Vollebak are a brand we’ve featured a lot on the pages on The Coolector as we’ve always had a soft spot for the ingenious, bonkers-but-brilliant creations and their latest offering, the Vollebak Martian Aerogel Jacket could be one of their craziest to date. This mind-blowing piece of outerwear from Vollebak is made from two materials that are commonly used in space travel. The inside is made from a new type of aerogel that was developed by the same team that is creating the aerogel heat shield for the next Mars Rover. This aerogel is the first of its kind to be flexible, durable, and waterproof.

As you might expect, the Vollebak Martian Aerogel Jacket doesn’t come cheap and has a punchy price tag of £2445 but, let’s face it, you’re going to be in pretty exclusive company if you add this jacket to your wardrobe rotation. The aerogel is protected by a strong outer shell made of the same fabric used in parachutes that have landed probes on Titan and Mars. The Martian Aerogel Jacket has a soft metallic look, black contrast seam taping, and zigzag stitching that is inspired by the aluminised nylon and angled zippers of the early Project Mercury spacesuits.

Just ten years ago, aerogel insulation in jackets was not yet invented. The challenge was to create aerogel composites that are both durable and maintain their incredible insulation properties. The solution was a breakthrough. The aerogel in this jacket from Vollebak is not only flexible, durable, and waterproof, but it also makes up half of the volume and 20% of the total weight of the jacket. This is a huge amount, considering that aerogel is only three times denser than air.

Vollebak tested the jacket in a controlled climate chamber, where the temperature was set to -20°C. A volunteer wore the jacket and sat still for 20 minutes. The jacket kept the volunteer’s core temperature stable, even though the temperature was extremely cold. This is an incredible performance for such a thin jacket and showcases the brand’s dedication to producing innovative pieces of apparel. On the side of the jacket you’ll find two large pockets with storm flaps that close with metal snaps. There are two more pockets with zippers on either side of the chest that fit phones, wallets and keys. And there’s a fifth zipped pocket inside the jacket on the left-hand side. Long story short, you won’t run out of storage options with this one.