Review of the Eastern Mountain Sports Women’s Divergence Pro Jacket

By Terri Barry

Terri wins the EMS jacket!The 4th Annual Joshua Tree Tweetup was one of my best climbing trips ever. I had four full days of climbing for the first time, I spent time with some of my favorite Twitter Climbers, I met great new Twitter Climbers and I won an Eastern Mountain Sports women’s Divergence Pro jacket. Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) sent a box of goodies to the Tweetup that were raffled off during the trip. I was lucky enough to win a green women’s medium Divergence Pro jacket. I’m 5’7”/135lbs and the medium fits me perfectly. The fabric is Polartec Wind Pro and has DWR (durable water repellent) treatment so it repels water. The jacket has under-arm vents and two zippered pockets. I have nothing like the Divergence Pro in my jacket collection so I was beyond thrilled when my name was called as the winner!

The technical specifications lists “cold” as the weather type for the Divergence Pro jacket. This year it was very windy and cold during the Tweetup. The Divergence Pro immediately became my “go-to jacket.” The fabric is very wind resistant but still feels like fleece in the inside (a very nice feature!). With my light weight down sweater underneath the Divergence Pro I was plenty warm enough during all but the coldest parts of the night (when temperatures were in the mid-20’s). I also climbed during the Tweeup in this jacket. Joshua Tree rock is very rough but this fabric is abrasion resistant. I was worried about scuffing or pilling the fabric while climbing but that didn’t happen. In fact, it offered a bit of padding! I look forward to wearing this jacket while climbing next season.

Once I got home I found myself grabbing this jacket as I left for work or walk the dog. Since the Joshua Tree Tweetup I have worn it in light rain and the fabric does repel water. In addition, layered underneath a rain shell it is toasty warm. I would highly recommend this very versatile jacket.

Terri using her newly won EMS jacket