backpacking apparel reviews

The Patagonia Micro Puff Jacket.

Review: Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody and Jacket

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Ultralight Insulated Jacket
Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody
$329, 9 oz./255g (men’s medium)
Patagonia Micro Puff Jacket
$279, 8.7 oz./247g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-3XL, women’s XXS-XXL
backcountry.com

Since getting my Micro Puff Hoody several years ago—and the latest version of the Micro Puff Jacket recently—I have zipped into one or the other in countless circumstances ranging from wind blowing 30 to over 40 mph while belaying a climbing partner or in camp at Idaho’s City of Rocks; sitting at campsites on cool, windy evenings and mornings while backpacking in the Wind River Range and backpacking on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim; on cold winter days under a shell when skiing downhill in the backcountry; and at kids’ soccer games on blustery autumn and spring days. One of the lightest insulated jackets on the market, the Micro Puff is surprisingly warm and versatile. Here’s why.

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The Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer UL Hoody.

Review: Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer UL Hoody

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Ultralight Down Jacket
Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer UL Hoody
$420, 6.7 oz./190g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
backcountry.com

At under nine ounces/255 grams, Mountain Hardwear’s classic Ghost Whisperer/2 Down Hoody has long held the distinction as one of the very lightest, most packable, and warmest-for-its-weight down jackets for backpackers, climbers, and other backcountry travelers—and arguably the best among the tiny number in its weight class. So why make one that’s even lighter? That question occupied my mind while using Hardwear’s newer Ghost Whisperer UL Hoody, which whacks about two ounces/57 grams off its older sibling’s weight while excelling for many of the same reasons—and differentiating itself.

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The Mountain Hardwear Kor Airshell Hoody.

Review: Mountain Hardwear Kor Airshell Hoody

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Ultralight Wind Shell
Mountain Hardwear Kor Airshell Hoody
$150, 5.1 oz./145g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
backcountry.com

After sweating hard on a sunny and humid June morning hiking up the headwall of Huntington Ravine—the steepest and hardest trail on Mount Washington—we hit the cool wind blowing across the mountain’s alpine terrain. I pulled on my Kor Airshell Hoody and it tamed that wind while breathing so well that the wet sun shirt against my skin dried out quickly. And that pattern of sweating and hitting wind kept repeating itself on that two-day, 21-mile hut trek in New Hampshire’s Presidential Range, providing plenty of opportunities for the Kor to show off its strengths.

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The Arc’teryx Cerium Hoody.

Review: Arc’teryx Cerium Hoody

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Hybrid Insulated Jacket
Arc’teryx Cerium Hoody
$400, 12 oz./340g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-XXXL, women’s XXS-XXL
moosejaw.com

Who expected the overnight temp would drop nearly to freezing and the wind would blow 30 mph through our campsite on our first morning in southern Arizona’s Aravaipa Canyon… in April? Well, I didn’t when I reserved that permit months earlier—but we all did when we saw the forecast immediately before the trip. So I packed my new Cerium Hoody and it proved the perfect antidote to unseasonably cold mornings.

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Ibex Wool Aire Vest

Review: Ibex Wool Aire Vest

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Insulated Vest
Ibex Wool Aire Vest
$235, 7.5 oz./213g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
ibex.com

How useful—and valuable—is your insulation layer? Consider this: I wore the Ibex Wool Aire Vest as my only outer layer over the same two base layers (a lightweight, wicking long-sleeve and a warm fleece hoody) on days of vigorous Nordic skiing in radically different conditions in Idaho’s Boise Mountains: from sunny, calm, and mid-30s Fahrenheit to cloudy and below freezing with strong winds that made it feel much colder. And I did not overheat in the first circumstance or get cold in the second. I also stayed comfortable wearing it as my sole middle layer under a winter shell in temps from around freezing to the mid-teens, with a low overcast and frigid wind, on days of snowshoeing and backcountry skiing downhill, and as my outer layer when skinning uphill (without wind).

That degree of versatility speaks volumes about the value of any layer, especially insulation.

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