Mostly for discussion's sake and future reference, what gear would you suggest to cover all possible scenarios short of Arctic and Antarctic trips as well as climbing? (these three will never happen in my life time)

Due to a certain circumstance, this needs to be limited to Patagonia gear and only Patagonia.

Discuss. :)

Edited by herzzreh on 08/25/2011 17:42:27 MDT.

Pata makes nice (albeit expensive) stuff. For 3 season use, some of my favorite pieces include the nano puff pullover (the only insulation needed for wet weather down to 30F), the houdini windshirt, and rock guide pants.

For winter, I swap the rock guides for lightweight guide stretch woven pants, and add a down hoodie pullover for additional insulation. I prefer merino myself, but the capilene line of baselayers is probably amongst the most used ever.

If you have just inherited a patagonia windfall, congratulations. Patagucci gets bashed quite a bit, but their stuff is generally well made and durable.

I guess you could call it windfall. All I can say, it's very enticing to wear only their stuff but at a risk of looking like clown advertising one and only one brand (but it's worth it).

http://www.patagonia.com/us/systems

I love my cap 1 silkweight shirts. Also the R1 hoody is very popular, for good reason!

The current link above from Rick is close to my layering system:

Capilene 2 baselayer shirt and a Nano Puff for camp insulation (or a R1 or R2 insulation layer if you will need insulation on the move). If wearing insulation on the move, I have overheated in a Nano Puff or R2, so I'm usually stuck with R1. Snowshoeing into a cold front, R1 is not enough for me. YMMV. I have a discontinued Jetstream rainjacket, so not certain if anything in Patagonia's current catalog will substitute. The Rock Guide pants are great and the legs stay rolled up if you need shorts. For wintry travels, this December I'll be testing a Westcomb softshell pant ("Recon Cargo" or something like that), so no help there.

Edited by hknewman on 08/25/2011 19:36:32 MDT.

I really like my nano puff hoody for down to the 30s F. I use the simple guide pants down into the teens F and I add merino tights for below that. The down sweater hoody for below 30s F and the Houdini always comes with me.

Recently picked up some pata merino 2 tops and really liking them as well.

Will be testing the Los lobos jacket this winter for single digits and below as an on the move top.

I find that the fit , performance and quality is what keeps me returning to their gear.

Wish they made the Traverse jacket with a hood.

Edited by lightingboy on 08/25/2011 19:45:01 MDT.

I like Patagonia clothing. In general it's well designed and well made.

I've sold my two insulation layers -- the Micropuff pullover and the down hoodie, but really liked them. My Houdini is the best UL wind shirt I've tried (and I've tried a lot of them.) I really want an R1 hoodie, but I have yet to find one on sale, oh well. Not a fan of synthetic base layers, so I don't own any Capilene, but it has a great reputation.

I really like Patagonia's merino/polyester blend. I think they just re-did the line to make it more durable. I'd get an LS version of the merino 2.

The new lightweight down hoody looks nice as well. With that, a nano, an R1 hoody, and wool in your system you could cover a pretty broad range of conditions.

I've found my R1 jacket to be really versatile. For winter conditions the micropuff jacket is my failsafe.

the softshell pants are competitively priced actually

same with the nano poofay

the R1 is double the price or more of some competitors .... but if you must have the label ;)

I have Patagucci Capilene baselayers; I wear the top as a hiking shirt. They do seem to be the lightest and warmest for their weight, and I really like them. The colors are a bit weird (blue top, purple pants) because I bought them on closeout. Fortunately, only the shirt shows in public! I also bought a Merino 1 (actually a merino-polyester blend) long sleeve top as an extra thin mid layer for cool weather hiking. It's in a really awful color ("gecko green") but it will always be under either my wind shirt or rain jacket. I looked at the Nanopuff and their down sweater but decided to go with Montbell instead, mostly because of price and because some of Patagucci's colors, especially in women's clothing, are not to my taste. A lot of my clothing choices were based on what was on sale at the time!

Edited by hikinggranny on 08/26/2011 00:14:39 MDT.

Down Sweater: Great insulation layer
Down Sweater Hoody: Even better insulation layer

Nano Puff Pullover: great layering piece
Nano Puff Jacket: Same as above, more functional

Ascenionist Jacket: Best softshell I have ever used
Capeline: great synthetic layer, I prefer cap 2

R1: I've had all of em, prefer the full zip and Hoody

R2: Super breathable, soft, warm. Great layer for active, cold use.

the Houdini for sure

their down sweater is nice, but find I the Montbell to be as warm AND lighter (same for their down vest)

I own a lot of Cap 1 (and use them a lot too) for base layers

I own one Merino 1 long sleeve shirt- it's a dandy but it appears discontinued :(

nano puff- nice, light syn insulating layer that I use in lieu of down when I anticipate wetter conditions

rock guide pants- own two pair, these see a lot of use, highly recommended

R1- have a 1/2 zip ls that sees a lot of use, great mid layer in colder conditions

R1 balaclava- nice piece

R2 vest- another mid layer piece that gets on the move in very cold weather

if I had a "windfall" for Pata I'd look at their downshirt- looks like a nice garment, but too pricey w/o that windfall :)

like Mary most (all?) of my purchases have been when I found bits significantly discounted