The Wrangell Puffer, Inspired by Biomimicry of the Muskox

Photo by @NickByNorthwest in Portage, Alaska

Biomimicry is the literal imitation of the living. It means to take inspiration from nature and translate those principles to human engineering. The biomimicry approach aims to favor choices tested by nature which had millions of years to understand what works best. According to the Biomimicry Institute, biomimicry can be defined as “an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies. The goal is to create products, processes, and policies—new ways of living—that are well-adapted to life on earth over the long haul."

And here at MuskOx, that is what we do. We pull inspiration from the long history of the muskox and look at how and why the muskox has been able to survive hundreds of thousands of years and thrive in the cold arctic temperatures. One of our best products that demonstrate biomimicry is the Wrangell Puffer Jacket. When designing this jacket, we looked to the muskox for inspiration. It didn’t take long to develop the attributes of the jacket because when you look at how the Arctic mammal keeps warm, we got our answers.

Photo of Wrangell the MuskOx via the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

The coat of a muskox consists of two parts: long, coarse outer hairs, called guard hairs, that reach almost to the ground and shed rain and snow; and a soft, dense undercoat called qiviut. Qiviut is the warmest, lightest wool in the world. The heavy guard hairs and insulating qiviut protect the muskox from the severe cold and high winds of the Arctic. And because we don’t think a jacket that has long, coarse hairs that reach down to your ankles would be the most stylistic item, we decided to focus on mimicking the qiviut.

The Wrangell Puffer Jacket is packed full of poly insulation giving you the perfect amount of warmth, lab tested to keep you warm during outdoor activity down to -1° F, much like the qiviut of the MuskOx. The outer layer of the Wrangell jacket does however replicate the outer layer of the MuskOx, in the sense it will shed rain and snow right off of your shoulders and back.

The Wrangell takes its name from the Wrangell Mountains in Alaska and is the namesake jacket of Wrangell the muskox, resident "boss-ox" at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Not only does this jacket give you warmth and mobility, but this Poly Insulated Matte Black Jacket is 100% Polyester and is equipped with performance features like our signature bungee sunglasses loop, double secure waist pockets with inner zippers, comfort waist with side slits, and shape-retaining cuffs.

If you are looking to take on any fierce and frigid temperatures we promise you that the Wrangell Puffer Jacket will not only get the job done, but it will thrive, and being cold will no longer be a worry. Plus you get to look stylish while doing so.