layoffs at the company.Even more worrying signs are also piling up: The company’s assets, including its existing inventory of products, is appearing as listed for sale on an auction website used by companies that go out of business.In addition, a court case has been filed in New York against parent company Juiced Inc. and Juiced Bike founder Tora Harris, according to Trellis, a state trial court legal research platform.Founded in 2009 by Harris, a U.S. high-jump Olympian, Juiced Bikes was one of the early pioneers of the direct-to-consumer e-bike brands in the U.S. market.The company’s e-bikes developed a loyal fandom through the years. Last year, Digital Trends named the Juiced Bikes Scorpion X2 as the best moped-style e-bike for 2023, citing its versatility, rich feature set, and performance.The company has so far stayed silent amid all the reports. But should its bankruptcy be confirmed, it could legitimately be attributed to the post-pandemic whiplash experienced by the e-bike industry over the past few years. The Covid-19 pandemic had led to a huge spike in demand for e-bikes just as supply chains became heavily constrained. This led to a ramp-up of e-bike production to match the high demand. But when consumer demand dropped after the pandemic, e-bike makers were left with large stock surpluses.The good news is that the downturn phase might soon be over just as the industry is experiencing a wave of mergers and acquisitions, according to a report by Houlihan Lokey.This may mean that even if Juiced Bikes is indeed going under, the brand and its products might find a buyer and show up again on streets and trails.

Read more