Nevertheless, in my day-to-day activities (while living in the rainforest that I call home) I’ve been very impressed with the jacket’s water shedding capabilities. In full disclosure, I haven’t submerged my jacket in a pool of water or worn it in a monsoon. It’s also not as warm, which is where the Micro Puff Hoody shines. You can wear it while riding and it actually works.” As such, the Nano Air had a slightly different shell fabric, and is pretty heavy (12.7oz/357g) and not very packable as a result. As Indiana Schulz - the second place finisher in the American Trail Race - answered when asked about his favorite pieces of gear on the trip, “The Patagonia Nano Air breathes amazingly well. But make no mistake, it is not a jacket purpose-built to breathe well during active pursuits, such as Patagonia’s Nano Air, another synthetic jacket that we reviewed in our roundup a couple years back. At times, I need to partially unzip it, but my perspiration evaporates quickly. I’ve worn the Micro Puff in low-mid 40☏ (4.4☌) weather on some pretty grueling climbs. Breathabilityĭespite some reviews I’ve read to the contrary, I think the Micro Puff Hoody is relatively breathable when compared to similar down fill jackets. Often the day starts off really cold and I just forget to take off my jacket until the afternoon, when temperatures start to climb. I guess there aren’t many folks who think about wearing a jacket in 70 degree weather, but, as previously mentioned, I am cold-natured. What’s really remarkable about this jacket is that it’s also a great piece of gear in temperatures ranging from the mid 60s (15.5☌) to lower 70s (21☌). Once the temperature drops into the lower 30s, a heavier base layer can be added to lower this temperature rating. To be clear, it’s not a parka, but, with a medium weight wool base layer, the jacket has kept me quite comfortable in mid-30 (-1☌) to low-40s (4.4☌) temperatures (☏) while being relatively inactive. The Micro Puff jacket packs a lot of warmth into a small package. So, that’s the science behind the Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody, but does it really deliver on all of its lofty promises? Theoretically, having fewer seams maximizes the efficiency of the insulation, allowing heat to move more freely throughout the jacket, creating a consistent distribution of warmth and preventing the formation of cold spots. Instead, the Micro Puff is quilted with offset blocks of differing sizes. With less shifty insulation, the need for individual baffles was eliminated. The central strand design was employed to keep the insulation from shifting and clumping. Those fluffy offshoots compress like down, but stay warm and lofted when wet. The insulation, called PlumaFill, looks like a tiny feather boa, and features tufts of heat-trapping ultrafine polyester filament anchored to a single, central strand. The inspiration for its design… what else… goose down. The engineers at Patagonia worked long and hard to create a new kind of synthetic insulation, one they say addresses both the heat and compressibility shortfalls found in many polyester fills. And, as for packability, they don’t compress as well either.Įnter the Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody. But, when it comes to facing truly cold temperatures, jackets with synthetic insulation usually don’t provide as much warmth as down. Often they can provide comfort in a wide range of temperatures, even during active, sweat producing pursuits. Synthetic jackets are also a bit more breathable than down jackets, which adds to their versatility. The hydrophobic polyester fibers maintain their loft and insulating properties, and then also dry more quickly once saturated. Synthetic insulation tolerates getting damp much better than down. While there are “responsible” means of harvesting down (see the Responsible Down Standard or Patagonia’s own stringent Traceable Down Standard), lots of folks just don’t feel comfortable wearing a by-product of somebody else’s death. Down also dries slowly, so once it’s gotten wet, it takes a long time to recover. No loft= significantly reduced heat retention. It does not repel water, and, when wet, it tends to clump up and lose its ability to loft. Down also compresses amazingly well, which is a critical factor when pack space is at a premium. It’s incredible loftiness traps the heat that our bodies generate. Natural goose down generally provides the highest warmth to weight ratio of any insulator. Finding the perfect ultralight puffy jacket has always involved some sort of compromise.
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