What is Patagonia Stretch Thermal?
It’s a jacket. It’s a pair of pants. The Patagonia Stretch Thermal Hoody Jacket and Patagonia Stretch Thermal Pants are the Black Jacket and Pants you’ll see our coaches wearing at REAL this Fall. You can wear them both over your wetsuit (like a wetsuit jacket) in between sessions to keep you warm. But you can also wear them as a normal jacket and insulated pant, so you get a lot more use out of them. MVP status? Definitely.
We recently went on a surf trip up the coast into cooler climates. In Cape Hatteras we get lulled into thinking everywhere north of here is roughly the same temperature. In the summer this is sometimes true. In the fall it’s definitely not. Temps dropped from 70-80F down to 50-60F as we reach our final destination. We even had a few mornings in the upper 40’s. That’s cold for mid September! While packing, the first two clothing pieces in my Black Hole Duffel were the new Patagonia Stretch Thermal Hoody Jacket and Pants. Both have a wind/water resistant stretch shell with an water friendly insulation layer inside. Both can be worn on land dry, as well as being worn over wetsuits (wet or dry) on or off the water. So rather than having land clothing, and then also water clothing like an over the top wetsuit jacket, Patagonia blends both into one piece. Less packing. Less gear to haul around.
The styling on the Stretch Thermal gear is black and basic, meaning it goes with anything and can go anywhere. On the hoody, there are two zippered/insulated hand warmer pockets, plus a entry point to slide your kite harness hook through the front of your hoody (our kite coaches love this). The hood is insulated and has plenty of room for casual cruising. The athletic cuffless wrist openings also have thumb loops to make it easy to slide the hoody underneath a serious rain shell as an insulating layer when the skies open up.
The Stretch Thermal Pants have an elastic draw string waist, open front pockets and a zippered side cargo pocket.
How we used our Stretch Thermal Hoody Jacket and Pants during our trip:
Hoody Jacket:
- As a normal jacket all day long.
- As an insulating layer under a serious rain shell.
- Over a wet wetsuit in between sessions to stay warm and protected from the wind.
- Out to dinner at night (with Carvel ice cream for dessert!)
Pants:
- Once we started wearing these, they replaced our jeans and our sweatpants. For the cooler temps, they were awesome for daily use.
- Over a wet wetsuit in between sessions to keep the wind off us and stay warm.
- A few nights we were so tired we slept in them!
- These work for crushing Carvel cones too.
With regards to in and on water use, you can also wear both Stretch Thermal pieces over your wetsuit, while getting soaked with salt or fresh water. The wind shell and insulating lining keep you warmer than just wetsuit alone. Our coaches are using one or both pieces to stay warm all day long, as well as giving them a few pockets that their wetsuits don’t have. You can even use them in warmer climates paired up with lighter suits or boardshorts in situations where the wind chill just wants to take you down. Think Cloudbreak on a jet ski.
Trip in the new Patagonia Stretch Thermals crushing cones with Asen 📷 : Stephan Roussan
After all the water and weather, the hoody and pants dry quickly. You can even wear them into the shower to fully clean them out and then hang them to dry. The Patagonia Stretch Thermal Hoody and Pants make a great addition to any active person’s wardrobe and add to the enjoyment of water based sports including kiteboarding, surfing, foiling, sailing, wakeboarding, fishing, you name it.
Oh yea... We scored! 📷 : Paul DeLuna
