Cagoules Rule

In July 2013, we put a the first Sierra Designs catalog online offering a Reevair cagoule for sale. This sparked Bob Woodward to send in an appreciation of the cagoule. Quoting Bob:

I waited out many a Sierra summer storm in said " monk's cloak". Yes, they were un-breathable but we learned early on to wear a tee shirt underneath and peel it off post storm and put on a warm, dry shirt. Of course, today a cagoule would be made in some fancy fabric and cost $750.00 or more. Give me the old SD waterproof non- breathable coated nylon version.Not so Archaic Tecnology

I entitled Bob's story "Archaic Technology." Little did I know! 

Framing up my ignorance was Patagonia's Fall catalog offering a $350 update of their 1972 version not quite hitting Woody's benchmark. More telling, Phil Scott and Robert Link were working on a new variant under my very nose.

To atone I'm offering Robert's appreciation of the cagoule and Phil's discussion of the design considerations that went into its construction.

Finally, here's Phil's take on the cagoule's history.

Cagoules Rule! Enjoy.

PS, there's an extensive set of cagoule images on Pinterest at The Cagoule with pointers to the author's cagoule blog.