Summit Series, built for the top end

Summit Series is what we make when the margin for error disappears. It is the kit our athletes take to altitude, tested in the places where a failed zip or a wetted-out shell is not an inconvenience but a decision point. Everything in it is built to a different standard. Face fabrics are chosen for tear strength as much as weight, because a snag on rock at four thousand metres has to stay a snag. Waterproof membranes are the most breathable we make, since sweating through a shell on a long approach is how people get cold later. Insulation runs to the highest fill powers we use, so warmth arrives without bulk and packs down small enough to carry as a spare. Hoods are cut for helmets, hems for harnesses, and cuffs for gloves you will not take off. Seams are taped, zips are water-resistant and reinforced at the pull, and the trims are the sort you only notice when they fail. For the full men's selection, start with our men's Summit Series collection.

Coats, trousers and packs that go up

A Summit Series coat is the piece most people start with, and it is worth understanding what you are choosing between. Down for maximum warmth per gram on cold, dry days. Synthetic for the damp cold where wet down stops working. A hardshell for wind and weather with nothing wasted. Trousers get the same treatment, with articulated knees for high steps, reinforced instep patches where crampons and edges do their damage, and full or three-quarter side zips so you can layer without removing boots. The packs are cut narrow and close to the back so they do not lever you off balance on steep ground, with axe attachments that work in gloves and lids stripped back to what you actually use. Buy any of it for the day you hope not to have, and it will look after the ordinary ones too. For everything on the women's side, our women's Summit Series collection covers the same range.