What is a softshell jacket for outdoor sports?

 What is a softshell jacket for outdoor sports?

A softshell jacket is a combination of functionality and comfort. It can meet the user's various needs, whether it is daily life or light outdoor activities. If you are looking for a piece of clothing that provides protection and comfort, a softshell jacket is undoubtedly an excellent choice. A softshell jacket is a functional garment between a hardshell and a fleece jacket. Its original design is to provide greater comfort and flexibility, while also having certain windproof, water-repellent and warmth-keeping functions. Compared with traditional hardshell jackets, softshells are softer and pay more attention to breathability and freedom of movement. Softshells usually use composite fabrics, with a windproof and water-repellent layer on one side and a soft and breathable lining on the other side. Some styles also add a fleece lining to enhance the warmth effect. This design makes softshell jackets suitable for a variety of light and medium-intensity outdoor activities, and they have gradually become a versatile item for daily wear.

Softshell jackets are widely loved because they strike a good balance between functionality and comfort:

Windproof performance: Most softshells use windproof fabrics, such as Gore-Tex's Windstopper

Professional windproof fabrics, which can effectively resist cold winds and are especially suitable for use in windy environments.

Breathability: Compared with completely waterproof hardshells, softshells pay more attention to breathability, which can quickly discharge heat and moisture generated during exercise to avoid stuffiness, making them ideal for long-term activities.

Elasticity and flexibility: The fabric of softshell jackets usually contains elastic fibers and has strong ductility, which is suitable for scenes that require a lot of physical activity, such as rock climbing, cycling or hiking.

Comfort: The soft touch of softshells is more close-fitting and comfortable than hardshells, and it is not easy to produce the "plastic feeling" of hardshells, which has obvious advantages in long-term wear.

Mild waterproofness: Although it does not have the complete waterproof function of hardshells, many softshells are treated with DWR (durable water repellent) on the surface to prevent light rain and snow.

Softshell jackets are versatile and suitable for different scenarios:

Daily wear: Softshell jackets are suitable for urban commuting and daily travel due to their simple appearance and versatility. Lightweight models can be used as outerwear in spring and autumn, and models with fleece lining can also provide warmth in winter. Its easy-to-match design makes it a versatile item for casual wear.

Outdoor sports: Softshell jackets perform particularly well in light and medium-intensity outdoor activities. Hiking and mountaineering: In relatively mild weather, softshells provide good wind protection and breathability, avoiding the feeling of stuffiness caused by a lot of exercise. Cycling: Its close-fitting cut and elastic fabric can adapt to the changes in body shape during high-speed movement, providing freedom of movement while reducing wind resistance. Rock climbing: The wear resistance and flexibility of softshell make it an ideal choice for rock climbing enthusiasts. Skiing and ski mountaineering: Some softshell jackets can be used as mid-layers or outer layers, and breathability is very important in high-intensity sports on the snow.

Do you need a dedicated outdoor climbing watch for mountaineering?

 

Watches dedicated to outdoor sports are divided into special fields such as mountaineering, sailing, and diving. There is a certain overlap trend at present, but there is no outdoor watch with full function coverage. As far as the mountaineering branch is concerned, built-in GPS, downloadable regional maps, air pressure (this is not only related to altitude measurement, but also to weather forecast), weather trend module, compass, waterproof, shockproof and dustproof are essential functions or performance. In addition, blood oxygen detection is also a new and essential module in recent times. Furthermore, it will also take into account mountain sports modes such as hiking, cycling, running, and training, and launch corresponding built-in interfaces. At the same time, there are many detailed applications in terms of functions. For example, altitude warning can be carried out, and a reminder can be given every 500 meters of ascent. The battery life requirements of outdoor watches are also much higher than those of smart watches. As for common smart watches, they are not very stacked in terms of sensors, and they lack some special functions. If large manufacturers like Apple and Sony value the branch of outdoor watches and launch corresponding products specifically, they are likely to KO the brands that previously specialized in outdoor watches. After all, powerful functions are achieved by spending money and technology. Big brands have an absolute advantage. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen any evolution in this area in smart watches yet.Read More

Is there a difference between smart bracelets and smart watches in terms of functions?

 Is there a difference between smart bracelets and smart watches in terms of functions?

Whether there is a difference in the functions of smart bracelets and smart watches is a key question. Smart watches on the market can be roughly divided into two categories: one is based on mobile operating systems such as Android and Apple, and has independent calling and Internet functions. In essence, it is a smaller version of a smartphone. Apple iWATCH is a typical representative, which can be regarded as a mobile phone in the shape of a watch; the other is that it does not have an independent mobile network module and must be connected to other smart devices for use. It can receive calls/text messages from smartphones and realize Bluetooth transmission with mobile phones.

The bracelet emphasizes sensor technology more, and collects human physiological and behavioral parameters through a variety of sensor chips. Common functions include sports step counting, sleep monitoring, heart rate monitoring, sedentary reminders, etc. The timing function of the watch can also be easily possessed by the bracelet. Of course, sports watches can also be built-in with a variety of sensors to achieve the same behavior monitoring as bracelets.

So in fact, in terms of functions, 80-90% of the functions of smart watches and smart bracelets are almost exactly the same. If there is any difference, it may be that the manufacturers have different functional positioning of the bracelets and watches themselves, and then deliberately create differences in functional configuration. However, as an outdoor sports smart watch, because of the particularity of the usage scenario, it has higher requirements for functions and safety.

What are outdoor smart watches?

 With the development of science and technology, people's demand for so-called black technology products has led to the emergence of many smart wearable products, and smart watches are the hottest one among them. Smart watches for different users can be simply divided into: children's smart watches, elderly smart watches, and adult smart watches. If the smart watches are divided according to their functions, the classification is more extensive. In addition to the relatively concentrated functionality of children's and elderly smart watches, adult smart watches are simply divided into two categories: outdoor smart types and ordinary smart watches.

What are outdoor smart watches?

In terms of functional division, outdoor smart watches are independently divided into a category. Unlike other payment-type and business-type smart watches, outdoor smart watches are used in outdoor scenes, and their functions are more inclined to outdoor sports data monitoring, environmental change surveys, etc. Compared with other fancy functions, outdoor watches focus more on battery life and sports.

Outdoor sports have special attributes such as excitement, professionalism, and danger that other leisure scenes do not have. Since this kind of challenging and dangerous sports method was introduced into China, it has been highly sought after by sports experts and quickly formed a trend. Its sports nature also determines the professionalism of the equipment worn. It is understandable why outdoor smart watches are classified independently.

The variability of outdoor use scenarios determines the direction of product functions. You can ignore the brand and appearance, but the quality must be guaranteed; the function is not about quantity, but about practicality. All flashy functions will only reduce the battery life of the watch; the price is not the more expensive the better, and the brand is not the bigger the better. Everything starts from safety.

A Patek Philippe watch worn by Puyi, the emperor of the former Manchukuo

 A Patek Philippe watch worn by Puyi, the emperor of the former Manchukuo, was bought by an Italian buyer in Hong Kong for 7.8 million yuan in 2019. It was sold at a high price of 48.85 million in 2023.

This watch is Patek Philippe's first formal watch, and there are only seven of this style in the world. The upper part of the dial is white and the lower part is brass. This is because Puyi was curious about whether it was pure gold when he got the watch, so he ordered the guards to scrape the dial to see, and found that it was brass, so he only scraped half of it. Puyi was very disappointed and thought that the watch was not valuable. He wore it with him every day and did not take good care of it.

Later, it was said that after Puyi was captured by the Soviet army, he was extradited back to China and gave the watch to the Soviet translator.

Read more