Many people try to lighten their packs by making a gtx shell serve multiple functions.
PATAGONIA HOUDINI PANTS FULL
It kept the wind at bay, but breathed well enough during spells of heavy exercise carrying a full expedition pack, as well as climbing steep hills on my bicycle or in cool weather. The Patagonia Houdini windshell performed as advertised. The sleeves, on the other hand, have sewn-in elastic, which I suspect will lose its elasticity with time. There is also a drawcord elastic in the skirt of the jacket, which helps keep the cold wind from blowing in. Next to the zipper when the Houdini is stuffed into its pocket is a loop which can be used to clip the Houdini with a small carabiner/clip to your belt or pack strap. The zipper on the pocket has pulls on both sides, making it easy to close and open the pocket when the jacket is stuffed into it. The jacket can be stuffed into the chest pocket. But it is easy enough to just tuck the hood into the back of the neck area. Only one of my windshirts, an ancient REI one, has a place to stash the hood. As is common for windshirts, there is no storage pocket for the hood. There is an elastic drawcord to tighten the fit around the helmet or your head when not wearing a helmet. The sewn-on hood fits over the helmet, though not as completely as my wpb shells. I did several ice climbs in which I needed my helmet, with the hood up in the wind when belaying.
I did encounter some spells of drizzle, despite trying to stay with dry spells, and encountered lots of cold winds with measured windchill factors well into the subzero range.
I wore the Houdini during many outings, including month-long expeditions like my return to the Andes this year, winter camping during cold but dry spells in the Sierra, Cascades, and Wasatch, as well as bicycling during the winter months.
PATAGONIA HOUDINI PANTS PLUS
But the frequent sales in their outlet stores are large enough markdowns, combined with the quality of most of their gear plus environmental consciousness that I have acquired a number of their items (last month I found a Micro Puff jacket in their Reno Outlet with combined markdowns of 40% +30% - be forewarned, though, the Outlets usually have only XS, XL, and XXL sizes unless you luck out as I did). The regular Patagonia prices are quite high. They use a proprietary DWR that has worked very well in practice in drizzles and in snowy conditions (including fairly wet Sierra snowstorms). The Houdini is not waterproof, but that is not what I was looking for. A few months later, while in Salt Lake at the Outdoor Retailer Show, I stopped into the SLC Patagonia Outlet store, and discovered they had a Houdini in my size, plus were having one of their annual 40% off sales. When I returned from Antarctica, I went to my local Patagonia store, but found that they were out of stock of the Houdini, one of their more popular items. Their gear has become so popular, due to its wide-spread use among climbers, that many non-climbers who want to look “outdoorsy” buy it, leading to the name being twisted into “Patagucci”. I have found their gear to be well made and durable, plus their sizes fit me pretty well. Vinson in Antarctica, as well as winter snowshoe and backcountry ski trips. I have owned and heavily used a number of their items on Denali in Alaska, Kilimanjaro in Africa, several Andean peaks in South America, and Mt. They are also one of the leaders in vetting their off-shore suppliers. The company, founded and still run by the famous climber, Yvon Chouinard, is very environmentally conscious. They are based in Ventura, California, although much of their clothing is manufactured in Asia. Patagonia is a company which has been around for many years. I was wearing a GTX outer shell in the photo. Damien is wearing the half-zip pullover version. When I was in Antarctica in 2006, my friend Damien Gildea (the 6ft7in tall fellow to my right in the photo below) pointed out to me that in places like Antarctica where the temperature is so low that you do not have liquid precipitation, you don’t need the waterproof qualities. I found, as many others have, that even the best “waterproof/breathable” fabrics are not very breathable when carrying a full expedition pack, even with the pit zips fully open. Over the years, I had fallen into the habit of using my Goretex and eVent expedition parkas as the do-all outer shells.
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