User Review: Patagonia Storm Jacket

Patagonia Storm Jacket
Above: The current Storm Jacket, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed October 8, 1999 by an anonymous hiker

Rating:
Price Paid: $400 (Europe)

I must agree with other reviews (Dangerousdave and others). The Patagonia Storm is not a jacket that can match “storm’ Patagonia standards.

It is light, nice, well made, but it is also very easy to rip it (as others have noticed). After a few minutes rain or wet snow (say, not more than 15-20), the external fabric gets soaked, and the jacket, that has a low breathability compared with others I own (mainly Gore-tex, but also Sympatex), becomes absolutely not breathable. Unless you do not move at all, condensation becomes rapidly very high: I mean you get wet.

I do not know if in the last times the Storm has been improved: mine has six years. But sure, from the beginning, it was clear it was not a jacket suitable for real mountaneering use.

Here we have not, as far as I know, the USA return service. If after one year you get that your jacket does not work, no one will give back you money: never heard something similar. I use my Storm for climbing in summer at low altitude and general use, but I can't say I have been happy with it: for the same price, you can buy much better stuff.

For what regards the Gore-tex comparison: it would be interesting to ask Patagonia why the Torre Jacket, top technical mountaineering hyperexpensive Patagonia piece, is laminated with Gore-tex and not with Patagonia H2No. Maybe when it comes to real heavy duty stuff, Patagonia also thinks Gore-tex could be better?