Patagonia is perhaps best known for its outdoor clothing — fleeces, rain jackets, down jackets and the like. The company’s technical backpacks and rugged duffels also have a devout following. Included in its spring product launch is one thing that carefully combines learnings from both apparel and bags: two new running vests.
In building the four-liter Slope Running Vest and the eight-liter Slope Running Pack, Patagonia considered them more as garments than pieces of equipment. Breathability and fit took precedence over equipping them with lots of features; both are pared-down and simple in construction. The vest doesn’t include any structure in its rear panel, which is outfitted with a sizeable drop-in pocket. It includes additional sleeve-style pockets for a phone, wallet and snacks, and comes with two 500-milliliter soft flasks made by Hydrapak.
The Slope Pack doubles in capacity, adding a moderately-structured ultralight ripstop nylon pack for more ambitious runs. The bag includes cinch points to accommodate trekking poles or anything else a runner might lash to the back. The front is very much the same as the vest, including space for flasks, but this larger version comes with a two-liter reservoir.
The Slope Vest and Pack anchor Patagonia’s spring running release, but the new collection also includes a full range of apparel. Another new item, the Houdini Air Jacket, strikes a balance of breathability and light weather protection that runners are sure to appreciate. As a whole, the new running collection proves that the brand is giving running some careful and long overdue consideration.
The best way to catch up on the day’s most important product releases and stories. Read the Story