Patagonia Super Pluma Review

Likes
The Patagonia Super Pluma is the most versatile hardshell we tested. It provides hikers, climbers, and skiers with do-it-all waterproof breathable protection in a lightweight and well-featured package. The men’s medium Super Pluma weighed a modest 14.1 oz. on our scale; it’s light enough to join you on fast and light mountain missions, yet also durable enough to resist years of hard use. This is the jacket for everything.

Materials
The Super Pluma uses a three layer Gore-Tex Pro Shell with a lightweight yet strong 3.2 oz/ sq. yard 40-denier face fabric. Pro Shell is best for extended trips in severe conditions. It’s less breathable than the company’s Active Shell, Mountain Hardwear’s Dry Q Elite, eVent, and Columbia’s Omni-Dry, but its non-porous membrane makes it warmer than the latter three, which in turn makes it better suited to trips that encounter high winds and longer periods of low exertion. Pro Shell is backed by Gore’s unconditional lifetime warranty: if you aren’t fully satisfied with its durability, water resistance, or breathability you can return it.

Features
Patagonia’s in-house alpine design team and Ambassadors partnered with FYI Design Department, a contract industrial design firm based in British Columbia, for the Super Pluma’s design. This partnership created a simple yet fully featured jacket. The Super Pluma has two moderately sized handwarmer pockets that sit high up on the chest, away from a backpack’s waistbelt or a climbing harness. Hidden bellows and a flat pleated front look good allow you to see look down and see your feet, and they expand to accommodate medium sized objects or to protect your hands from the elements. The Super Pluma also has one small internal zippered pocket for items like keys and an ID. And, finally, two large watertight pit zips dump heat and moisture vapor when you’re working hard.

As for the details, the Super Pluma has excellent hidden cord adjustments at the hood (two on the front and at on the top rear) and bottom hem (one on each side). These are flat, so you can pinch them with gloves on, and are covered with a grey rubbery material that allows you can find them easily (if the jacket is orange or green). The Mountain Hardwear Drystein II uses the same adjusters, but lacks the grey rubber identifiers- we were surprised at how much of a difference they make when finding the adjustments quickly.

Fit
The Super Pluma’s cut strikes a happy medium between ultralight trim-fitting shells (Mountain Hardwear Quasar) and bulky expedition mountaineering jackets (Rab Latok). It’s small enough to be worn comfortably over a single baselayer, yet is also adequately spacious for covering a midweight down or synthetic insulated jacket.

The Super Pluma is backed by both Patagonia’s Ironclad Guarantee and Gore’s unconditional lifetime warranty.

Dislikes
Although the Super Pluma is an excellent all-purpose hardshell, it’s not without faults. Our testers have identified several features that, if tweaked, would make the jacket better. First, the hand pockets are smaller than most other shells we tested. A Nalgene can just squeeze inside and there’s just enough space to hide your hands. But the pockets aren’t big enough to comfortably insert your hands and walk around- not, at least, with average size male hands. Note, in the photo below, how the pockets only cover the author’s fingers when his hands are outstretched. We believe that hand pockets would make the Super Pluma better. (Of the twenty-one hardshells tested we found the Rab Latok’s handwarmer pockets to be most comfortable.)

Another area with room for improvement is the Super Pluma’s primary zipper. This is slightly harder to open than the average shell we tested. More often than not we had to use two hands to open the fully closed zipper. This problem is due to the main zipper’s size- it’s only slightly larger than the hand pocket and pit zippers. A larger gauge zipper would be easier to use in general, and would let you access the interior zippered pocket with a single hand. The Arcteryx Alpha SV has the best zippers of any hardshell we tested.

On a similar note, the Super Pluma’s top rear hood adjustment can be difficult to fully release. We found that we had to pinch the adjustment, pull back in just the right way while also pulling the drawcord under the hood’s brim. Small adjustments can be done with one hand, but to create space for a helmet usually used two hands. Again, we found the same feature on the Arcteryx Alpha SV to be easier to use.

Are these drawbacks significant?
No, not really. When put in perspective of the whole jacket and all of the twenty-one shells we tested, these amount to nothing more than a minor blemish on a juicy ripe fruit. The Super Pluma performs very well, but isn't perfect.

Best Application
The Super Pluma is best for alpine climbing, but works well for hiking, mountaineering, and alpine skiing. This is undoubtedly the most versatile hardshell we reviewed. Regardless of the type of trip or duration, our testers reached for the Super Pluma more than any other shell tested. We took it throughout the Cascades, Sierra, Canadian Rockies, and one tester climbed Denali with it.

Value
The Super Pluma offers an impressive amount of performance for its price. We believe it’s a better value than the company’s Super Alpine, which offers a slight increase in durability but costs $100 more. It’s also a much better value than ultralight shells such as the Mountain Hardweat Quasar, which are far less durable.


Other Versions
There is no women's version of the Super Pluma. The closest offering from Patagonia is the Patagonia Super Alpine - Women's which is a little heavier and more durable than the Super Pluma.

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