I Love It When A Manufacturer Listens...

Last winter, I picked up a pair of Patagonia Cold Track Light tights on sale. They quickly became my favorite wind pants. They were everything I wanted, relatively light, stretchy, wind and water resistant, highly breathable. My only complaint was that I wanted a jacket made out of the same stuff. So I sent an email to them saying as much and got a pretty lame reply pointing me to one of their overweight existing shells.

Well, today I was shopping in a local Patagonia outlet checking out their new stuff. They decided to make it, only now they call it the Traverse jacket and tights. There's also a pullover, which is another thing that was in my email. For the first time in ten years, I paid retail for one of their products. I doubt my email had much to do with them making the jacket, but it's still kind of cool when they make exactly what you're looking for. I don't recommend it for people that like loose fitting stuff, it's a very athletic cut and it is basically spandex. I'm 5'10", 170 lbs, the medium fits me perfectly.

I'm on the road right now, I'll post some more details when I get home. I think it may be time to clear out some of my old jackets...

OK, got the jacket on the scale. It's a touch heavier than advertised at 10.5 ounces vs 9.9, size M. I've only had the chance to wear it around town, but it seems to work well with some of my bulkier baselayers (like a midweight Smartwool zip T). Very comfortable, it flexes very easily.

Not surprisingly, it feels a little cooler than the pants. I expected that, my torso (and probably most people's) is more sensitive to temperature than my legs. Can't wait to try it out in cooler weather to see what it's limits are.