The Mountain Heritage Trust, owner of the replicas, has agreed to preliminary field-testing by Mr Hoyland, who will wear the replica clothing on part of his expedition this spring.

The replicas, comprised of six different layers of wool, silk and cotton, challenge the conventional view that Mallory’s clothing and equipment were inadequate for his ill-fated 1924 Everest expedition. Based on the scientific analysis of textile fragments from the original clothing, uncovered on Everest in 1999, the replicas were created to provide a better understanding of the construction of the garments. They demonstrate how effective they would have been at providing protection at altitude, and have been rigorously laboratory-tested for comparison with current mountaineering products.

The replicas are the result of a three-year project headed by Professor Mary B. Rose and Mike Parsons both of Lancaster University Management School’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (IEED). Research work and replication was undertaken at the Universities of Leeds, Southampton and Derby.

The result of this work stands out as a challenge to outdoor clothing designers, as Mallory’s clothing was 20% lighter, and his footwear 40% lighter, than today's equivalent. Preliminary field-testing of the clothing on Everest will further the understanding of how effective these clothes really were.