There are certain products that come along on every adventure. This past fall, as temps cooled and the stoke rose, the new Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody, was one of those items that was in my pack each and every day.
Retail: $299
Before you read any more I was testing this jacket while rock climbing out in the Utah desert, and not in the alpine, so I can’t really offer any thoughts on how this jacket performs while getting rained or snowed on in desperate conditions. But, for not-so-desperate conditions, it became a staple, always tucked away in my pack, ready for the temps to dip.
Patagonia says “they tried everything and came up with nothing” for the Micro Puff Hoody, so that’s a good place to start: the weight. This jacket weighs 8.15 ounces, a standard setter for weight to warmth ratios. It is lined with PlumaFill insulation, a new synthetic offering, which allows for the jacket to get wet, but continue to stay warm. This jacket packs down perfectly to hang off one’s harness (in its own pocket) or tuck away in a backpack already filled with a hundred other items. At 5″9 the medium size fit me perfectly.
I’ve read from some other reviews that the jacket rips easily, but after a few months of scrambling up, down, and over boulders I didn’t personally have an issue with that.
This jacket kept me warm, tucked away perfectly in a full pack, and clipped to my harness and became unnoticeable. Alpine climbers would be recommended to read more thorough reviews based on winter conditions, but for pure rock climbing this is a highly refined jacket that I’ll always have in my pack.
Patagonia Micro Puffy (men’s)
Patagonia Micro Puffy (women’s)
-LM
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