Patagonia Down Sweater

Summary

This sweater/jacket is a favorite of mine. Super light weight and compressability make it perfect for camping and backpacking.

This is my #1 garment for early spring and fall camping and backpacking trips. Spent the first week of May in Yellowstone with nighttime temps in mid-20s and daytime high of 32-50 and this was almost all I needed. I did use a hardshell over it for the first hour or so in the morning or if I was on a route with a lot of wind.

It also makes a great pillow once you're in your tent and sleeping bag. I seen this on sale in a number of places lately and all I can say is, "grab one!"

Summary

Nice quality...warm.

I've had this jacket since January and it's nice to wear around town as it's got a nice feel to it with all the puffiness. I will agree with a previous reviewer that I got the great fit around the chest and shoulders but it is a little loose fitting around the waist.

I had the unfortunate opportunity to get it soiled from an aluminum handcart and that cost $30 to get dry cleaned, so needless too say I don't wear it anymore as an everyday jacket. 

I would recommend this jacket to keep warm any day!

As soon as I put it on, I understood why they call it a “sweater.” The Patagonia Down Sweater is super lightweight — it feels more like a sweater than a performance jacket.

It’s available in a range of colors including Amaranth (a hot pink-purple with eye-catching contrasting trim). I wore it immediately and enjoyed its warmth and comfortable fit.

Patagonia’s Down Sweater is made of 22-denier 100% recycled polyester ripstop with Deluge DWR finish. The fabric feels strong and durable and admirably repels water.

The 800-fill down is extremely lightweight and warm. The lightness of the fill makes the jacket very comfortable—some down items feel restrictive due to their bulkiness. This jacket is no weightier than a favorite fleece yet offers the warmth, water repellence, and wind resistance of heavier options.

For a more complete review and photos visit my site GearGuide.

I picked up this down sweater at the end of the winter this year after trying out a number of different synthetic jackets. This one fits like a glove, is instantly warm, weighs next to nothing, and packs down to the size of a grapefruit.

The first time wearing it was when I took the doors of the Jeep on an early spring night. It kept me warm after the temperature dropped and wind picked up.

I brought it on a trip to Maine a few weeks after getting it and found it to stand up pretty well to temperatures in the upper twenties.

I'm planning on getting a lot more use of this jacket next winter.

I have wanted to invest in a lightweight packable down jacket for awhile. Most are pretty pricey, so when I found this one on sale for $125 I took the plunge.

I just recently used it on an overnight hike to Dragon's Tooth on the AT. As for performance it delivered as expected. It compresses very small into it's own pocket for easy storage in my backpack and weighs only 12 oz. Temps got down in the 30's that night and I stayed very warm with it on. I didn't even use my outer shell. I later stuffed it into a sack with my shell and it made a nice pillow for bedtime.

My only complaint is that the fit is not the best. I'm 6'2" 225 lbs. I have the XL. It fits fine in the arms, shoulders, and waist, but it is too loose around the torso. I would prefer it be more form fitting. I tried on a Large, but it was too constricting in the arm pits and shoulders, so I had to go with the XL.

Still a great performer and I plan on tossing it in my pack for every backpacking trip.

I picked this up on a backpacking web board from another user who, at 6'5", was just too tall for this jacket in XL.

Pros: it is super-light - just over 12 oz, highly compressible and very warm for the weight. It makes a superb insulation layer under a shell for temps down into the single digits with decent base layers underneath.

It also compresses into its own internal pocket, making packing a cinch. The nylon shell w/ DWR sheds snow, but I've never tested it in the rain, and doubt I ever will, as I always have a rain shell when needed. Reasonably high collar protects the neck.

Cons: only one - the waist cinch, a very thin elastic cord, has come undone at one end, and I'm not sure it will be an easy fix. Still, this would only affect performance on really windy days if this is the outer layer.

Minor issue: some people may not like the elastic wrist closures.