r/OutdoorAus • u/UnhappyAd5883 • 2d ago

Anaconda has a cold test chamber

In the new Brisbane store apparently

I'm wondering how cold it gets down to?

I have emailed the company asking for specifics but I doubt it will go too far down, unless of course they have liquid Nitrogen cooling like the one I've heard about in America. Would be really nice to try out your clothing combos before you head out skiing in Japan

3 Upvotes

57% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

42

u/dropbear-6789 1d ago

Buying winter clothes from anaconda for proper winter temperatures is your first problem.

7

u/ozaudi 1d ago

I've brought woollen thermals end of season for northern hemisphere winter. Even before discount they were substantially cheaper than the same product from an online retailer or ski store. The mark down was a bonus.

Buying cold weather gear in Qld is hit and miss at the best of times and we take what we can get when we can get it.

3

u/Perfect-Mongoose-704 1d ago

Nah. If it's a one off ski trip, it's fine.

1

u/dropbear-6789 1d ago

Clearly never experienced -30

1

u/Perfect-Mongoose-704 1d ago

It's been fine in January in Hokkaido, which is pretty typical of an average Australian ski trip.

But sure, of you're trekking in -30 weather, go for it.

Though from my experience, it is worth spending more on gloves.

1

u/Itchy-Geologist-4903 3h ago

XTM thermals are actually pretty good quality, anaconda sell some of these - like a lot of the things they sell from ‘good brands’ some of the range they stock isn’t great but if you know what you need, you can find it. For example the Osprey Sirrus, haven’t tried the one anaconda is stocking but have a 13 yr old one that is still my go to for anything under a 4 day hike .

22

u/MetricSyster 1d ago

Why would you need a liquid nitrogen cooling chamber to test clothes? If you are a business only to gain attention of the public? It would be much cheaper to run a compressor and that kind of units can reach -80 C so more than enough and don’t need a truck to bring in liquid nitrogen.

Sorry if this turned into a rant 🫣

5

u/Marsh2700 1d ago

if the clothes i wear dont survive temperatures best recorded in kelvin, i dont wear them

5

u/Dougally 1d ago

Poor Kelvin.

2

u/Couldnt_Give_Two 1d ago

Yeah it was a weird statement, because walk in freezers don't exist /s

6

u/Mental_Task9156 1d ago

Commercial freezer are available that get down to -30°C or -40°C. Liquid nitrogen is not required.

1

u/UnhappyAd5883 1d ago

Blast freezers yes but those are usually tunnel devices and about 100mm tall and run a conveyer belt system In one end and out the other frozen solid.

1

u/Mental_Task9156 1d ago

If i was going to build a freezer to test cold gear, that's exactly what i'd do.

https://www.crscoldstorage.co.uk/blast-freezer/40ft-power-blast-60kw.html

However i suspect running such a thing would be out of the budget of a retail store selling camping gear and clothes.

9

u/TwoHandedSnail 1d ago

That's pretty impressive for a piece of shit brand.

0

u/mattnotsosmall 1d ago

Perfectly reasonable for Aussie conditions really.

4

u/TwoHandedSnail 1d ago

There's vastly better brands and stores in Australia for hikers and campers.

It's just very mainstream, so captures all the low hanging fruit with their low quality products.

2

u/dropbear-6789 1d ago

Because that’s what you’ve been conditioned to accept.

4

u/Splicer201 2d ago

It’s -10c

-25

u/UnhappyAd5883 2d ago

That's hardly cold. Not worth the drive.

Japan gets down below -20C all the time and Victorias High Plains and Kosiuszko get colder than that on occasion.

12

u/dav3n 1d ago

It would be to save stupid people from themselves, because you just know a heap of bogans/influencers would let their small children fuck around in it and have a cry when they get sick.

8

u/mattnotsosmall 1d ago

If you can't find what you need in a -10*c indoor test facility you'll never be happy.

I've been mountaineering throughout NZ, Tassie, West Coast North America, and Nepal and never needed to test my gear in an indoor facility...

I do dare say that if you are concerned perhaps you are biting off more than you can chew in this initial experience and might be better off with a less "extreme" environment to gain the skills, experience and trust in your equipment before doing whatever you plan on doing that needs a dedicated indoor "cold tester?". It's essentially just a commercial freezer, could you not find a friend that works in hospo/tourism/has access to a walk in freezer if you had critical thinking and problem solving skills and be done with it?

-4

u/UnhappyAd5883 1d ago

Well maybe my experience in North America means I would want to get something a bit warmer. Lowest I got to was -35C and windchill on top of that. The annual Polar Bear Express trip my mate goes on gets down to -45C. I've done the walk in freezer thing, they only go down to -24C at most and often only -18C

If only -10 C then it's a gimmick

3

u/mattnotsosmall 1d ago

It's anaconda? What made you think it wouldn't be a gimmick?

3

u/Bishop-AU 1d ago

If you're regularly going into climates where you need to be able to handle -35 or more why are you going to anaconda? You should know what you're doing by this point and be able to research reliable equipment from reputable brands yourself. Anaconda isn't a serious outdoor store, ofcourse it's a gimmick. You aren't going to get serious outdoor equipment from there. Any serious outdoor person would know that.

1

u/Itchy-Geologist-4903 3h ago

I shop at REI and MEC a lot for -40deg northern hemisphere weather and the shops always seem to be heated to 30 degrees and you have no chance of really trying the clothes. Having something is better than nothing!

4

u/Embarrassed_Sun_7807 1d ago

Don't go then lol

6

u/Splicer201 1d ago

I spent a week skiing at Perisher in August and the daytime high was +10c and the overnight low was +2. I felt ripped off. First time seeing snow and I though it would be cold. I’ve had colder nights camping in northern qld

2

u/Itchy-Geologist-4903 3h ago

Especially north west qld! Everyone laughs at our full on wool and thick coats, but camping / going out at night / any event in winter as soon as you’re 100km from the coast its bloody freezing - zero at least and that cutting cold wind

3

u/easyjo 1d ago

really impractical and expensive to have something running significantly colder than a freezer

3

u/Samsungsmartfreez 1d ago

Doesn’t matter how cold it is lol it’s still not gonna give you an accurate feel cause you can’t move around inside it properly as you would even just walking around. Obviously affects your perception of how warm something is.

2

u/is2o 2d ago

Press releases/social media coverage has thrown around that it goes down to -10 with ‘real snow’.

4

u/macfudd 1d ago

Given that my QLD based work colleagues crack out jumpers whenever the weather gets below 25 degrees, I feel like -10 will feel like plenty cold enough to test gear!

2

u/mattnotsosmall 1d ago

Also why not just call them and have the answer vs wasting your time posting on Reddit? 🧠 💥

-1

u/UnhappyAd5883 1d ago

Because they are not answering the phone or answering email queries

2

u/mattnotsosmall 1d ago

Just called, -10*C no need to post on Reddit.

1

u/toolman2810 1d ago

I wonder if it has a bloody great fan so you can experience windchill as well ?

1

u/Kkh347 1d ago

Any walk in freezer will hit -20°. Why is this news?

1

u/Training_Echidna_911 1d ago

I was going to suggest a walk in test room for outdoor stores in QLD.

-3

u/onlyhereforNFLupdate 1d ago

The Spotlight Group has a direct connection to the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) through its philanthropic arm, the Spotlight Foundation.

"The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) is deeply disappointed by the Albanese Government’s formal recognition of a Palestinian State at the United Nations."

-1

u/SeaAccomplished441 1d ago

awesome can't wait to shop there