Men's Untracked Jacket

Yo! If you’re reading this and thinking about buying the untracked jacket - it’s great in many ways but falls down in two for me personally (1. 5 stars off for the first, 0. 5 off for the second).

I am a self proclaimed Patagonia-head, and have over 30 pieces in my wardrobe from T-shirts and mid layers to backpacks and packing cubes. The thing I like the most about the brand is their unrivalled environmental effort whilst also remaining ultra practical and STYLISH! I was therefore stoked last season to pick up a green untracked jacket when my Superdry one gave up on me (after I’d put it in the dryer to try and reactivate the water repellency and it disintegrated… tough gig). I also found a fab deal for a yellow one from the previous season and so was all set to go this year with some fresh new gear that I was super excited about wearing. I spoke so highly of the brand that my other half also purchased an untracked jacket in blue!

We both headed out on our first ski week of the year and although we loved the jackets performance in the snow and cold, we were sad to discover a design flaw regarding the hood. As you can see in the pictures and videos it doesn’t come up over the helmet in full, and leaves you looking like a xenomorph from alien as the empty space balloons up at the back. It’s both the same for my large head and my other half’s tiny one. The videos and photos aren’t us staging the look at all, in fact with my yellow jacket you can see me trying to pull it down (with the toggle at the back fully undone) and it still maintains the ‘megamind’ aesthetic! The other two jackets shown in the chairlift video (orange and black Arcteryx ones) come fully over the helmets and fit nicely. This is really disappointing, as it’s the first bit of Patagonia gear I’ve worn that makes me think cringe slightly as I pull the hood up for it to do its job; with every other piece I feel proud supporting a company that is so committed to excellence for the planet, AND feel like a stylish adventurer to boot. Sadly not the case here.

The other feature that I miss from my fast fashion Superdry jacket (and some of the Peak Performance/Arcteryx jackets in this price range I’ve seen) is a two way front zipper. It offers you lots of versatility whether you’re sitting down on a chair lift in-resort and want a bit of extra wiggle room, or are on the trail and want to heat dump in the fastest way possible/want extra room for your stride as you power up the slope. Half a star off here as I appreciate they don’t advertise having a two way front zip, but this is more of a “didn’t realise how good of a feature it was until I didn’t have it” situation (I have just noticed they have double zips on some of their climbing gear, bring it over guys!).

All in all this jacket does what it says on the tin and will keep you dry in rough conditions. It has good pockets (though feels tough at £630 still reserving the second chest pocket for the Powslayer exclusively), and will wear well for many years to come I’m sure, but I wouldn’t recommend it due to the hood and lack of second zipper. I think I’m going to eBay these jackets and pickup something else for next year.

I promise Patagonia that I’ll now go and leave everything else which I love with 5 star reviews and glowing praise, but the untracked jacket sadly missed the mark for me.