M10庐 Alpine Shells
Nico Favresse approaches the crux of pitch 23 on Riders on the Storm. It was the end of a long day of redpointing, but the weather held for the first time in days, so the team decided to keep pushing upward. Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia.
All photos by Drew Smith
As field-testing coordinator at Patagonia, Kelly Cordes also has to be a herder of cats. When it comes to soliciting and consolidating feedback from the athletes, gearheads and dirtbags who make up the team, it takes hustle. That鈥檚 why his report on the new M10庐 shells was so memorable. Every single climber who had experience with earlier M10 shells responded. And every single one of them said more or less the same thing: Bring M10 back. Don鈥檛 mess it up. 鈥淚t was kind of amazing because climbers don鈥檛 agree on anything,鈥� Kelly says.
From its original launch in 2010, the M10 exemplified Patagonia鈥檚 design philosophy: There was nothing left to eliminate. Pit zips? Nope. Handwarmer pockets? Nada. Allowing for unrestricted, climb-specific movements, it was the low-bulk, lightweight, waterproof/breathable layer that every alpinist needed.
鈥淚t was the first time 鈥榣ight and fast鈥� came to storm protection and really catered to climbers doing big things,鈥� recalls Kate Rutherford, our ambassador turned alpine product line manager. 鈥溑凡┗嵩比肟� never had anything like that before, and it felt like the first time we had really been listened to. That was special.鈥�
After a few years, however, it seemed like we had accomplished what we鈥檇 set out to do with the M10. 鈥淲hen all 50 of the most badass ice climbers had one, they didn鈥檛 need another one,鈥� Kate says.
In 2018, the M10 dropped out of the line as we explored other sport demands. Yet nothing took its place, and substitutes could be found wanting. The ultralightweight Alpine Houdini庐 Jacket was, as one field-tester put it, 鈥渓ike wearing a garbage bag.鈥� Another noted that the Super Free Alpine Jacket is more for athletes skinning to and skiing off objectives in addition to climbing them. Alpine climbers simply would never justify the additional weight for things like more pockets, zippers or trims. 鈥淚t was so clear what everyone wanted from the M10, and that鈥檚 why they all liked it in the first place. It鈥檚 everything you need and no extra bullshit,鈥� Kelly says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Ferrari, a total race car.鈥�
Sean Villanueva O鈥橠riscoll sends pitch 25 of Riders on the Storm, even with most holds filled with snow and ice.
Bringing back the M10, we knew we could push the materials further. The 2024 M10 Storm styles use an even lighter-weight version of the exceptionally weatherproof, breathable 3-layer fabric technology first used in our Dual Aspect shells in 2021, and made without intentionally applied PFCs/PFAS. 欧博会员入口 also dropped some car battery tech into the M10 Anorak. Most porous membranes for garments are made chemically, requiring a solvent bath and resulting in randomly sized holes. But automakers developed a nanoporous membrane that鈥檚 made mechanically, stretching the material to get uniform, nano-sized holes. The Xpore庐 nanoporous membrane in the M10 Anorak is made like those in car batteries, with consistently sized pores that keep rain and snow out but still let sweat and heat escape, resulting in a highly waterproof/breathable material made without harsh chemicals.
鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to bring badass technologies from other industries to the outdoors,鈥� Kate says. 鈥淭he alpine space is a proving ground for these kinds of innovations. If we can make it work high on the mountain, it can service other sport communities, too.鈥�
Even so, the M10 story is all about mobility. Fully waterproof materials aren鈥檛 typically stretchy, which means the garment pattern is especially critical in shells. El铆sabet Elfa, a technical outerwear designer, and Senior Pattern Engineer Jaimee Redfern took their time and turned to dance for inspiration.
鈥淚鈥檓 a trained classical dancer and mostly think as a dancer first,鈥� El铆sabet says. 鈥淲hen dancing, nothing should stop a motion or make it harder to perform. When I鈥檝e climbed, I鈥檝e used movements from dance. I think it should feel and look similar, like you do it effortlessly and in a beautiful sequence of movements.鈥� After months of staring at photos of alpine ambassadors鈥� armpits, El脥sabet and Jaimee came up with a completely redesigned underarm gusset that even our pickiest field-testers agree provides better mobility than the original M10, with nearly zero hem lift.
El铆sabet and Jaimee鈥檚 syncretic approach to design can be seen across the new M10 family: Cycling bibs informed the stretchy, zipper-free baselayer access on the M10 Storm Bibs, while the 4-Point Gusset on the M10 Storm Pants came from jiujitsu pants. 鈥淚t鈥檚 cool how focused the M10 pieces are, but it was the zoomed-out concept of mobility that opened up possibilities,鈥� Kelly says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 what our best designers do鈥攐bserve the broader world to help refine our focus.鈥�
鈥淥ne of the more unique things about Patagonia is that a new idea can come from anywhere,鈥� Jaimee agrees. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 have to come from a specific group of people. It just has to be a good one.鈥�
痴颈蝉颈迟听patagonia.com听to see the entire听M10 collection.听
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