Males’s Patagonia DAS Parka Evaluate

Backside Line

Designed with alpinists and climbers in thoughts, the Patagonia DAS Parka affords such spectacular efficiency and heat that winter hikers have additionally caught on to this nice winter jacket.

Its artificial insulation is among the many finest in our lineup of finest winter jackets and supplies nice heat even when moist. Examined within the damp and chilly of Alaska’s Prince William Sound, the DAS Parka is certainly one of our favorites for a packable and heat artificial jacket.

The DAS Parka affords some options distinctive from others we examined. Elastic thumb loops within the cuffs of the sleeves can help you maintain the jacket safe and heat. The cinch for the hem is below the underside fringe of the jacket, which eliminates a number of the awkward bunching present in others examined.

Decidedly technical, the DAS Parka eschews type for efficiency. Whereas this is probably not essentially the most fashionable jacket to take out for an evening in town, its technical efficiency is among the many finest we’ve examined. Check out the DAS Parka in your subsequent winter summit, or moist climate journey.

How We Examined

The Patagonia DAS Parka was worn frequently in coastal Alaska’s damp chilly over three months to check its sturdiness and heat when moist. From backcountry cabin journeys within the single digits to moist days within the temperate rainforest, the DAS Parka was subjected to a wide range of situations to convey essentially the most complete assessment doable.

Heat

The DAS Parka affords a number of the finest artificial insulation of any jacket we now have examined. When taking this out within the chilly and damp of Alaska’s temperate rainforest in winter situations, it saved us heat even whereas damp. We regularly had moist sleeves and a humid core, and it saved us heat all through. When you’re somebody who recreates in damp chilly usually, that is the jacket for you.

DAS stands for useless air house. The DAS Parka traps insulating air because of its 133-gram PimaLoft Gold Eco Insulation. An additional 40 grams of insulation is added to the core to additional increase heat. The jacket is roomy, permitting house to layer beneath whereas elastic within the aspect panels helps maintain the profile trim sufficient to entice warmth. That is the jacket to throw on whereas belaying, having lunch on a mountain summit, or strolling via chilly and moist climates.

Climate Resistance

The Patagonia DAS Parka affords reasonable climate resistance, sufficient to face up to transient publicity to the weather encountered in most winter actions. Its Pertex Quantum Professional shell—a 10-denier ripstop nylon with a polyurethane coating and sturdy water-repellent (DWR) end—successfully sheds snow, ice, and lightweight rain. Water beads up and rolls off the material, whereas the windproof building blocks chilly gusts, making a reliable barrier in opposition to the weather.

Nonetheless, this jacket isn’t designed to be a standalone weatherproof layer. Heat sufficient that you just’re seemingly to not use this jacket in a downpour, the DAS Parka isn’t waterproof and can take up moisture with time. The outer materials is thinner than others we examined which helps maintain it light-weight however compromises its climate resistance. Because of its massive dimension, layering excessive of this jacket is hard. When you’re going to be spending prolonged time uncovered to rain, we propose a lighter insulated layer that may match a water-resistant shell over it.

Consolation & Performance

The DAS Parka is designed as a extremely technical piece and whereas it gained’t win any type awards, it’s most at house on adventures. Designed as a belay jacket to throw excessive of different layers, the match is deliberately roomy. When you’re in search of a extra athletic reduce, we suggest attempting to dimension down or testing out a unique jacket that’s slimmer. The cinch across the hem does herald a number of the decrease materials, however this jacket continues to be deliberately lengthy to offer heat and safety.

This technical jacket goals for perform and effectivity in harsh environments over type and luxury. It passes up a number of the comforts of different jackets we examined which have snug options like knit cuffs or fleece-lined pockets and collars. Regardless, we discovered the outer materials easy and cozy on the pores and skin, and left us with none emotions of abrasion or itchiness.

Options

Whereas the DAS Parka could move on a number of the options devoted to consolation and magnificence, what options it does have are centered on efficiency. The elastic thumb loops are a singular function not seen in another jacket in our choice. These assist maintain the jacket securely in place when placing on mittens or gauntlet gloves. Whereas the jacket doesn’t have any velcro straps on the outside to tighten down the cuffs, these thumb loops act as pseudo-cinches to assist maintain out the climate.

The hood whereas designed to suit a climbing helmet can usually be too massive for simply carrying a hat. A single tensioner behind the hood secures it snugly across the head. The hem is cinched with an simply adjustable gasket contained in the jacket that reminds of a powder skirt discovered on ski and snowboard jackets. We love this for conserving heat in and snow out. 

With an included stuff stack, the DAS Parka is extraordinarily packable. It’s simply squashed right down to the dimensions of a giant water bottle or loaf of bread. Lastly, the DAS Parka comes outfitted with 5 pockets: two exterior hand pockets, one exterior chest, and two massive inside stuff pockets. The interior stuff pockets are particularly helpful for stuffing mittens, hats, and different layers into.

Ought to You Purchase the Patagonia DAS Parka?

When you’re the kind of one that values efficiency and performance above all else in your gear, then the DAS Parka is the jacket for you. Eschewing a number of the type and luxury of different jackets, the DAS Parka is all enterprise.

We love its heat when moist efficiency, glorious weight-to-warmth ratio, and packability. That is the kind of jacket to place in your backpack for an outing not sure of what climate you’ll encounter. It’s roomy sufficient to throw on over different layers and supplies spectacular heat.

Whereas not designed to interchange a hardshell or rain shell, this jacket’s shell can deal with ice, snow and the occasional drizzle. The DAS Parka is a wonderful selection for anybody spending prolonged time within the damp and chilly and is bound to attraction to climbers, hikers, and winter recreators alike.

What Different Winter Jackets Ought to You Contemplate?

Check out our different related suggestions under or get the deets on the full lineup of finest winter jackets for males.

REI Stormhenge Evaluate: If the outer materials of the DAS Parka left you wanting extra climate resistance, the Stormhenge affords the heat of down, however with the waterproof exterior of a shell.

LL Bean Ultralight 850 Evaluate: If the burden of your jacket is among the many prime of your concerns, the LL Bean Ultralight 850 is the lightest jacket in our lineup. It’s excellent for adventures on the transfer.

Rab Neutrino Professional Evaluate: The Neutrino Professional is the down-filled brother of the DAS Parka. With an identical outer materials and size, the Neutrino Professional affords the packability and loft of down however with a equally performance-oriented design.