Patagonia PowSlayer Jacket | Review - Mpora

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Patagonia PowSlayer Jacket | Review

Get yourself into the backcountry with the environmentally-friendly PowSlayer from Patagonia

Why We Chose The Patagonia PowSlayer Jacket: Lightweight, durable, environmentally-friendly, ethically-produced, protection from the elements. 

Price: £600

BUY HERE

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.

Features

Any ski jacket called ‘PowSlayer’ would be faintly ludicrous if it didn’t have obvious pow-riding features, obvious pow-riding features like a powder skirt. Fortunately, Patagonia  have walked the walk as well as they’ve talked the talk here and a protective powder skirt is present and correct. When you’re charging through the deep stuff, the last thing you want to be fretting about is snow finding its way to places you don’t want it going. No sweat. ‘Pattie G’ has you covered. 

Backcountry missions can be tiring, especially if you’ve skinned up your skis and gone touring on an unseasonably warm day. With that in mind, we’re happy to report that the Patagonia PowSlayer has pit-zip venting – meaning you can keep cool on those long uphill marches to a spot your mountain guide Sébastien keeps insisting is “heaven on earth for ze powder.” 

We’d always make the case for safety first when it comes to going on ski touring adventures, so it’s good to see Patagonia commit to putting in a concealed RECCO reflector that will make you searchable to professional rescuers by bouncing back a directional signal.

Of course, RECCO reflectors do not prevent avalanches, nor do they guarantee your survival if the worst should happen and you get buried, but they’re definitely better than nothing. If you’re planning to ride off-piste terrain, be sure to be carrying a transceiver, shovel and probe (maybe the BCA Tracker 4 Avalanche Transceiver and BCA RS EXT Avalanche Shovel and Stealth 300 Probe – hint, hint). 

Conclusion

Weighing in at just 547g, this backcountry beauty manages to juggle being tough and durable with being genuinely lightweight. The jacket will protect you from the elements and, thanks to its impressive eco-credentials, help in its own small way to protect the environment from single-use plastics and the oil and gas industry responsible for them. 

Go forth and slay that powder with the Patagonia PowSlayer.

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Patagonia Ski 100 2020/21 ski jackets
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