Patagonia Powslayer Jacket

Here are a couple in situ, full-body shots to give you an idea of the jacket's cut and sizing. I wear a medium and am 6'2", 175lbs. I tend to like a closer, rather than looser, fit. Is that a man or a bug?

Here's a snap showing all the pockets and associated zippers. There is also a pocket within one of the chest pockets that is pretty cool. Good for a phone or wallet perhaps. You can see the handwarmer pockets at that photo's bottom. It may be personal preference but I could do without these. I say there are already enough pockets and these don't work with a pack hip belt anyway. Vislon® watertight, centre-front zip is durable and easy to use—and bomber.

Here's a straight-on view of the hood. Reinforced brim and helmet compatible. Also note the two little pulls where the grey turns to green on  the neck. These are part of the Cohaesive cordlock system that keeps everything handily tucked away. 

Here's the rearview, again with the Cohaesive pull system. The RECCO tab resides just below the hood. Between the Powslayer jacket, pants and Scarpa F1 boots I run, I am fully RECCO'd. 

Low-profile cuffs accommodate an over- or under- glove program.

Here are the looker's left and right inside pockets. One big enough to dump a pair of gloves, the other provide security for pocket bacon or other valuables. 

This little doohickey connects the Powslayer Jacket's powder skirt to the Powslayer Pants—for total draft elimination and powder protection. 

Some people like a powder skirt and some people don't. I'd say everybody likes a powder skirt that snaps up and out of the way like this one. See the Cohaesive embedded cordlock system in the hem here too.  

Shell: 3-layer, 4-oz 40-denier 100% recycled nylon ripstop GORE-TEX® Pro shell with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish.
Powder skirt: 2.2-oz 50-denier 100% polyester taffeta

• Low-profile water-resistant zippers 
• Helmet compatible hood with laminated visor 
• Underarm vents 
• Adjustable powder skirt
• Internal webbing loop connects to snow pants
• Secure media pocket with cable routing
• Arm pocket holds your ski pass.
• Cohaesive® embedded cordlock system in hood and hem 
• Recco® Rescue System reflector 

The Powslayer Jacket is the perfect companion piece to the Powslayer Pants. Together, they provide heavy duty weather protection—snow, rain, wind, whatever. Though not a dedicated backcountry piece (like the Patagonia Descensionist Jacket we reviewed earlier) the Powslayer may be the jacket to get if you only have one for lift-service and backcountry. Or...if you are going up to a hut for a week, have space for one jacket and don't know what the weather will be like. In many situations like this, it's better to slightly over- than under-kill with your outer layers. I have worn this kit skiing at Whitewater Ski Resort all season, as well as on two overnight trips to local mountain huts. The GORETEX Pro fabric performed really well—keeping me dry on the uptrack and warm on the down.

This jacket, along with many of this year's pieces in Patagonia's Snow Line, is made with a 100% recycled nylon face fabric. Apparently, making one jacket this way diverts approx 35 plastic bottles from the landfill. This is good news and something they are doing to minimize waste. I feel good about that fact while wearing the jacket. Who wouldn't?

Fit-wise, I am 6'2" tall and weigh-in at about 175lbs. I like my kit trim rather than baggie and the medium jacket and pants fit to a T. Look at the photos above and decide whether you'd like a larger fit. 

For my needs, there may be a couple extra pockets. Two "main" pockets are enough for me and if I have my druthers, I'd go for chest pockets so they'd be out of the way  of my pack's waste belt. That's a personal thing though...

As you can likely tell, we are huge Patagonia fans. Not just for their great kit but also for their corporate ethos and their "put-their-money-where-their-mouth-is" approach. Patagonia's mission, "we're in business to save our home planet" comes to life in the funding they provide, their lobbying efforts to save public lands (including our local Jumbo Valley) and in their corporate culture.