REASONS TO BUY
Athletic fit
Comfortable
Stylish
Temperature regulating
Waterproof
REASONS TO AVOID
Sleeves and hem are less insulated
Tricky hood tightened
Expensive
Arc'teryx Patera Parka Review
A classically stylish waterproof winter jacket that helps you avoid overheating
The Patera is a comfortable and durable jacket that strives to keep you warm without overheating you. It often works for us.
Credit: Clark Tate
Our Verdict
City elegance meets mountain weather protection in the Arc'teryx Patera Parka. With its Gore-Tex waterproof fabric and optimized warmth and breathability, the Patera is loaded with technical features while maintaining a streamlined and sophisticated look not often found in a warm winter jacket. It's also durable, blocks wind, and breathes well. It wraps down insulation around your core and uses synthetic stuffing where sweat is likely to accumulate, like under your arms. The result is an impressively light and versatile women's jacket that helps you regulate your temperature in the winter. It will keep you comfortable when you're on the go in cold, sloppy weather.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The sleek knee-length Arc'teryx Patera Parka is a unique winter jacket meant for people on the go. It's warm, waterproof, and very light. Weighing just two pounds, it never feels like a burden when you pull it off to carry around the store.
Performance Comparison
We appreciate this jacket's simple and sophisticated style.
Credit: Clark Tate
Warmth
The Patera is a light and warm jacket intended for active use. Fluffy down wraps around your core and covers the tops of your arms to hold in heat where you need it most. Arc'teyx used synthetic Coreloft insulation everywhere else, where moisture is more likely to build up. That includes the hood, collar, side panels, underneath your arms, and in the bottom eight inches of the coat.
The logic behind the design makes sense. Down loses loft and heat when wet, even from sweat. Synthetic insulation does not, and it doesn't usually trap as much heat as down. Arc'teryx calls this combination Down Composite Mapping. The synthetic insulation in the side panels and bottom eight inches of the hem is thinner than the down portions. While our core never feels cold in this coat, our arms do sometimes catch a chill in frigid temps. Still, we stayed warm when standing around in windy, 17-degree weather.
The front zipper doesn't extend to the hem, which hits right at your knees. It stops just where the synthetic insulation starts, but a snap below that can hold the bottom of the jacket closed in truly frigid conditions. The pockets are uninsulated, so they don't offer much in the way of warmth, and you may want some warm gloves as a backup measure. We appreciate that soft, flexible wrist gaskets keep drafts from coming up the sleeves.
Cozy gaskets help hold in heat.
Credit: Clark Tate
The synthetic insulation in the generous hood works well, and you can fit a hat underneath if you need more warmth. The hood cinches down around your face to protect you from wind, rain, or snow. Unfortunately, the tightening system is overly complicated. It's easy to snug down, but releasing it takes some finagling.
While not the warmest jacket we tested, its roomy cut lends itself to layering. And frankly, many winter coats are too warm for the weather you're likely to encounter.
This jacket works in a range of temperatures and activity levels. It's great for city commuting or when you're walking in frigid weather to pop into the store.
The smooth liner makes it easy to pull the jacket on over layers.
Credit: Clark Tate
Weather Resistance
Tested in snow, rain, and wind, the Patera kept us dry and protected. It earned a near-perfect score for weather resistance. The durable shell is almost on par with some of the best women's rain jackets, complete with a storm flap that snaps over the waterproof zipper. It offers exceptional protection in wet or windy conditions.
The Patera is waterproof and its tall collar and ample hood keep the wind and the snow out.
Credit: Clark Tate
The hood doesn't have a fur ruff, making it better suited to wet winters, where ruffs can hold onto water. However, it also means that bitter winds have better access to your face. And the collar only zips up to your chin. The hood is deep enough to work pretty well anyway. You just might want a scarf for your face.
This jacket excelled in our shower test. Other than a few splashes into the hood, it's impenetrable. The face fabric has a durable water repellent (DWR) finish and covers a Gore-Tex waterproof membrane. The DWR doesn't bead the rain for long, but no moisture is making it through even when the outer fabric looks saturated. It also dries quite quickly. This jacket is an excellent option for wet and sloppy weather conditions.
A relaxed fit allows for plenty of room to move. We never feel restricted in this jacket.
Credit: Clark Tate
Comfort
The satiny-down baffles glide effortlessly over sweaters and feel pleasant and cloud-soft all day. The relaxed cut works well for various body types and gives you plenty of room to move. It's one of the few winter jackets tested that is not tight in the shoulders, even when you're wearing thicker layers. Thanks to the thin synthetic panels at your sides, it never feels heavy or bulky. We also appreciate the extra mobility we get since the two-way zipper ends mid-thigh.
The zipper ends higher on this jacket, making it easier to zip up and walk in but letting in more of a draft.
Credit: Clark Tate
The hood fits nicely and is adjustable, which means you can keep it out of your eyes. Micro-fleece brushes the backs of your hands in the handwarmer pockets, but they are uninsulated and can still be chilly. Sitting down with anything in the pockets is awkward. Even the polyester outer shell is pleasant to the touch. In all, the Patera is one of the most comfortable jackets in our review.
We think we look pretty cool in this jacket, and that's what counts right?
Credit: Clark Tate
Style
The Patera impresses with its clean, unfussy style. There's nothing bulky about it, and it's somewhat like the blazer of winter coats. Its skill is that it looks perfectly put together without taking any attention away from you.
The thin side panels create a trim and flattering silhouette. Thoughtfully placed snaps keep the storm flap from gapping, and the front pockets never interrupt the jacket's simple lines. The satin finish on the plush down interior doesn't hurt either.
We had a hard time pealing this jacket away from our most fashionable testers, who coveted its sophisticated look and technical features. We've also received a steady supply of compliments on the slim fit and straightforward good looks.
We have every expectation that this jacket will take some abuse over the course of many a winter season.
Credit: Clark Tate
Durability
The Patera proved highly durable during the daily grind of commuting, hiking, and dog walking. It is among the highest scorers in the group. The polyester fabric is smooth, clean, and impenetrable, and the pocket and main zippers work perfectly. The toggles that cinch the hood are small and a bit challenging to operate. They'll likely last, but they stand out as the one possible weak point.
This is a streamlined jacket, with two minimal hand-warming pockets and one internal media pocket.
Credit: Clark Tate
Features
Insulation mapping aside, this is a straightforward winter jacket. It has two front pockets large enough to hold your hands or phone and an interior chest pocket that zips and is big enough for most modern smartphones.
We appreciate the two-way zipper and the fact that it stops eight inches above the hem to allow maximum mobility. Though it does sacrifice some warmth, a lower button placement lets you close it tighter in frigid conditions. The hood is roomy with easy-to-use pull tabs for strong winds. The hood doesn't detach, but we don't mind. We don't like to be out in unpredictable cold weather without one.
The Patera is pricey, but its versatility, durability, and sophisticated daily style should help it earns its keep.
Credit: Clark Tate
Should You Buy the Arc'teryx Patera Parka?
The Patera is an excellent choice for an active winter jacket, particularly in wet climates. Durable and dependable, we don't mind getting stuck in bad weather in this bad lady, and we count it among the best jackets we have tested across all categories. We often overheat when running around a city — from transit to the coffee shop, through the weather, and to the office before repeating the whole process to get to dinner. We appreciate that Patera is built to keep us more comfortable in real-life situations. The generous but flattering cut allows for extra layers when temperatures plummet. This parka is ready for everything from a night on the town to a wintery hike, and we recommend it to anyone who values form and function in their wardrobe and doesn't mind paying a pretty penny to have both.
What Other Winter Jackets Should You Consider?
This parka has a lot to offer — but at a high price. It's probably only worth the money if you need a sleek, weatherproof winter jacket that will keep you warm and dry on the go. If the price is out of your budget, the The North Face Arctic Parka has many of the same features. It is very weatherproof, and it is even a bit warmer than the Patera, but the cut is not quite as clean cut and stylish. The Marmot Montreaux earned high marks for style, but it is water-resistant, not waterproof.
—
Clark Tate
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