User Review: Patagonia DAS Parka

Patagonia DAS Parka
Above: The current DAS Parka, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed August 25, 2007 by O.J

Rating:
Fabric: Nylon
Fill: Nylon
Price Paid: $199

I previously reviewed the 2006-2007 version of the Das which I found to be one of the least liked gear I've ever taken out in the cold outdoors with me. Following my review, a friend, who always raved about the Das, read what I wrote, called me immediately after. He agreed to ship me the DAS Parka from the 2004-2005 model year as a gift from his local store and urged me to use it as best as I could and re-write my reviews for the DAS.

I received my new Das Parka early February and was able to make the most of it during the latter half of one of the briefest ice climbing season ever recorded in the North East.

The 2004-2005 model was without a doubt a five star jacket, filling all the needs of an active winter outdoorsman; warmth, lightness, ease of wear and durability. In fact my experience with the 2004-2005 model was night and day compared to the 2006-2007 model that failed me before. The earlier model was sized better so the medium fit on point, with plenty room for layering, great sleeve length, without the extra bulk and bunching up in the torso-like the 2006-2007 models tend to have. The outer fabric was a bright cobalt blue nylon which was very sturdy and dirt resistant compare to the newer silky-soft nylon found on the outer shell newer DAS Parkas.

One gripe is that Patagonia usually sells these DAS Parkas on the basis that the synthetic loft and out shell is water resistant enough that you could throw it over a rain shell and hike through a winter's sleet/freezing rain storm without discomfort. During an early spring weekend in the woods, after a day of rain activities, temps dipped into the upper 20s at night and I found that the sleeve area around the wrist which got soaking wet, became freezing cold and didn't dry before the end of the trip. So in future I think a quicker drying rainshell over the DAS instead of under will be a wiser move.

Overall, this is a great jacket, and you can still find these much better older models at small local shops in most ski towns or on eBay. Hopefully, Patagonia will reverse their direction of marketing by lowering the quantity and variations of products (eg. do we need four types of specialized down parkas) and improving the quality of the more-technical gear they've been selling that made them famous to begin with.By focusing on fewer high quality items instead of trying to sell lots of various styles/fads of low quality items they will avoid the ever common trap of retail over-expansion that companies like the GAP and The North Face fell into.