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[00:00:00.02] This garment in particular solves all the problems that we've seen in previous down construction plus has the added benefit of stretch. That feels, to me, like the holy grail of an insulated down jacket.
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[00:00:14.29] Hi, my name is Melissa. I'm a product development manager at L.L.Bean. I have been working at L.L.Bean for nearly 18 years. Today, we're in the outerwear workroom. The product development role, I like to describe as the hub of the wheel. We work collaboratively with our merchandising partners and our design partners and our sourcing partners to bring a product from inception to market.
[00:00:35.91] I'm excited to talk to you today about the Wind Challenger Down Jacket. The Wind Challenger Down was developed in fall/winter '24, and it is an iteration of something that we've offered to our customer before, but done in a new and unique way. So the main body fabric is made through a double-weave construction.
[00:00:53.69] And what's exciting about this in particular is that normally, when we stitch down garments together, we place two fabrics and stitch them horizontally to create the baffles. In this type of double-weave construction, the two looms weave together and then independently. And when they weave independently, they create these baffles that we're able to stuff with down.
[00:01:16.86] And the benefit of that is that there's no puncturing. It's really strong. There's no wind permeation points. And also, there's no place for down to escape. The other really awesome part about this type of construction that we haven't really been able to offer our customer before is stretch.
[00:01:32.58] Because now that we're weaving it together, we don't have to worry about pulling those puncture holes apart. Now, you get this beautiful stretch that gives you an insulated piece that's more wind-resistant, more thermally efficient, and also gives you great comfort.
[00:01:47.99] L.L.Bean is really unique in that we have this beautiful in-house lab. Our testing standards align with the industry standards, and in some cases, are even more rigorous. We want to test for abrasion, tear, tensile strength. We have a stretch test that we do, and then also all of the water repellency tests that we run on the body fabric here, which is water repellent. Also, as a product team, we take these garments out. We do our own activities with our families in them. We really get to feel the materials, feel how the garments are put together, and make sure they're performing the way that we want them to.
[00:02:22.08] The insulation in this jacket is a 650-fill power goose down. It has a down tech finish on it, which means it performs even when wet. We have some great water repellency on the shoulder, the back yoke, the hood, as well as the back elbow. The hood on this garment is helmet compatible, which is great for ski purposes.
[00:02:44.97] There's a nice bonded brim here that gives you added protection against the elements on your face. There is a hood adjustment, where you can cinch down the hood in addition to a cinch at the bottom to make sure you have a really nice, tight fit and keep snow and water out.
[00:03:00.75] We've also built in really awesome pit zips. Down is incredibly thermally efficient, so this is a great mechanism to dump heat. The internal cuff and the pocket bags as well as the chin guard-- we've incorporated this great tricot material, which is really soft against your skin. The chin guard particularly is great to protect your chin against chafing. We also incorporated this great little ski pass pocket so you can tuck your card in here, scan away, and be on your way.
[00:03:29.64] I'm super excited for the launch of this Wind Challenger Jacket. I think it's going to be a great problem-solver for the customer. And I'm just really excited to hear how people are loving it. It is super exciting to work for a brand that is really attempting to prolong people's time in the outdoors. It's really rewarding to work on creating product that enables them to do that. Thanks so much for watching today. If you like this video, please hit the Like and Subscribe buttons, and stay tuned for more product videos.
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