Patagonia Descensionist Jacket

Full frontal. At rest.

Hardshell has been the classic tried and tested weatherproof design for outerwear for many years. Tough, waterproof, windproof and durable are its key features. There are many schools of thought though and some people (myself included) have often found that such products are often overkill for certain endeavours, backcountry skiing often being one of these.

Softshell is light, it’s stretchy and form-fitting and, probably most important, breathable. There is no doubt that what you gain in breathability, you lose in warmth and when conditions are really bad and its puking wet ‘n’ heavy snow on you, your softshell is eventually going to soak through leaving you damp and cold.

So Patagonia is trying something new; they’re blending the two. On the outside of the Descensionist you’ll find a 50 denier 86% Nylon/14% Polyester plain weave finished with a DWR (durable water repellent finish). This face fabric is designed to deal with moisture and keep it at bay.

On the inside you’ll find a moisture-managing knit backer, this backer is designed to wick away your sweaty humid grossness and push it through the shell, keeping you nice, dry and cool. This knit-backer plays two games, though. Not only does it help evaporate moisture but it also feels good. It might not look like much in the picture but this fabric has a soft feel to it.

See the semi-fuzzy knit backer here, above the handy goggle/skin stash pocket.

Certain hardshells are not exactly (in this reviewer’s opinion) always the most enjoyable things to wear. They feel safe but they’re not cozy or stretchy. The Descensionist feels good. This is due to a couple reasons; The first is the aforementioned soft knit-backing, which is good against your skin during those spring tours, and not coarse in any way. The other reason is what Patagonia has called “Mechanical Stretch”. This jacket does stretch with you but at the same time its been very well tapered and cut to feel fitted against your body without you feeling constrained. For me, this is a key feature. This jacket feels good and it looks good. Both relaxed fitting and but also functional. You won’t look like you’re about to smash the European Randonee records but at the same time your jacket ain’t sitting around your knees either. 
 
Here are some breakdown shots and features of the Descensionist:

A fully adjustable hood designed to fit over a helmet. The draw cord is tastefully tucked in and out of harm's way inside a sheath with small padding to help you locate the cord release while you have your hands behind your head… Very smart. At right, image of face fabric (and zipper) for you.

The waist draw cord has the same system.

Front zippers are located higher on the torso making them easy to access while you are wearing a backpack or harness. The zippers themselves and nestled in a little high up and out of the way so they won’t catch on anything. At right, see wrist adjustment with a simple Velcro system. Easy to fit under or over a glove gauntlet… Or just to go bare-handed like me.

Both the pocket and main zipper are highly watertight and have very good bite and on the inside you’ll find a simple wallet pocket (left) and a goggle sleeve (shown up top). The left arm (at right) has a tiny pocket for your small essentials.

The powderskirt has 2 buttons holding it at the front and will connect into any Patagonia Pant, or if you’re lucky any snow pant with a belt loop should fit.

I love this jacket. Hardshell/Softshell hybrids are relatively new but there are a few other options out there. I recently purchased one of these that errs more on the softshell side of things for summer hiking. Its comfy to wear and extremely stretchy but there is no doubt it is not heavily weather resistant where the Descensionist is. I’d feel happy wearing the Descensionist all winter long and it could be worn year round in cooler conditions. If you’re spinning laps at your local hill on an epic pow day with the snow blowing 90 degrees sideways you are certainly going to want to layer up underneath, but that isn’t really what its main design goal was. This jacket is made for the backcountry, it is the first jacket that I’ve happily worn on the up-track for more than the first 5 minutes out of the parking lot.

So congrats to Patagonia, you’ve done it, a jacket that looks good and legitimately feels great with smart features and no gimmicks. I’d wear this thing downtown on a winter's day just as happily as I’d wear it deep in the woods with snow up to my armpits and a grin on my face ear-to-ear. Note that, for fit purposes,  I’m 6’ 1” 165 lbs and am wearing a men's medium.