Summary Patagonia gets a bad rap for designing. Hood: sufficiently large for over/under helmet use. I like the long drop tail for wind and rain protection. For example, I am a medium in most manufacturers products, and this M fits me perfectly. I am not sure why Patagonia placed this inside the zipper seam placing it outside, and replacing the velcro fastener with a zipper would allow it to be used for other purposes more easily and securely. Ion, as a counter-example, has the strings on the outside.Ĭhest pocket: Present Important for self-stowing the jacket. Patagonia designed the pull strings inside the edge of the collar, so when the jacket is zipped up, the strings will not flail about in the wind, whipping you in the eye. Other windshells, such as the Marmot Ion, for example, put the foam disk outside the hood brim, requiring two hands, or dextereous fingers, to accomplish the tightening. In this manner, the string will not pull back out under normal tension, allowing single handed tightening. When the string is pulled, it slides through a foam disk which is captured in the rim of the hood. Hood drawstring mechanism: This uses an interesting design. enough time to get your shell out, and put it on. Edit it wets through after about 5 minues rain adequate, I think, for a windshirt. Being a wind shell, I only demand a little resistance to rain to be acceptable. The fabric is 1.1 ripstop nylon with a DWR coating. This is sufficient to assist with water vapor transport, so the vapor does not have to condense, travel through a solid layer, then evaporate on the other side. Here are my initial impressions.įabric/Air Permeability: Good air permeability I was able to breathe slowly through the fabric. The Houdini is a fantastic jacket and defines what a "5" should be. The only change that I would like to see would be to move the chest pocket on the inside of the jacket to the outside so that it more easily accessible. The jacket is also "quiet" and does not make a really annoying whooshing sound that becomes annoying. The zipper pull is locking so it does not flap with movement. I like full zippers in windshirts for maximum venting. The zipper is full-length and works very well. While one still must be cautious with the Houdini, it can shrug off light wear. Quantum is very attractive in a jacket like this, but I needed more toughness than it provides. I find that the nylon fabric is quite durable for its weight. The jacket breathes quite well and will resist a light rain for awhile before finally getting wet. The drawcord hem also keeps it where it should be. The hood also fits perfectly and molds to the head with nice adjustability. Plenty of room for a few layers, and the sleeves are long enough to not ride up. It is a perfect example of a windshirt to me, and it is a great blend of all the major attributes for this kind of garment. Like the other posters, I also love the Houdini. With the Houdini offering much better breathability than the old Dragonfly, the Houdini might be the better balanced choice.Īnyone else have any experience with the Houdini? I expected the Lite-speed to be more water resistant. My jacket is in excellent, like new condition and the DWR and material should have held out much better.Ī good wind shirt is one of the most important pieces of gear to me. Arms, shoulders, head, back and top of chest, soaked. I, on the other hand, was totally soaked in my Lite-speed, which should have held out much better. I couldn’t believe the jacket was so water resistant, while still breathing well. My wife’s Patagonia Houdini wind jacket kept her surprisingly dry. However, the results of the unplanned test were surprising. We did not like the old Patagonia Dragonfly, because the material breathed like a rubber bag (not at all) and didn’t feel good against the skin (felt like a nylon bag). This was in 40-45 temps over a light fleece and thin merino baselayer. I recently had the opportunity to test the jacket in a steady downpour while hiking for about 45 minutes, with my wife wearing the Patagonia Houdini. The material has excellent breathabilty, but there is a downside. I’ve used my Montane Lite-Speed in almost all conditions. My wife has had such good experience with her Houdini that I’m going to switch over from my Montane Lite-speed.
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