Patagonia Peak Mission Jacket and Tights

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Basic summary: Cold weather top and bottom garments for men and women, both created with lightweight construction, efficient ventilation, and strong thermoregulatory elements.

MSRP:

• Peak Mission Jacket: $199
• Peak Mission Tights: $119

Features:

Peak Mission Jacket:

• Weight: 244g men’s / 213g women’s
• Exterior fabric: 1.9-oz 100% recycled polyester stretch ripstop with Durable Water Repellent (DWR) finish
• Interior lining: 4.5-oz 100% microfleece polyester (45% recycled) tricot with a wicking finish
• Single-pull adjustable hood
• Taped interior seams
• Zippered vertical chest pocket converts to stuff sack with carabiner loop
• Internal media sleeve with headphone cord port
• Half-elastic cuffs at wrists
• Two zippered handwarmer pockets
• Drop tail rear coverage
• Slim fit

Peak Mission Tights:

• Weight: 281g men’s / 213g women’s
• Exterior fabric: 6.8-oz 68% recycled nylon/15% polyester/17% spandex 4-way stretch jersey
• Interior surface: Brushed micro-terry with miDori bioSoft
• Polygiene permanent odor control
• Gusseted construction for improved range of motion
• Internal flat elastic in waistband
• External drawcord
• Horizontal zipper pocket at center rear
• Reflective accents

Deep Dive:

Patagonia’s new Peak Mission lineup is intended for unpredictable fall outings when weather conditions can change drastically, or for high intensity efforts in cold winter conditions where you require effective ventilation in addition to insulation. The jacket and tights are available in both men’s and women’s versions, with virtually identical construction elements in both genders. One curious limitation (as of this writing) is that the men’s and women’s jackets are only available in one color option, while the tights are available in two options for both men and women.

Patagonia Peak Mission Jacket
The Peak Mission jacket is impressive in the degree of insulation and protection it provides in such a lightweight package. We’ve done most of our testing with this jacket worn over a short sleeve base layer, running in temps down to the mid-30s, and it has provided more than enough insulation from the cold. The DWR finish resists brief showers quite well, and the hood allows you to capture or dump heat from your head as conditions warrant.

Its exterior fabric is a highly breathable stretch polyester material that has approximately the same thickness as Patagonia’s other lightweight shells (the Houdini and the Airshed) but feels much more durable, stretchy, and abrasion resistant. Insulation is reinforced on the front panels and across the shoulder blades with a microfleece layer configured in a raised diamond-shaped grid; this layer adds warmth, but also allows air to move off the skin for more effective ventilation when needed. This lining extends the full length of the front panels, providing a bit more warmth to the dual zippered hand pockets than the shell layer alone would offer.

Women’s Peak Mission Jacket, rear view

The Peak Mission jacket is cut with a slim fit torso on both men’s and women’s versions, so it fits snug over a base layer, but the panels have impressive stretch capacity and don’t limit range of motion in our testing. We like the drop-tail cut in the rear torso for improved coverage and insulation around our waist. Taped seams on the interior surface are very smooth and didn’t cause any chafing. The hood has an elasticized opening that holds its position well without compromising your peripheral vision, and the rear drawstring adjustment to the hood allows you to keep it in place in high winds, or to secure it around your trucker hat if needed. At the wrists, the palm side of the cuffs are elasticized, but the back of the hand side isn’t; the result is a clean minimal line on top, with just enough flexibility to pull the cuffs over gloves or a watch.

Another simple yet thoughtful innovation on the Peak Mission jacket is the interior phone pouch inside the vertical zippered chest pocket; this prevents your phone or iPod from shifting back and forth during the course of your run. This chest pocket also has a convenient media port for headphones, and it converts into a stuff sack that is easy to compress into a hydration vest or backpack.

Patagonia Peak Mission Tights
Similar to its jacket counterpart, the Peak Mission tights combine lightweight construction with strong insulative capacity and a comfortable feel against the skin. Although they are relatively thin in comparison to other running tights, they should provide adequate thermal insulation for all but the harshest winter environments.

The blended nylon, polyester, and spandex fabric allows excellent stretch capacity, and gusseted construction of the lower panels provides even greater range of motion. What makes these tights unique, however, is the interior surface, which has outstanding comfort against bare skin, even when exercising at high intensity. This surface is crafted with a soft brushed terry fabric that is then enhanced with miDori bioSoft, a plant-based agent applied to fabrics that increases their moisture-wicking capability and surface softness. Another performance-friendly enhancement to the fabric is the use of Polygiene permanent odor control, which allows you to wear these tights for several days in a row without washing.

Wider waistband on women’s version

Both the men’s and women’s versions have a flat elastic waistband; the men’s is approximately 1 inch high, while the women’s is closer to 4 inches. Both have an external drawcord, and both have a horizontal zipper pocket at the center rear. The pocket isn’t quite big enough to accommodate most smart phones, but you can stash a couple of gels or other small items. This pocket doesn’t have a key clip, and it’s the only cargo area on the entire garment (no internal or external pouches), so convenient key storage is one area we would recommend for improvement.  This is a non-issue if you’re wearing a gear belt or vest, though – so on the whole, we have been very pleased with the comfort and performance of these tights in cold conditions.

The Patagonia Peak Mission Jacket and Tights are now available now in both men’s and women’s versions at www.patagonia.com.