I have a Patagonia Houdini and really enjoy it's wind-shedding, yet highly breathable materials. The helmet and zip collar seem extra weight, however, and sometimes get in the way when hiking, so I wrote Patagonia asking them if they had plans to release the Houdini as a 'windshirt' with no hood, maybe as a long-sleeve zip T. Wonder if I will get a response back?

While sorely tempted to take a knife to my Houdini's hood, I'll refrain from modifying my own gear for awhile and ask if anyone else had a solution? Also my Houdini is in their subdued alpha-green (great for dayhiking around property lines in the local creosotebush), I'd like my backpacking garment to be light grey for cold, windy, but sunny conditions. With minimal or none of those corded elastic lines to bug me either.

- Wind-resistant material similar to the Houdini
- Simple pattern

Any thoughts?

Even Backpacker magazine questioned the wisdom of a hood when windshirts made a comeback over a decade ago. Maybe a detachable snap hood instead of the current zipped version (using their UL plastic snaps).

(ed: post title)

Edited by hknewman on 11/10/2011 10:39:43 MST.

thru-hiker liberty ridge kit? cheap, simple, custom fit :)

+1 on the Thru Hiker Liberty Ridge. I've used their pattern to make a few lightweight windshirts, one with a hood and one without. The Momentum 90 is fine, although SevenD might save some weight.

The feel/weave of M50 is closer to the Houdini fabric and would probably shine in a windshirt application. I'd say it'd be a fair bit more breathable than M90. Go with M90 for more water resistance.

Edited by brendans on 11/10/2011 18:16:13 MST.

Andy,

what did you use as a pattern for the hood?