Prometheus Design Werx introduces the Beast Hoodie this Fall-Winter 2018. Made with technical, high loft Polartec ThermalPro fleece, this style traps body heat when worn under a shell and breathes exceptionally well when worn on its own during active field use. The Beast Hoodie features 4 zippered exterior pockets, 4 dummy cords, 2, laser cut loop panels on the sleeves, ports for media cables, double reinforced elbows in Guide Cloth, structured draft resistant thumbhole cuffs, and M.L. hood with A.C. bill. The high loft ThermalPro possesses a distinct signature, legacy appearance that harkens back to the original, performance fleece pile alpine jackets from the late 70s-early80s. Exceptionally comfortable, soft, versatile with a highly distinct appearance. Built in USA.
The Beast Hoodie is a part of their Made in USA CORE-Line of products by Prometheus Design Werx. Available in Wilding Gray and Darker Earth.
The Design and R&D Team at PDW states:
“Our Chief Designer has been a fan of this style technical fleece for well over a decade and has been designing with this unique performance textile for as long. In many ways, this Polartec ThermalPro has its DNA in the original pile fleece jackets made for alpinists and mountaineers at the dawn of modern outdoor apparel age where synthetic textiles were introduced into the market. Much like animal fur the high loft properties of this fleece traps body heat to insulate. One of the more notable properties of this fleece is that it breathes exceptionally well to help regulate overheating when the wearer is engaged in high energy, active pursuits such as rock climbing, mountaineering, ski touring, and cold weather hiking. Our proven 4-way stretch Guide Cloth reinforcements are well matched for the range of movement characteristic of this fleece, which is higher than other typical poly fleeces being used in backcountry mid-layers. The design features easily satisfy backcountry EDC with signature, functional details PDW is well known for. Versatility, usefulness in a wide range or cool to cold weather conditions, freedom of movement, and a distinct and unique appearance makes this performance mid-layer a standout for those who make their own way, blaze their own trails, and when they need to, crank it up into beast mode. These jackets are made in our home state of California using US.”
The Beast Hoodie will be available in both colors for purchase on Wednesday, December 12th, 2018 at 12:00pm PT via their website, prometheusdesignwerx.com.
Patrick Ma has some great design skills and I’d love to see them put to use making more innovative products. At this point it feels like PDW is just rehashing all the work done at TAD without any real innovation on it.
I can see the argument being made for PDW just trying to expand their line before they release new products, but if thats the case it makes you wonder how long that will take, it’s been close to 5 years?
Again, love the guy and his design skill is amazing but I wish there was something new coming out of PDW rather than just copies of existing designs.
That and they need to make their pants for everyone over 6’. Not everyone has a 32” inseam…
You’re kidding me, right?
I’m not kidding. It’s easier to destroy than create so it’s easy for me to slide by and say they aren’t creating anything new when I myself haven’t created anything in the industry.
To be fair their collection has grown a lot in the past 5 years but outside of the leather jacket I’m not seeing anything new in the apparel line that is a departure from what was created while at TAD.
Nothing but respect for the guy, just not seeing anything really new in their apparel line.
TAD did do a leather jacket called the Street Fighter a few years back.
A wool line? Their pack and accessories? Compasses? Knives?
The wool line was not really success (most of it is on clearance now, and mine is made of scratchy low quality import fabric that sheds like a Husky) and they made no bones about the fact the heritage designs were lifted from LL Bean (they even copied LL Bean’s tagline).
The SHADO pack was an utter disaster. After using and abusing TAD packs for years I gave one a try After buying it piecemeal it came to nearly $500. The straps were really poorly thought out, the shape is so awkward it was difficult to pack, and the carry handle ripped out of it after using it twice very lightly (as a weekend carry-on bag). After a big buildup prior to release they ended up putting them on sale just to get rid of them.
I have quite a bit of PDW and TAD clothing, and hands down TAD is constructed better. PDW is an ok choice if you want to save a few dollars and want TAD style (although with a huge non-removable logo right in front), but comparing the items side by side PDW is not as well finished as TAD.
That being said, I am glad there are more companies in the marketplace making things in the US, and I do feel a little bad that Patrick is having trouble growing from his TAD roots. Hopefully PDW can start to be a little less reliant on weekly patch sales (is it really “limited” if you keep re-releasing it?) to be able to take a few risks and innovate a bit more soon on the clothing department.
If you dislike PDW so much, why do you keep buying it?
Fair enough question. PDW is a company I WANT to like. Good lineage, quite a bit of American made stuff. I kept giving them more chances than I should have, I suppose.
+1 – if you don’t like their products, stop buying. I’m not saying PDW is the greatest, and some of their products are similar to the products Patrick designed for TAD, but the majority are not. I have 2 woodsman tops, the wilderness utility top, and their watch cap (all are great), as well as a few other items, none of which are anything like TADs products. Easy to hate from behind the screen, but he’s built 2 successful companies (not to mention his other ventures), nothing but respect for him.
I’ve seen a wool top, haven’t seen pants but that would be great to find some more form fitting wool pants. As for pack, accessories, etc. as I said in the previous post I was commenting mainly on apparel. Their Shado pack looked solid and different from the TAD stuff, but sadly has been sold out.
As for accessories, knives, etc. I personally am not a knife guy, so I don’t geek out over tiny modifications or some special colorway. There are so many knives on the market of good quality and from first pass it looks like some of the designs are similar to what TAD has been doing. Again, not surprising since Patrick was their lead since inception. I assume his style will continue to PDW, I’m just hoping for some new designs.
I’m sure I’m not articulating my words well enough considering I didn’t think this was such a controversial thing to say. Looking forward to see what PDW does in the future.
Well said, I think this is absolutely a fair assessment. TAD created a jacket that has become almost as ubiquitous as anything fashion has created in our time (unfortunately as much from piracy as their own efforts) and that is a tough act to follow.
PDW Abshag. (Shagmaster with abs).