Patagonia is one of the biggest names in outdoor clothing, and especially impressive when it comes to sustainability β great news if you want to protect those beautiful natural landscapes you're planning on hiking over or camping in this summer.
I'm a big fan of Patagonia's products, but they don't come especially cheap. So I was particularly pleased, when hunting for kit for my next adventure, to uncover a goldmine of Patagonia discounts at Cotswold Outdoor. There are deals on a wide range of kit for every weather eventuality β important if you're planning on spending any time in the UK, where you can never be quite sure if you'll be facing sweltering heat or a torrential downpour.
Below, I've rounded up my pick of the best discounts across the men's and women's ranges, including fleeces, waterproofs, base layers, tees and shorts, with a few accessories thrown in for good measure. Happy exploring!
Outdoor kit for summer adventures
Patagonia
Men's Boulder Fork Rain Jacket
Patagonia
Men's Nano-Air Light Hybrid Hoodie Jacket
Patagonia
Women's Classic Retro-X Fleece Jacket
Patagonia
Men's Baggies 5" Shorts
Patagonia
Women's Torrentshell 3l Jacket
Patagonia
Women's R1 Fleece Jacket
Patagonia
Women's Classic Retro-X Vest
Patagonia
Women's Retro Pile Marsupial Fleece
Patagonia
Women's Triolet Jacket
Patagonia
Unisex Terrebonne Cap
Patagonia
Women's Capilene Cool Daily Long Sleeve T-Shirt - Boardshort Logo
One of the biggest talking points around this year's World Cup has been the heat. Players from countries with very temperate, cool climates, like Norway and England, have had to play back-to-back games in hot and humid conditions, placing enormous stress on their bodies as they struggle to keep their core temperature down.
When core temperatures rise, fatigue isn't far behind. Research has shown that elevated internal body temperatures cause fatigue during prolonged exercise in hot environments, even for trained athletes. Staving off exhaustion by staying cool is therefore crucial.
Enter Therabody, maker of some of the best massage guns, which has supplied Thomas Tuchel's England squad with a novel new device: the Therabody CryoTherm Palm. It looks a little like a dumbbell, but it's not for lifting; instead, you simply place your hands on the nodes, and the CryoTherm Palm, Therabody says, uses these contact points to cool down your whole body using the company's 'Cryothermal technology'.
It sounds too good to be true β but the England players are reportedly making the most of it. We asked Therabody's Chief Science Officer, Tim Roberts, exactly how the technology works.
England captain Harry Kane (Image credit: Getty Images)
"Your palms are natural radiators β hairless skin packed with special vessels that bring a lot of blood right to the surface," says Roberts. "Itβs why gloves keep your whole body warm in winter.
"CryoTherm Palm cools that surface, pulls heat out of the blood passing through, and that cooled blood circulates back to lower your core temperature faster than cooling almost anywhere else."
So, in theory, the cold blood passing through your hands works to regulate the rest of your body's internal temperature. Clever. According to Roberts, there's a psychological effect too, as "it also dampens the thermal signals your brain uses to judge effort", so exercising feels easier.
(Image credit: Therabody)
Roberts points to a study conducted at the IMG Academy in Florida, in which footballers using the device between sprints saw positive results.
"In our IMG Academy soccer study, players using CryoTherm Palm between sprints felt 60% cooler, held 2.45% higher top speed and preserved sprint velocity 4.7% better across repeated efforts," says Roberts. While he does concede that "none of this replaces basic heat sense β hydrate, respect genuinely dangerous conditions, and back off when you need to," those numbers suggest it can make a difference.
I wouldn't be doing my due diligence if I didn't point out that in a Therabody press release, the IMG Academy was referred to as a Therabody partner. However, the science seems sound, and the CryoTherm Palm might just be your secret weapon to keep cool during your next workout, especially in very hot weather.
The device is available now, priced at $399.99 / Β£349 / around AU$600. I'm looking forward to testing, especially if the heatwaves we're experiencing here in the UK continue.
Let me confirm that I haven't actually worn anything from outer space: this is a workout layer from premium activewear company Walero, which also makes professional-grade motorsport gear. The Walero Active temperature-regulating baselayer incorporates Outlast technology, which is a fabric system originally developed for NASA to clothe its astronauts.
The Outlast website says "the most important part of fabrics and materials with this NASA technology is the microencapsulated wax, which is usually won from rapeseed oil.
"When the temperature rises, it causes the wax in the capsules to melt. During this phase shift, the temperature cannot increase any further. Heat peaks are reduced or even prevented and as a result, sweat production decreases by up to 48%."
So the wax hardens and softens inside the fabric based on the wearer's temperature, capping it. Clever.
While the Walero baselayers only consist of 20% Outlast technology, I was intrigued enough to try it when I was offered to test one. Given that I also test the best running shoes in addition to fitness gadgets, I'm always intrigued when I hear about performance-enhancing technical fabrics and materials in addition to smartwatches and other gadgets on my usual beat.
So, without further ado, I laced up my Saucony Ride 19s and hit the road, wearing it on as many runs as I could (in between washes) over a month.
Beat the heat
(Image credit: Future)
I tested the Ben Nevis long sleeve half-zip Walero Active top, but I found it difficult to judge its results in an objective, numerical fashion. Walero claims its kit is scientifically proven to lower heart rates by 8%, and sweat production by 30%.
However, one person's sweat production and heart rate can change dramatically for all sorts of reasons, ranging from what they've eaten that day, to the weather, to their previous night's sleep. I normally test the best smartwatches against a Polar H10 heart rate monitor to obtain numerical data, but I found it difficult to deliver any meaningful comparison data on a regular workout vs. one in the top. An 8% decrease in heart rate isn't a massive change for the average runner to measure, although it could mean everything for an elite athlete. How does a mediocre but enthusiastic runner quantify this sort of thing?
Nevertheless, after running 10 kilometers in a UK heatwave, during which I would have normally worn as little clothing as possible (and certainly not a long-sleeved top) I must admit I was partially convinced. I wore a sleeveless t-shirt underneath, and hadn't needed to remove the long-sleeved top at all during the run.
Other runs in the top, some shorter, some similar distance, were done in cooler conditions, including one in the rain. At all times, the layer stayed on, apart from one exceptionally hot day. I didn't see any historic achievements or plateau-breaking as a result of wearing it, but my runs felt strong and the top was comfortable. I didn't need to shed the layer in most hot conditions to avoid overheating, or feel like it was insufficient in cold.
Will it really increase performance?
(Image credit: Future)
At the end of the day, it's a very premium-priced (a hefty Β£195, around $250 / AU$370) baselayer with a nice feel. Will it increase performance? Perhaps. It's definitely going to be a go-to when exercising in the cold, as the 'layering problem' rears its ugly head most often in transitional seasons. You start out cold, and end up baking due to over-layering. I see this piece as an answer to this issue.
One independent study testing the thermo-regulation property of Outlast fiber by means of thermal analysis found that the 'smart fiber' as its called, has "been certified [for] its obvious capability of temperature regulation". So the Walero top will reduce sweat and keep your body regulated with its 20% Outlast fibers woven into its construction, in theory.
In practice, for most of us, it's a fun novelty that seems ideal to wear in most conditions, and most suited to cooler changeable weather. You'll get a lot of wear out of it as it's very adaptable, but it's certainly more expensive than most baselayers. It's a cool gimmick to chat about as you queue up at the startline of your local parkrun, but whether it represents good value will depend on your budget. An amateur athlete looking to save money (most of us) won't get enough mileage out of this top to justify the expense, while a high performer with deep pockets will likely live in it due to its thermo-regulating qualities.