Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

For those of you living on the half of our planet situated above the equator, fall is here; about this there can be no doubt. Some of us revel in the cool, damp mornings and crisp evenings that autumn brings. Whether or not you love the weather that comes with this season, you can’t deny the choice opportunity that it brings to reevaluate your outerwear options.

Here’s a good place to start: our friends at Outdoor Research and their Transcendent Sweater. Hit the jump for details and more pictures.

Featuring everyone’s favorite insulator, down, the Transcendent Sweater buffets its wearer against biting wind and chill temps; it’s perfect for keeping up your core temperature, in spite of adverse conditions. What sets this jacket apart is its weight, or lack their of. Coming at just over 13 ounces, if it wasn’t keeping you so darn toasty, it might be possible to forget that you’re wearing it.

Editor’s Note: Having tested the Transcendent Sweater on the requisite chilly days, I can attest to the advertised warmth-to-weightlessness ratio. However, I’m most impressed by a feature that OR failed to mention. This piece of kit is beyond soft – like a kitten-wrapped-up-in-cashmere-floating-on-a-cloud-of-marshmallows-soft. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that beyond the obvious functional aspects of the Transcendent lies a truly luxurious comfort experience. I suggest wearing it whilst splitting wood. This will make you look rugged, and only you’ll know how cush you feel. Additionally, our tesweater (test+sweater) came in the color Pilser – further evidence that virtually anything beer flavored is a good thing.

Cost: $160