Outdoor Research Trance Down Sweater
By Matt Smith

Down sweaters are great insulative pieces. That goes without saying. But how functional are they for general purpose or outerwear use. We took the Outdoor Research Trance sweater to find out.

The Trance is a fairly simple, standard down sweater featureing a napoleon pocket, tricot lined hand warmer pockets, and cavernous interior pockets. The interior pockets are more than ample. Each could hold a six pack with ease! I found that to be a terrific feature because there is plenty of room to stash your gloves, knit hat, or paclite shell while you scope the view from the ridge.

I wore the Trance in a variety of situations, ranging from cold, dry, starlit nights; to soggy wet snowy days. I was impressed at the performance of the DWR treatment. Even while doing highly aerobic activities in soggy snowfall, the Trance stayed dry for nearly an hour before starting to retain a little moisture on the cuffs, and upper chest. For cold, dry weather it was a perfect match. The Trance is not an ultra-light down sweater, but is also no a full on down belay jacket. It is somewhere comfortable, and in between. The Trance is well suited to 3 season belay use, and as an all around camp jacket. It packs up light, and small enough to be suitable for early or late season backpacking.

The ripstop shell is robust enough that you don't have to be paranoid if you are wearing the Trance while working through some brush and overgrowth. The only real complaint I have is that on windy days, I wished the Trance had even a minimal draw cord or elastic on the collar, and around the waist to help block out the wind. The Trance is cut generously enough that it can slip on over your soft shell or barrier fleece with no problem.

Summary: The Trance jacket is a nice price point down jacket, that works well for general 3 season use. It is even suitable for 4 season use with the proper precautions. You can pick up the Trance sweater for about $169

For more information contact:
Outdoor Research
www.orgear.com 2203 1st Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98134-1424
800-421-2421

Matt Smith is the canyoneering specialist at GearReview.com.