Gearing Up For Winter - No. 245

Patagonia DAS Parka
Patagonia’s DAS ($265, one pound, 13 ounces) continues to set the standard for synthetic belay jackets. Thanks to its quilted construction, it is unfailingly warm, despite having only 5.3 ounces of Polarguard insulation in the body (and four ounces in the sleeves). The hood fits perfectly over a helmet — not too tight, not too loose — and adjusts easily. All of the drawstrings run through the inner liner, keeping them from getting caught in carabiners. The fabric is coated with Patagonia’s proven Deluge DWR and the elbows, shoulders, and sides are all reinforced. The DAS has three outer pockets (two hand warmer and a hidden chest pocket) and the front zipper fits into a slot at the top of the collar, keeping it off your face. Downsides? The inner lining often slips under the cuffs and protrudes, getting in the way, and the mesh, inner water-bottle pockets are too big, allowing the bottle to slosh around and hang down below the hem.
Patagonia: 800.638.6464, www.patagonia.com

Loki Lodur Highloft
The Norse god Loki was able to assume many different shapes and, like its namesake, there is more to Loki clothing than meets the eye. The Lodur ($240, one pound, six ounces) creatively offers two hidden features: a pair of integrated mittens nested in the sleeves, and a windproof fleece face shield sewn to the hood that can be pulled over your head to function as a neck gaiter or balaclava.
The Loki mitts are insulated, have a sticky grip, and are easy to get on or off using two hands. They do add bulk to the sleeves, which takes some getting used to, and the internal nesting
system makes getting your hand (sans mitt) through the sleeve a task. When you reach up (a high ice-tool placement, for example), the mitt tends to pull the rest of the jacket up. Loki plans to add some design changes in the 2006-2007 run to address these problems, including a more streamlined nesting system and a more generous cut in the arms.
The Lodur clocks in as the lightest jacket reviewed, but this comes
at the expense of warmth; with only 4.7 ounces of Primaloft insulation, it is not designed to be a deep-freeze parka. The Lodur is one of the most innovative cloting pieces come out recently, offering a unique minimalist modular system.
Loki: 888.879.5654, www.lokiusa.com

Wild Things Belay Jacket
With the famously harsh White Mountains as their test lab, it’s no surprise that Wild Things would produce one of the warmest parkas we tested, with six ounces of Primaloft insulation. The most no-frills jacket reviewed here, the Belay Parka ($285, two pounds, two ounces) has a generous cut (without being bulky); fitting it over other layers was never a problem. It has two outer pockets and one inner, as well as a tightly cut, chest-height inner mesh water bottle pocket. The hood is easy to adjust, but tended to fit a bit snug over a Petzl Elios helmet; a more generous cut would help. The Epic shell fabric proved the most water resistant among all the jackets and is sewn together with a minimum of seams.
Wild Things: 603.356.9453, www.wildthingsgear.com