31-8-2007

Patagonia M's Down Sweater Vest

Light, warm and efficient

Patagonia Down Sweater Vest

The first time you?ll have the Down Sweater Vest from Patagonia you?ll be quite surprised. Really light, comfortable and a great warming capacity.

I?ve been to Iceland with it for a trekking inside the country. Once in Reykjavik the Down Sweater Vest proves immediately its use during a walk in the night before and after the restaurant. Warm and protecting from the small wind in the bay. It was the last piece of clothing ? with its microscopic size ? I put in my bag to go to the plains of Iceland.

Later the windstopper capability left me a good impression. When planting the tents, I didn?t notice any attack of the wind and took advantage of the heat I got from the vest. What can I ask more even if at the end I was sweating a bit...

The 800-fill made of goose down is quite enough. We often had to deal with cold evenings. At each time the Down Sweater Vest gave me a pleasant heat, when walking as well as during the forced hours cooking. Thanks to the big amount of pockets, the downs don?t move too much and allows to keep a maximum of the isolating capacities.

What makes the Down Sweater Vest from Patagonia so special is the combination between the 3 properties a piece of clothing for mountain needs: to be warm, windstopper but also to resist against fine rain. The resistant extern layer is so fine that we can see the down through it. Even when raining don?t fear the fact that the vest could absorb the water. The rain slides on the vest and dries quickly.

Next to the advantages, a small thing disappointed me. A real vest with long sleeves would have suited better the extreme conditions during the trekking. Principally due to the strong and cold wind, the arms gets cold quickly, but also under some rain the arms aren?t protected. Patagonia already though about it and will propose next winter a version with long sleeves (Down Sweater).

The Down Sweater Vest is on my opinion better in a protected environment such as a tent or a refuge, than in extreme conditions such as a trekking. It offers the desired protection during cold.

Technical details

Lieven