The fabric for all the Traverse series products is a 4.7-ounce-per-square-yard, 70 denier, 93% polyester, 7% spandex with four-way mechanical stretch and DWR finish. The jacket has a full zipper, two handwarmer pockets, and a bicep pocket. The pullover has a half zip and a single chest pocket with horizontal zipper. Both the pullover and jacket have elastic cuffs and a slight drop tail. The Pants feature an elastic and drawcord waistband, two zippered handwarmer pockets, gusseted crotch, and straight leg cut. All garments are cut with a slim fit.
We've had the jacket and pants over the past few months for an early look. My jacket has accompanied me on winter trail runs, many training hikes, and a few trips in my local mountains. The fabric is indeed quite stretchy, perfect for use on climbs and strenuous off-trail hikes. I had the jacket out in several nasty windstorms, and it seemed very wind resistant, but I would not say it is windproof (and it is not intended to be). During aerobic activity, it performed quite well as wind protection. Breathability in heavy aerobic use was very good - much better than a wind shell such as a Patagonia Houdini. This shell is perfect for cold weather training or strenuous fall and winter hikes. I did find myself opening the zipper for extra ventilation on strenuous climbs with temperatures in the low 50s. In minor rain, the DWR treatment did fine, but I wouldn't expect these garments to hold off rain for long periods of time. Build quality and workmanship is superb, with good stitching, high quality (but heavy) zippers, and nice touches such as a mesh-lined stand-up collar. Durability was good during my testing, but I did not take the jacket through any long, rocky climbs. I did have it on several bushwhacking sections that stressed the fabric, and it came through with no snags or pulls. I found the slim fit and stretch fabric to be functional for the intended use in high output activities. The handwarmer pockets in the jacket were cut too low for use with a hip belt, but were useful during cool rests. Note that the Pullover does not have handwarmer pockets - just a single chest pocket.
Ryan Jordan tested the Traverse pants over the spring and summer, and found them to be a comfortable, fast drying pant. At 8.8 ounces, they are lighter than most other comparable pants, and the stretch fabric makes them useful in technical hiking and climbing. Ryan found that the pocket design limited the usefulness of this garment as a trekking pant, as the two pockets are shallow and difficult to use for typical trekking storage (compass, small camera, etc). Ryan also found the black fabric on the pants to be limiting in warm or hot weather.
While not a product that would be targeted at an ultralight 3-season kit, the Traverse garments are a good option for cold weather or for summer alpine conditions. The pants are lighter than most other summer pant options. The jacket and pullover are better suited to cooler conditions. My jacket is my new favorite for winter training.
The Traverse Series will be available in January 2009.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Specifications: Fabric:, Features: - Jacket - two handwarmer pockets, vertical bicep pocket, full zipper, elastic cuffs, lined collar. Pullover - half length front zip, horizontal chest pocket, elastic cuffs, lined collar. Pants, Weight:, MSRP:
# WORDS: 880
# PHOTOS: 5
# TABLES: 1
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Patagonia Traverse Softshell Review
Patagonia is a great company and has great product. Whats not to like. They may not be completly UL but thay make bombproof, weatherproof gear. They recycle and give back to the Earth. The Traverse looks like a great winter jacket and pants.
So far I cannot recommend the Traverse pants. The face fabric is great but the seam style (serged it seems?) sucks. Mine are fraying up and down both sides and the crotch. Boooo. I'm going to take mine back to the store and see what they say.
Also the traverse pants are nice but not quite warm enough for winter above treeline. You'd need a pretty heavy base layer to make it work.
For running, fall scrambling, and hiking they're great, it's too bad about the seams :(
I'm confused….the Patagonia website shows these garments are on sale now (as opposed to what this article says). Is Patagonia selling an older model now?
They are on sale from september 2008!, that's when i bought my Traverese pants. So i don't think january 2009 is right???
I've been using the Traverse pants for a little over a month now and they have become my first choice for nearly all my outdoor activities. I use them for running home from college, evening trail runs in the snow and ice and as all-day hiking pants in the mountains around Bergen (on colder days I layer with merino long underwear). They are extremely well made, unbelievably comfortable and light weight too. Ryan's comments on the dark colour and shallow pockets? Well in warm weather I always wear shorts (and would happily carry the Traverse pants as a long option on backpacking trips) and I never carry anything in my pockets when hiking or running. I simply couldn't be happier with them. The jacket is on my Christmas list!
Yes, they are on sale now. Patagonia changed the sale date on these a couple of times, and at the time we wrote the article it was January. Clearly, they got them in stock sooner than they had planned based on our conversations with them at ORSM in August.
Christopher –
Interesting. Is that fraying occurring on the upper, inner thigh? We haven't seen that happening.
Don
It's happening all over, almost every place it's seamed. Outer lower legs on both sides are the worst but really it is all over. This is on the outside of the pants, where the seam might be exposed to abrasion but I've only had them out a handful of time (albeit solid outings of hiking, scrambling, climbing etc).
Chris
If the seems are surged it is possible that there was a problem with the center strand. We have seen this a few times through out the years when we make our winter gear. Though it seems strange that the operator wouldn't have caught it.
Well considering everyone else's good luck so far and my genuine happiness with most of my carefully chosen Patgucci gear, maybe it's a rare mfg defect?
I guess we'll see what Patagonia says. I really like the pants otherwise!
Serging is indeed the correct term; it's the same multi-thread seam used on most capilene garmets for ages now.
Some pilling is normal on capilene-type fabrics. I presume the less squishy hard-shelled fabric puts the threads further out on the face and thus they abrade faster. My old French Roast pants have conventional French-type seams.
I have a guess that Chris has been putting more miles on his than anyone else. ;)
I'm sure you can return it with no questions asked. I have returned several items without an issue. That's why you're paying $$$ for their products!
True, I'm not worried about that. Mostly I just like the pants and want to know if it's a design flaw or mine are just abnormal. Looking at DaveC's older Pati pants on our Yellowstone hike, the french seam appeared much less likely to have this issue.
I've had my Traverse out almost daily in the last week; runs and hikes in weather from 20-40 F, mountain biking in the same, and a backcountry ski trip up and down a 9000' peak on an overcast and windy day.
Worn with a light baselayer, it provides comfort for an impressive range of temps. The cut, arm gussets, and generous sleeve length keep things anchored at all times. Wind resistance is impressive for something so breathable. I envision it getting used a ton, and likely replacing my Dragonfly jacket most of the time.
I did remove the chest pocket, which took about 2 hours of work with the seam ripper. IMO the pockets construction was way too thick, the seams too overlapping and the use of iron-on stiffener on the pocket flap un-needed. Removal of the pocket makes the whole deal just disappear as a layer.
Highly recommended thus far.
I've been wearing mine almost every day over the last two months. Unless the wind is really moving, the pullover is a kickass winter aerobic layer. I adjust my underlayers accordingly (a sleeveless baselayer skiing at around freezing, the same plus an R 1/2 hoodie around 0F), unzip on the way up the hill, zip up on the way down.
It's also quite tough. Survived plenty of faceplants into hidden brush in early season conditions.
Highly recommended.
My pants are still going strong despite the piling of the seams. I guess I like them too much to mess with taking them back if that says anything. I only put one small hole in the actual face fabric so far (lower leg) and tore a few stitches at the bottom of one leg on my bike one day.
I'd have to say they're pretty tough long term despite the initial seam issues. They sure do let you move really well, I'm finally a softshell pant convert. With a light long underwear under them they are surprisingly versatile in the cold although I now also have a pair of Alpine Guide pants too.
Now my only new complaint, will Pati make some pants NOT in black? I'm like the black knight when I go out some days…
Whats the water absorbency/drying time of the fabric like?
The fabric is mechanical stretch, thus no lycra or spandex content. Mine's been quite damp on warm ski days, and as a layer under a drysuit for winter canyoneering. It absorbs little water, has Patagonia's bomber DWR, and dries pretty fast.
The black pullover without a chest pocket has really become one of my most favorite pieces of outdoor clothing ever. I've worn it on almost every day outside below 40F in the last six months. It really hits the sweetspot of being windproof enough for an outer layer, and breathable enough to function as a light mid layer.
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