Dutch brand Vollebak recently unveiled what it calls the “world’s strongest jacket”. With an exterior made out of 100 percent dyneema, the strongest fiber known to man, the Indestructible Puffer can allegedly withstand whatever abuse you subject it to and last a lifetime.
Adventure clothing brand Vollebak has been creating cutting edge adventure sports clothes for years, and has become known for making some of the toughest garments on the planet. In the past, we’ve featured their virtually indestructible hoodie and a pair of pants designed to last at least 100 years, so we know than when they say their latest creation, the Indestructible Puffer, is the strongest jacket ever made, they mean it! Its outer layer is said to be 15 times stronger than steel and 40% stronger than high-strength aramid fibres, which makes it impervious to shearing, tearing, and blunt-force traumas.
“We’ve taken the puffer jacket – traditionally one of the weakest and most delicate pieces of clothing you can buy – and rebuilt it from the strongest fiber ever made,” Vollebak states on its official website. “Every fiber on the outside of the jacket is up to 15x stronger than steel, so even if you were wearing a steel-plated jacket that was the same weight, the Indestructible Puffer would be 15x stronger. The material we’ve used is so tough it was originally used in body armor, anti-ballistic vehicle armor, mooring systems for giant container ships, and ropes used to tie down oil rigs in violent, icy seas. In early tests the mooring lines were so strong they broke the machines that were meant to be testing them, and the body armor stopped bullets from a Kalashnikov.”
Most puffer jackets are designed to be lightweight, so the outer layer is made of polyester and nylon, which are really easy to tear, but Vollebak’s version is covered in 100 percent dyneema, the strongest fiber in the world. The indestructible Puffer weighs a hefty 2.5 kilograms, but it’s not going to rip apart after a year or two; in fact, there is a good chance you will be able to pass it down to your children.
An interesting thing about the Indestructible Puffer is that it provides more protection the colder it gets outside. That’s right, the jacket has proven to gain 5-10% strength when the temperature drops past -50C. Vollebak claims that “in the coldest temperature ever recorded, this would be the strongest jacket ever made, and still getting stronger”.
Although it’s called the Indestructible Puffer, Vollebak’s jacket isn’t actually indestructible. For example, like most other puffers, it’s really weak to fire, and it can get pierced by bullets. Dyneema can stop bullets, but you need several layers of it. Still, the kind of traumas you can expect on an outdoor adventure are more than manageable.
While $985 for a puffer jacket may seem a bit too expensive for most people, there are a lot more expensive puffers out there, and none that will last you 100 years or more.
