With the days getting shorter and the last of the fallen leaves gathering on the trail, we start to look toward winter travel and more time in the brisk outdoors. With so many of us trying to minimize our kit and find equipment that serves many purposes, jackets like the Kepler Down Cardigan from Prometheus Design Werx (PDW) fits the bill.
This PDW jacket is a proper technical garment with a long list of technical and functional attributes, including a tall collar and full-length zip. The high baffle count contains the Dupont-treated premium 800 fill power RDS certified goose down. The treatment makes the down more hydrophobic, staying dryer 27 times longer than traditional down. When combined with the DWR-finished antimicrobial Silvadur 20 D micro-ripstop shell, it can handle light rains throughout a trip or function during brief downpours until a shell can be added.
For travel, I use the down sweater as a mid-layer under my motorcycle coat, and as a walkabout jacket in all but the most extreme cold. The jacket also packs tightly into its own rear (hidden) document pocket, serving as a camp pillow. Or the jacket can be stuffed into the supplied fleece neck pillow sleeve. I also appreciate the single chest pocket, which allows for quick access to sunglasses or other small sundries. There are a few more hidden pockets, but I always find it important to remind travelers never to place important documents in mid or outer layers, should they be left on a coat rack or stolen from the back of a chair.
The jacket uses YKK zippers, and only weighs 12.6 ounces. As mentioned, it has become my go-to travel mid-layer and a perfect complement to colder weather motorcycle travel as well. I also appreciate that the jacket blends in well with most travel locations. Available in green or grey for $229 direct from PDW.
prometheusdesignwerx.com
Photography by Erin Brown
