Musings

Reflections on life lived by a coast

  • Home
  • Travel
  • Yoga
You are here: Home / Tools | Technology / Staying Warm and Dry in Chilly Weather

Staying Warm and Dry in Chilly Weather

February 24, 2015 •

Patagonia-Nano-Air

Patag­o­nia Nano-Air jacket for women

If you read this blog, you know I often post about top­ics that inter­est yoga prac­ti­tion­ers. But not always.

Staying Dry Off the Mat

Yoga is not some­thing I share with my hus­band or friends. Instead we bike or go for long walks.

These are activ­i­ties well suited to the cool, damp fall and win­ter cli­mate here in the Pacific North­west.

They also encour­age social­iz­ing while exer­cis­ing — good for nur­tur­ing rela­tion­ships and well-being on mul­ti­ple lev­els.

Over the years we’ve got­ten pretty par­tic­u­lar about what we wear for long walks or hikes.

Before ven­tur­ing out­doors, we check the weather fore­cast. We pay close atten­tion to the impact a few degrees dif­fer­ence in tem­per­a­ture or humid­ity might make on our com­fort or endurance. We’ve learned to avoid dis­com­fort by ditch­ing out­er­wear that’s not appro­pri­ate for the day’s weather fore­cast or pre­cip­i­ta­tion.

When it comes to out­er­wear, we all pur­sue dif­fer­ent strate­gies.

One friend, who has hiked daily for the past fif­teen years, has invested in an assort­ment of jack­ets, vests, scarves and base lay­ers. She chooses dif­fer­ent sets for each step change in the weather. She has a highly skilled nose for the weather, so she usu­ally picks just the right gear from her large assort­ment. (She also car­ries a small day­pack with backup gear, in case the weather changes dur­ing her two-hour hikes.)

Down Is Not Always the Best Choice

Some of us look for the per­fect com­pro­mise gar­ment — some­thing that spans a wide range of tem­per­a­ture con­di­tions and humid­ity.

Despite the pop­u­lar­ity of down sweaters and jack­ets, I’ve learned to avoid wear­ing them in weather that’s going to by chilly and damp — at least not when engag­ing in aer­o­bic activ­i­ties.

They’re a has­sle to clean so I don’t like get­ting sweaty in my down jack­ets. For me down works best when I have to stand around in the cold weather, or run errands. (You can see why “soc­cer moms” love it so much!)

A New Love

Like my sis­ters and broth­ers I’m cursed with per­spi­ra­tion on long walks. Find­ing out­er­wear that keeps me warm and dry has always been a chal­lenge. Over the years I’ve tried a bunch of high-tech per­for­mance fab­rics, but none have suc­ceeded in keep­ing me warm and dry while aer­o­bic in chilly weather.

This year I’ve found a new love, at long last — the per­fect jacket for aer­o­bic walks on chilly days: Patag­o­ni­a’s Nano-Air jacket.

Although designed for alpine climbers, this jacket per­forms excep­tion­ally well dur­ing 3–5 mile walks up and down the hills that sur­round Seat­tle. It’s amaz­ingly com­fort­able to wear, like a much-loved hoody, except lighter and much more breath­able.

I’m delighted that I stum­bled upon Patag­o­ni­a’s Nano-Air jacket two months ago. It’s made a big dif­fer­ence this win­ter. This plus my Fit­Bit help get my butt out of my office, out walk­ing on many a chilly after­noon. (I’m drag­ging my hus­band along too, so it’s good for both of us!)

My Take

Nano-Air is amaz­ingly breath­able, so I’m less likely to get sweaty on active walks or hill climbs. And even when my arms or trunk do get wet, Nano-Air’s pro­pri­etary insu­la­tion is highly effec­tive at wick­ing away the mois­ture. Such a new expe­ri­ence for me!

Review­ers have com­mented that the wind blows right through it, explain­ing that this is the down­side to its extreme breatha­bil­ity. This is not a big issue for me.

I’ve worn it as is on mul­ti­ple breezy days, but add a light­weight wind­break for windy con­di­tions. Com­pared to most fleece jack­ets, I haven’t wor­ried too much about wind stop­ping. The other day my hus­band put a wind­break over his fleece, and I was happy as could be in the Nano-Air.

The fab­ric is won­der­ful — light as air, stretchy, and soft to the touch. It reminds me of a light­weight silk com­forter, despite being 100% syn­thetic. It’s slim, form­fit­ting, and avoids the puffy look of so many down jack­ets.

Best of all, it’s easy and safe to clean in my washer. I’ve already washed it half a dozen times.

For me, it’s proven to be the per­fect jacket for Pacific North­west walks and hill climbs.

And yes, it’s expen­sive — but you can find it on sale right now, if you look care­fully.

About This Blog

Reflec­tions on life, travel, books, and yoga. Think­ing out loud about the pur­suit of mind­ful­ness and well-being.

Learn­ing how to recover from the loss of a beloved spouse, and then to find a trans­for­ma­tive path for­ward.

About Me

Semi-retired marketing exec, transitioning from a career in high tech. Now "managed" by two Tonkinese cats. Missing travel and friends on the West Coast. Avid reader and foodie. Staying active with long walks, biking, kayaking and yoga.

Recent Posts

  • Wet Sand, Wet Boots, Birds
  • Living with Vintage Items
  • Slowing Down
  • Reflections on My Camino
  • Going Off the Beaten Track in France

© 2020 by Christine Thompson. All rights reserved. • Log in