Friday, February 6, 2009

Patagonia Winterfest Sale: Coming Soon!

(Image: lyttlesofdunchurch.co.uk)
Well, this is the one you've been waiting for. Turns out that the next couple of weeks may be the BEST TIME OF THE YEAR to get great prices on Patagonia products. The Patagonia Winterfest Sale is on its way from February 10-19. Merchandise will be 40-60% off. That makes the piddly 30% off sale last month seem like just an ice chip. This avalanche will be hitting their website and their retail stores (with the exception of their outlets and the Cardiff-by-the-Sea store). This sale along with the Real Cheap Sports sale I wrote about earlier today provide some opportunities for fantastic deals.

One sample from the sale is the Men's Light Smoke Flash Jacket: was $300, will be $150.

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Patagonia Sale at Real Cheap Sports in Ventura, CA

(Photo from realcheapsports.com)

Posted at 2:59 pm PST

This just in: Real Cheap Sports, the outlet store just down the street from the Patagonia Great Pacific Iron Works Store in Ventura, will be having it's annual President's Weekend Sale from Thursday February 12th to Monday February 16th. Items, including new Patagonia gear, will be 10%-60% off. I've written about Real Cheap Sports before here at Patagonia Community. It's a great little hole-in-the-wall shop that is practically a stone's throw from the Patagonia store.

I've actually been there for a President's Weekend Sale before and it's a fun experience. As in the picture above, they dragged out the cardboard boxes of Patagonia goods that were nicely discounted. And here's a little tip for you Patagonia Community readers out there: they take phone orders. Their number is 805-648-3803. You might even want to call before the sale and see if they'll stash something aside for you. But it's worth a call just to see if they have the wares you're looking for. In the meantime here's a sampling of what you'll find at their store (some fantastic deals):
Grade VI Jacket
Retail Price 325.00 | Sale Price $165.00

W's Grade VI Jacket
Retail Price $325.00 | Sale Price $165.00

Grade VI Pants
Retail Price $250.00 | Sale Price $127.50

Micro Puff Jacket
Retail Price $180.00 | Sale Price $94.50

W's Micro Puff Jacket
Retail Price $180.00 | Sale Price $89.50

Micro Puff Hooded Jacket
Retail Price $225.00 | Sale Price $119.50

W's Micro Puff Hooded Jacket
Retail Price $225.00 | Sale Price $119.50

Rain Shadow Jacket
Retail Price $149.00 | Sale Price $77.00

W's Rain Shadow Jacket
Retail Price $149.00 | Sale Price $77.00

Rain Shadow Pant
Retail Price $100.00 | Sale Price $52.50

W's Rain Shadow Pant
Retail Price $100.00 | Sale Price $52.50

Down Jacket
Retail Price $199.00 | Sale Price $104.50

W's Down Jacket
Retail Price $199.00 | Sale Price $104.50

Down Sweater Vest
Retail Price $140.00 | Sale Price $69.50

Down Vest
Retail Price $145.00 | Sale Price $76.00

W's Down Vest
Retail Price $145.00 | Sale Price $76.00

Shelter Stone Pants
Retail Price $300.00 | Sale Price $154.50

Winter Sun Jacket
Retail Price $300.00 | Sale Price $154.50

Visit their website to see the full list as well as store contact information and hours.

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Monday, February 2, 2009

PAT COM REAL DEAL: The Patagonia Down Vest at Altrec.com

(Photo from Zappos.com)
Recently I decided to add a new feature to the Patagonia Community and that is the Pat Com Real Deal. These are difficult times for everyone but if you can find the right deal, Patagonia gear may still be within reach. I think I may have found the right deal for some of you out there.

Altrec.com is having a pretty good sale right now. Some of their items, including Patagonia, are going for around 30% off. Ah, but here's the kicker: through the magic of internet coupons, you can get more taken off. So my Pat Com Real Deal is the much sought-after Patagonia Down Vest (reviewed by Patagonia Community) in the toughest color to get--black. As of this posting, Altrec has black in all sizes (S-XL). It's regularly $145 but it's on sale for $99.97. Shipping is free for orders over $49, and there's no sales tax unless you're ordering from Washington state. Here's where the Real Deal comes in: enter the code 15WINTER09 (until February 26) and you get an additional 15% off. So your out-the-door cost for the $145 Patagonia Down Vest is $84.97.

You might be saying, "That's a real deal." No Johnny, that's a PAT COM REAL DEAL! Okay, feel free to slap me.

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Sunday, February 1, 2009

A Patagonia Education, Part Three

Part three in a series: A Patagonia Education (photo from prolitegear.com). Last time I covered lessons number two to four.

Lesson Number Five
The Patagonia Down Sweater just, um..., isn't for me. The next item in my fitting room was the Down Sweater in black, again in size small. At 30% off, this jacket was $140, about as good a price as one is going find for this basic piece that Patagonia always carries. I liked the fit and feel a lot. This is a very light weight piece. When you think of classic down jackets, they are packed with feathers and bulky. This one's pared down and, forgive the play on words, light as a feather. The shell feels very thin and I read a review on Backcountry.com that mentions some tearing that the reviewer experienced.

I really liked this jacket, but I didn't buy it for one reason: I thought it looked feminine on me. Now I know the psychoanalysts out there will start accusing me of repressing thoughts, having crushes on my father, etc. But it just looks like a woman's jacket when you put it on! The bigger beefier down jackets look a bit more rugged. It's not all about how a jacket looks, but that does count for something. I think it's the narrower quilting lines that make it look like it was made for my wife. I don't know--it just wasn't for me.

Lesson Number Six
The Patagonia Storm Jacket has a really baggy fit in the upper body. This was one of the final jackets I tried on. It has a tough-feeling exterior fabric and it seemed like it would hold up well in a rough-and-tumble back country environment. When I put it on though, it seemed like I could fit a little person inside the underarm area. The jacket was really nice except for that fact. It's to accommodate layers, I'm sure, but just what exactly will someone be using as a layer? A living, whole goat? (Photo from paragonsports.com)

Lesson Number Seven
The Patagonia Eco Rain Shell is a nice, civilized basic rain jacket.
This is the much (and rightfully so) bally-hooed first fully recycled and recycleable jacket that Patagonia produced a couple of years ago.
It has very simple styling and could work as a rain coat that one would wear to the office. The hood is comfortable (though no drawstring) and detachable and the jacket is lightweight. The mesh lining makes it easy to get on and off and there you go--very straightforward features.

My issue with it was that it was too straightforward. Where's the two-way zipper that versions of the Eco Rain Shell available as recent as 2007 had (according to my old issues of the Patagonia catalog). That would be a helpful touch as the jacket is rather slim fitting. So the bottom hem could use the extra give that a two-way zipper would afford. I actually liked the slimmer fit, but if someone plans to layer, they'd be in trouble unless it was a very thin layer. I tried a hoodless softshell and it was too much. My down vest was way too much. So if you're going to wear it alone, you're golden. (photo from hanon-shop.com)

One thing I didn't get: why do the pocket zippers rest at the bottom of the zip when the pockets are closed? The picture illustrates this. See the Napoleon chest pocket? The pocket is closed and the zipper pull hangs down, as do the handwarmer pocket zippers. Seems to me that if the pockets closed with the zipper at the top of the pocket, gravity could do its thing and virtually hide the zipper pulls rather than forcing them to look like you have a piece of black licorice hanging out of your pocket.

Lesson Number Eight
The Patagonia Down Jacket is still one of the finest pieces around.
True, they didn't have it in my size in black. But I did try on a navy blue one in my size and that thing was nice. The right weight, the right feel, the right warmth--just really solid. Keeping my eye out for a small in black.

So there it is, my Patagonia Education. The Patagonia Palo Alto store was beautiful and the employees very helpful and kind. Looking forward to furthering my education sometime soon.

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