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Whilst the one piece Gore Tex suit is no new concept, there have been very few (if any) manufacturers who’ve had one in their line-up recently. However this season, Patagonia have put that right, with a modern take on what is actually a “bloody good idea!”
I first remember seeing Scottish winter climbing legend Robin Clothier and his friend wearing Gore Tex onesies at the bottom of .5 Gully in the late 90s. I was pretty new to the winter game, maybe even still a teenager, and thought the onesies made them look like proper pros! They were trying to repeat the thin face route Point Blank. Robin’s climbing partner, who I don’t know, had ran about 45m of rope out on thin ice, with maybe one stubby screw placed for pro. We were getting ready to climb the classic .5 Gully and pre-occupied with the continuous spindrift plumes pouring down it. Suddenly I heard a scream, a whipping sound and looked up in time to see a body hit the slab above our heads. The rope briefly came tight on the screw, which immediately ripped. Time seemed to stand still, he hit the snow slope below us and then at full speed, tobogganed to the end of the rope, the full force coming on to Robin and his belay anchor (which fortunately held). I was convinced I’d just witnessed a death. We all looked down in horror! Then suddenly he got up and waved, “I’m ok!”
I doubt that surviving the 100m fall had anything to do with his one piece suit, but thinking back to my Scottish winter climbing career that followed, they’re a really good idea and I’d wish I’d had one on a lot of those humid turbulent days!
This past season I’ve been wearing the new Alpine Suit from Patagonia. This was the product of around 3 years in the development process and its release coincided with the release of a set of other new hard shells using a new environmentally conscious Gore Tex fabric that Patagonia and Gore had developed together.
“It is a three-layer waterproof/breathable GORE-TEX fabric that is 100% recycled, providing next-level hard-shell technology that is lightweight, packable and durable; fabrics, membrane and durable water repellent (DWR) finish made without perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs/PFAS)”
You can read a nice story about the development of the Alpine Suit on the Patagonia Website
I’ve used the suit since November for ice and mixed climbing and skiing. And in short – I’m a fan! For technical climbing it gives a clean profile with no overlap or the annoyance of your shell jacket riding up out of your harness. It is also warmer and keeps me drier, as again there is no trouser/jacket overlap gap. One issue with previous one piece suits for climbing, was that it was difficult to get a cut that allowed freedom of movement for technical modern ice and mixed climbing manoeuvres such as high steps etc. Patagonia have nailed this though and you really are unimpeded when climbing technical “M-style” ground in the Alpine Suit. The only slightly odd thing is that if you wear the suit without a climbing harness, some people have commented that the bum looks a little baggy! This excess fabric seems a necessary part of the pattern to allow high steps and also bending forward/sideways comfortably. And I have to say that to climb in, the cut is excellent. It doesn’t feel like it hinders movement in any way and that is not at the expense of extra fabric flapping around everywhere. The design team have came up with a true climber’s cut. It’s sized as “Standard Fit” and as such it will accommodate a variety of layers underneath. It’s definitely not super fitted, I am 5ft9” and 68kg and the suit is roomy without being excessively so. I wear size small.
Patagonia say:
“Built for Mobility. Gusset, knee and elbow articulation are patterned for high stepping and extended reach for mountain mobility; sizing and design details ensure a comfortable fit for a variety of bodies; Mountain Suspender compatible for a tailored fit”
The optional mountain suspenders can be added internally and this is a neat feature that addresses one of the downsides of a one-piece. You can’t wear the jacket and pants separately. Usually, I’d just drop the top half and tie the sleeves around my waist and whilst this works, the internal suspenders mean that the trousers actually stay put where you want them.
Going back to the fabric. I like the supple feel, it doesn’t seem heavy and crinkly nor does it catch easily. Despite having climbed a reasonable amount of Chamonix granite mixed ground in mine, I’ve only put one tiny hole in it. In bad weather, or on drippy ice it’s kept me perfectly dry and the wind at bay. Although I admit that I’ve not had the chance to put it to the test in Scottish rain just yet (but I think it would be as good as anything.) In line with Patagonia’s ethos of looking after the environment, all fabric is bluesign® approved, fair trade certified and free of PFCs and PFAs. They us a 3-layer, 3.9-oz 80-denier 100% recycled nylon GORE-TEX fabric with GORE® C-KNIT™ Backer Technology and a durable water repellent (DWR) finish for the main fabric with 3-layer, 2.9-oz 40-denier 100% recycled nylon GORE-TEX fabric with GORE® C-KNIT™ Backer Technology and a DWR finish on the gusset shell.
The Alpine Suit is well featured. My feeling is that simple is best as this firstly means that there are less bits that can go wrong, but also that additional weight is kept to a minimum. The hood should work over a helmet and not hinder me being able to look up or hinder my peripheral vision. Zippers should be smooth and snag free. Pockets should not interfere with a harness or the straps of my backpack and should be big enough to put my IPhone in as well as gloves and snacks if need be. Cuffs should cinch down neatly.
In the main I think the designers have done a good job with this. The main zipper is smooth and easy to use. It’s 2-way and offset at the bottom, so it’s easy to take a pee. The pockets are high and large. The rear zipper is easy enough to use and makes going to the toilet as easy as it can be whilst wearing all your clothes and a climbing harness!
The lower legs have a zippered opening so you can adjust the volume depending on whether you are wearing ski boots or mountain boots. This is a nice idea, as often when alpine climbing in winter you might ski in and out from your route but change to climbing boots for the route itself. I like low profile legs fore climbing so I can see my feet and there’s no excess fabric to snag on things. The issue I’ve had when changing from ski boots to climbing bots is that the zippers seem to be really prone to snagging on the transition, particularly when going from ski mode to climbing mode. I asked Patagonia about this and to be fair to them, they said this was something that others had also brought up so I guess they’re gonna address it.
The volume of the hood also adjusts in a similar manner, unzip the zipper and you have a bigger hood. Actually the standard hood works well enough for me over a BD Vapor helmet. Again this is a cool feature but I feel it’s a little bit like it is fixing a problem that never really existed. Helmet compatible hoods with draw cord adjusters work perfectly well. And adding another potentially fiddly zipper, that can snag or break, perhaps seems a little unnecessary.
Pocket configuration hits the spot for me with two large, high chest pockets with watertight zippers which are positioned away from any harness and pack straps. There are also two internal drop-in pockets that are large enough for ski skins or gloves.
The final thing regarding features, is the Velcro cuffs. I commented to Patagonia that I felt like they were awkward/less intuitive to cinch up compared to others that I have used. Initially I couldn’t work out why, it just felt like they were in the wrong place. Patagonia got back to me:
Quote from Linden Mallory, Product Line Director Alpine:
“Eric [Noll] and Matt [Helliker] landed on this design because most gloves that have a Velcro closure are oriented in the traditional way (pointing toward the outside of the wrist). By orienting the Alpine Suit’s in the opposite direction, it reduces bulk stacking multiple layers of Velcro/fabric/tabs around the wrist.”
Whilst I love the innovative thinking behind this, I actually prefer the tabs on the traditional way as I’ve near had a problem with cuff bulk and I find that these ones are actually difficult to do up snugly as they are not that intuitive to use.
So what are the benefits of the Alpine Suit and what are the downsides compared to a traditional jacket and pants combo?
Benefits are that you have a garment that is more sealed against the weather, so is warmer and hopefully keeps you drier. There is no riding up of the jacket, no gap between jacket and trousers and no annoying overlap where you may get drafts etc. There should also be a saving in weight over a standard jacket and trouser combo made from a similar denier fabric. In short you should have a weather proof fortress with clean lines that unhinders you in the mountains (and I’d say that’s what you get with the Alpine Suit).
In terms of downsides, I guess the main ones are that you can’t split the jacket and pants so maybe it’s not as comfortable on approaches where you may just leave the jacket in your pack or vice-versa. Also if you trash the trousers you can’t just buy new trousers etc. Also, it’s potentially more difficult to go to the toilet in the wild. Other than that, I think it’s hard to beat and despite the Alpine Suit being a little specialist, I would highly recommend it to anyone spends time ice climbing and mixed climbing in the mountains. Be that in the alpine realm, Scotland or further afield.
As a professional mountain guide who spends a lot of days in the mountains in winter, I can highly recommend the Alpine Suit. I appreciate the thought that has gone into the design, love the functionality, the cut for technical climbing and despite a few small gripes that I’d like to see rectified/simplified (I gave 4.5 out of 5 for the snagging zippers and awkward Velcro cuffs), it’s basically my current favourite outer layer.
The Alpine suit is available to buy from www.patagonia.com
Sizes: XS-XXL with a short leg option available in M-XL
RRP: €995 or £900
Kevin Avery is an IFMGA Mountain Guide based near Chamonix France. You can contact him for guiding at truenorthalpine@gmail.com and check his latest adventures on Instagram @truenorthalpine
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