Houdini jacket full#
Houdini jacket plus#

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.

Houdini jacket plus#

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.

Houdini jacket full#

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.