Thanks to New Jersey Transit, whose many bus stops and lightrail stations are opened completely to the elements, I (a commuter) needed to invest in more substantial winter gear. The communal orgies for body-heat with people I never cared to get so close to would have to end. That’s where Patagonia’s Men’s Wanaka Down Jacket comes in.
Waterproof jackets are not impossible to find. But I needed to get myself one that wouldn’t have me looking like a lumberjack or ice-trucker. I live, work, and study in and around New York City. Looking fashionable is a standard. Staying dry and warm comes second. Luckily the Wanaka Down Jacket provides all of these.
It is a good-looking coat. It’s simple and clean in design: one buttoned pocket on the left chest, a zip-down pocket on the right, army jacket-like collar, detachable hood, and urban color tones (so you don’t look like a Swiss tourist.) And… It fits pretty well, snug but yet loose enough for your ugly Christmas sweaters and turtlenecks.
I received the jacket mid-October. Thinking I would have to wait a month or more for a true test, I decided to run my own experiments at home. 100% waterproof you say? Shower time! With nothing else on but the jacket and my last remaining memories of dignity, I decided to test how well its H2NO (har-har) technology works. I emerged from the shower as bone-dry as the hydrophobic jacket itself. Gotta love science.
Cold winds blew and ice fell during Halloween weekend in New York City and I needed to get to work. Being inside a train is no test, so New Jersey transit was more than happy to force me to walk in the snow by running a “ routine maintenance,” a mile from my stop. Feeling up to the challenge, I marched to work. Patagonia’s Wanaka jacket did its job. I got there dry, warm, and only slightly pissed off. Greater winter challenges will emerge and with this jacket, I’m eager to take them on.
