Patagonia love

Once upon a time, I got a Patagonia waterproof jacket for my birthday (it looked like this, but in blue). It was an expensive jacket that I tried on again and again and admired to no end every time I went into the Patagonia store. I always ultimately put the jacket back on the racks, though, dissuaded by the hefty price tag.

Engineer bought the jacket for me for my birthday three years ago. I loved it and cherished it for more than its magical abilities to be absolutely impermeable to water--the jacket was a nostalgic reminder of Engineer, something that I could hold close to me whenever I missed him. Given that we also broke up on that same birthday (a different story for a different day), the jacket became my most valued possession. I took extra care of it and wore it very rarely.

A couple of months ago, it dawned on me that layered over a thick fleece, the jacket would actually work perfectly for winter. It completely blocks wind, rain/snow, and is extremely light and compact. Enough time had also passed that I no longer cared to keep the jacket hanging in its pristine condition, so I dug it out of my cloeset and started to wear it every day. With the start of outdoor ultimate practices, it also became my rain gear.

So imagine my surprise when I discovered that the jacket leaked in a few places. I was completely devastated, from all fronts: 1) expensive jackets like this should not break after minimal use, 2) I no longer had reliable rain gear and was freezing and wet at practice, and 3) the jacket had now just lost its functionality, which in turn nostalgically reinstated its sentimentality and made me want to cry.

On a whim, I went to the Newbury Street Patagonia store today to browse their current line of waterproof hardshells. I was the only person in the store, and after feeling obligated to ask some questions to the the eager sales rep, I told him about my disappointment with my current Patagonia jacket. It didn't seem right to me that a jacket that expensive would break in so short of a time.

He took me downstairs to a girl more knowledgable about jacket construction, originally because he thought perhaps my jacket could be fixed for a small price. I showed her the places where the waterproof liner membrane had started to peel, and the places where water had seeped through the membrane. She told me that the jacket was becoming delaminated, which is something covered under warranty. After some research, she determined that the jacket cost $249 when it was bought three years ago. Since the style is now discontinued, she said I could then have a $249 credit toward a new jacket.

Wait, did I hear right? $249 off any new jacket? Yup, you heard right. Trade in your old jacket for $249 off a new jacket.

30 minutes later, after trying and retrying multiple jackets, I bought the Grade VI Jacket for ~$75. Wow. I asked the girl what they will now do with my old jacket, and she said they usually donate it to Goodwill or recycle it to make new jackets.

As I walked out of the store, I thought about the priceless aspects of the jacket I had just traded away, with seemingly not much thought. It dawned on me that it wasn't so priceless anymore. Sometimes, I still think about Engineer, but not to miss him and to wish him back into my life like I used to. I now think about him as another character in my past, an important character sure, but nontheless just another character.

As for these jackets that I now know I can trade in and re-trade in, these Patagonia jackets for life will always be there for me when I'm feeling mellow and want to take that minute to reminesce about the good days with the Engineer once upon a time. At all the other times, the jackets are really pretty superior when it comes to keeping me warm and dry.