Marketed as a piece that blurs the line between a mid-layer and a shell, the Patagonia Dual Aspect Hoody turned into my go-to “maybe” piece. As in, maybe it will rain, maybe it will snow, maybe it will be windy, maybe it will be cold, or maybe it will be perfect.
Retail: $249
Its the layer I pack when I’m not exactly sure what the weather is going to do. Often, as can be noted in our reviews, I’ll take a piece of gear marketed towards alpinists, and use it in the rock climbing environments, or general day-to-day life here in the San Juan mountains of Colorado, the same idea applied to testing out this jacket.
The first thing I realized about this jacket, is that if it was maybe going to rain I’d take it along. With the Polartec Power Dry fabric it repels water nicely, and was the type of layer I wanted on windy, spring days in Indian Creek when the sky might erupt into rain or snow. Some of these type of days nothing ended up happening but some slightly chilly belays, and keeping this on as an outer layer usually kept me shielded from the wind and elements.
This is a great layer for multi-pitch routes as well, and especially with the “maybe” factors. It was clearly designed for climbers by climbers, the hood perfectly pulls over a helmet, and the piece is overall very stretchy, fine to climb in and never limiting for a reachy move. The handwarmer pockets with Slim Zips stay clear of the harness and the pack waistbelt.
I also ended up wearing the Dual Aspect Hoody quite a bit for winter bike commuting, again when conditions were variable and unpredictable. The “stretchy” component of this jacket should not be overlooked, and it zippers up to protect the face in less than ideal conditions.
Bottom line: All in all this is a unique piece that is great for general climbing use in the cooler months, or in the alpine anytime. A layer that you can climb in, use for approaches, bike commuting, and even a sufferfest belay. One that rarely goes long without me using it, and now definitely comes along on every climbing trip.
The Patagonia Dual Aspect Hoody (men’s) on backcountry.com
The Patagonia Dual Aspect Hoody (women’s) on backcountry.com
-LM
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In the vertical world, quality gear is as important as good weather or the right partner. At the Climbing Zine, we review gear that we put to the test in our personal climbing pursuits, over months of use. If we like it we’ll tell you, and if we don’t we’ll tell you. That’s our policy…If you have gear for us to consider for a review please contact us at luke@climbingzine.com.
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About us: The Climbing Zine was started in 2010 by Al Smith III and Luke Mehall. It continues to the day with the mission of representing the true essence of climbing. Our crown jewel is our printed version, but we also do the interweb thing, and Kindle.
We have also published three books: American Climber, The Great American Dirtbags and Climbing Out of Bed, written by publisher, Luke Mehall.
