Why We Chose The Patagonia PowSlayer Jacket: Lightweight, durable, environmentally-friendly, ethically-produced, protection from the elements.
Price: £600
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The Patagonia PowSlayer doesn’t literally have ‘Backcountry Freeride’ stamped all over it but, quite frankly, it might as well have. Stay on the piste for too long, and this very good lightweight ski jacket will whisper things in your ear, whisper things that sound an awful lot like “Get away from here. Go find the untouched powder, already.”
The PowSlayer is a jacket made for adventures, a jacket made to get ‘out there’ in, a jacket built for enjoying that sweet, sweet, powder in. Some jackets tell you what they’re all about the moment you set eyes on them. This premium Patagonia number is one such jacket.
Materials
On the material and fabric front you’re looking at Gore-Tex Pro Shell 3-Layer, 4-oz 40-denier 100% recycled nylon ripstop with DWR (durable water repellent finish). What this means, in layman’s terms, is the PowSlayer is an incredibly waterproof, breathable, and tough jacket.
For those not already clued up on Gore-Tex Pro Shell 3-Layer, allow us to briefly talk you through it. Basically, it works the way it works because the membrane is durably bonded to both the rugged outer material and a specially developed robust inner lining. The 3-layer design utilises game-changing membranes that are specially processed and provide high strength.
Gore-Tex Pro garments only use outer textiles that are highly snag-resistant. All products that feature it come with the added reassurance that they’ve gone through rigorous scientific testing in labs and extreme outdoor conditions. New Gore-Tex Pro also benefits from patented Gore Micro Grid Backer technology which protects the membrane from abrasion on the inside without weighing things down further or clogging up the jacket’s breathability.
In amongst that brief list of ingredients at the start of this section, you might have noticed that the nylon used is 100% recycled. Patagonia, no stranger to producing environmentally-friendly products of course, are the first in the industry to make all 62 of their shells with recycled materials – sewing all of them in Fair Trade Certified factories. The recycled materials are sourced from industrial waste, plastic bottles, fish nets and other consumer cast-offs. What it all means, in this context, is that the PowSlayer has a smaller environmental footprint. We like that.
Patagonia is hoping that by leading the way when it comes to producing “responsible” gear, the rest of the industry will be inspired to follow suit. Here’s hoping that theory plays out in the years to come.
