Apologies if someone posted this already.
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Westcomb Unveils Radically Innovative SHIFT NeoShell® Hoody, Speeding from Design to Delivery in Less Than 90 Days
May 3, 2012 at 1:16 pm

Originally posted by Drew Simmons at www.outdoorindustry.org on May 2nd, 2012.

Prior to the 2012 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market show, the Westcomb Shift didn’t exist.

Not as a name, not as a prototype, not as an idea.

Yet this month, the Shift will debut as the newest, most innovative Westcomb Outerwear creation to date, arriving on the shelves at more than a dozen retailers nationwide.

At 11 ounces, the Shift is Westcomb’s – and the world’s – lightest Polartec® Neoshell® jacket, easily besting the previous record holder: the 14-ounce Westcomb Switch. In addition to setting a staggering new standard for lightweight performance, the Shift also upends the conventional timeline for manufacturing: deftly condensing the “traditional” timeline of inspiration, creation, design, manufacturing, sales and delivery from as much as two years to less than three months

“The breakthrough of the Shift is about more than just an evolution in high performance lightweight gear. It’s a fresh approach to how outdoor equipment can be crafted and distributed,” said Alan Yiu, president and lead designer at Westcomb. “This is a big shift in the manufacturing timeline, but it’s also a significant shift in attitudes and perceptions about how the outdoor industry is expected to work.”

The Shift idea was directly fueled by Westcomb’s longstanding commitment to domestic manufacturing. Owning and operating its own state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, Westcomb’s local staff of designers, tailors and seamstresses have always operated in a nimble, effective manner.

With the Shift, however, Westcomb is pairing its most innovative lightweight design with its most aggressive manufacturing strategy, ever.

“This is really just a step forward in doing things the Westcomb way,” added Yiu. “In addition to creating the ultimate backcountry shell, the benefit of the Shift process is that we’ve created something that’s not just responding to market trends. It is the market trend.”

Soft for extreme comfort, waterproof for Pacific Northwest winters, and lighter than a small bottle of water, the Westcomb Shift is made primarily of Polartec NeoShell® – a technical fabric whose current buzz and demand is so strong, its the equivalent of the cool kid from California who shows up just in time for senior year.

Showcasing Westcomb’s signature creativity and detail, the Shift maximizes weight savings in numerous micro-adjustments including a strategic refinement of seam usage. By using narrower, 2-ply seam tape (as opposed to 3-ply), the Shift smartly saves more than 60% of the weight from this specific category.

To ensure strength and durability without adding weight, the Switch features 20 stitches per inch (SPI) top-stitchless construction – a measurement which exceeds industry standards by at least double, and enables a lifetime of rugged use.

The full list of features on the Switch include a Napoleon Dry Pocket that protects and provides easy access to crucial gear and essential items; single-hand adjustable hood and waist; Velcro cuff closures and an internal media pocket.

Blending a perfect Westcomb fit, the year’s hottest fabric, and an ideal list of features, the Shift seems like it was made-to-order for the needs of spring 2012.

Because it was.

“When we came back from Outdoor Retailer in February, we were exhausted from the trade show but saw a clear opportunity. Instead of taking all that beautiful feedback about what retailers really wanted right now and applying it to 2013 or 2014 – which is what ‘normally’ happens in the outdoor industry – we decided to make a deliberate manufacturing shift and create a new product for this season. Because we can,” said Gabriel Cote, Westcomb brand director.

For the average consumer, the thought of designing a market-perfect performance jacket in February and delivering it to store shelves by May is probably no big deal. But for retailers in the outdoor industry, the idea is as foreign as accepting Chinese currency.

The pace of ”creation” in the outdoor industry can be exhaustingly lengthy. Even the best ideas can take years to trickle through the production process: starting as a concept, working upward through design and sourcing, materializing as prototypes and sales samples at a trade shows, being scheduled for manufacturing, shipped to domestic warehouses, and then finally delivered to the retail floor.

In contrast, the timeline for the Westcomb Shift began the first week of February, when Westcomb returned from Outdoor Retailer. By March 1, the first prototypes were built in Westcomb’s Vancouver factory. By April 1, field testing of the prototypes had been completed and final sales samples were delivered to key accounts. By April 15 the first retail orders were confirmed. And by May 1 … the Shift shipped to retailers throughout North America.

“What we’ve done is to condense several aspects that traditionally take an incredibly long period of time into an incredibly short and nimble time frame,” said Yiu. “In the old way of thinking, you come up with a bunch of ideas and present them at the shows, and then drop what doesn’t work. With the Westcomb Shift, it’s the other way around. You listen to what people want, and then you give it to them.”

ABOUT WESTCOMB: Westcomb (www.westcomb.com) creates innovative, stylish, performance-driven outerwear for men and women that is 100% made in North America and 100% committed to performance. Made to be worn in the most demanding conditions, Westcomb gear achieves a standard of excellence that is attainable only through the constant access and oversight provided by their industry leading commitment to local manufacturing. Conveying a true passion for the outdoor experience, Westcomb’s 2012-13 collection features strategically minimalist designs, blending essential features for active athletes with an international, athletic fit. Westcomb builds their unique performance apparel with a remarkable roster of industry leading supplier brands including Polartec NeoShell, eVent, Schoeller, Primaloft, Pertex, YKK, Mapp, Riri, and the world’s finest Hutterite goose down. For more information on Westcomb, please visit www.westcomb.com.

Is the Shift constructed of a 2-layer material or 3-layer?

Sounds like an interesting jacket. I've been quite happy with my eVent Westcomb shell (for skiing use). I'll check this one out.

What's the price? Am I dreaming to hope the drastically reduced development costs (assuming expediting costs due to tight time constraints weren extremely high) will be reflected in the price?


Edit: Nevermind. Found it for $400. Guess I was dreaming after all.

Edited by 7sport on 05/06/2012 07:04:53 MDT.

Nice!

Also means there's hope for other jackets in a similar weight class.

"Also means there's hope for other jackets in a similar weight class."

There are some ActiveShell jackets in the same weight class. And I had an older eVent jacket that was even slightly less - so I'm assuming there are others as well.

@Nathan: I know there are WP/B jackets that weigh under ten ounces. I am excited for NeoShell jackets under ten ounces. Innovation in light and fast.

I hear you Stephen, glad to see some lighter weight offerings coming out.

I wonder if this utilizes thinner fabric than previous offerings and how that might affect breathability. Neoshell didn't fare so well in the BPL test of WPB fabrics back in October compared with the activeshell and event jackets. But a lighter weight fabric would likely improve that (I suspect this is contributing factor as to why activeshell performs better than regular goretex - assuming a similar membrane).

If it's not thinner material, there may be some other explanations for the weight reduction. I do recall reading they were able to save some weight using a different (narrower or thinner) tape for the seams. Another typical way these jackets save weight is to cut down on features. The Shift I think I read has only a single outer chest pocket, but also an inner pocket? And lastly I've found the lightest offerenings also tend to be shorter in the body and very trim fitting.

Anyone have any experience as to how well neoshell packs down volume-wise?

Yep, there's likely hope for a neoshell jacket under 10oz, as Westcomb has a tendency to stop a few steps short of pure minimalism.

I would look at a few aspects of the Shift's design to see where further reductions to weight can be made without changing the actual cut of the jacket: hood design (overall size, helmet compatibility, number of adjustments), cuffs (Velcro, elastic or hybrid), number of hem adjustments (single vs dual), and the presence or absence of pit zips. I have a '09 Westcomb Cruiser LT - a beautifully made piece of kit, but it's absolutely feature-packed for a shell given the LT designation.

It would be worthwhile to see a side-by-side compare to Westcomb's next lightest neoshell jacket to see just where the weight was cut.

The Shift sounds a lot like the Specter LT Event jacket also listed at 11oz and made by westcomb. I own the Specter LT and without changing the cut or number of adjustments I doubt you would be able to make a big change in weight. I think you would have to elliminate most of the hood adjustments to get down to 10 oz.

Does anyone know an actual measured weight for the Westcomb Shift Hoody?

Edited by clear_blue_skies on 06/17/2012 17:10:31 MDT.

340g in large (we don't do oz in the civilised world ;-)....or use Z's...

Review here:

http://terrybnd.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/westcomb-rab-terra-nova-karrimor-lowe.html