breathable insulated jacket reviews

Outdoor Research Refuge Air Hooded Jacket

Review: Outdoor Research Refuge Air Hooded Jacket

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Breathable Insulated Jacket Outdoor Research Refuge Air Hooded Jacket $229, 15 oz. (men’s medium) Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL backcountry.com On a ski tour in blowing snow in Idaho’s Boise Mountains, I wore this breathable, insulated jacket climbing uphill for the first hour without overheating. Then, while ski touring along a windy ridge with up-and-down terrain, I stayed warm without …

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Outdoor Research Refuge Hooded Jacket.

Review: Outdoor Research Refuge Hooded Jacket

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Breathable Insulated Jacket Outdoor Research Refuge Hooded Jacket $220, 1 lb. 2 oz. (men’s medium) Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL backcountry.com Puffy jackets stuffed with breathable synthetic insulation comprise one of the unsung-hero categories of outdoor gear: If you’re seeking nothing more than maximum warmth per ounce in a puffy jacket, sure, high-quality down is still the way to go. …

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Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody.

Review: Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody

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Breathable Insulated Jacket
Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody
$249, 12 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
backcountry.com

The range of activities, conditions, and seasons in which you wear a jacket arguably says more than anything else about its value, so I’ll tell you what I’ve done (so far) in my Ascendant Hoody: On a 39-mile, mid-September backpacking trip in Wyoming’s Wind River Range, I wore it in camp on cool, windy mornings and evenings. I’ve worn it as a middle layer on days of skiing downhill at resorts, and as an outer or middle layer skiing up and downhill in the backcountry. And I’ve regularly pulled it on to ride my bike on errands around town this winter. Its versatility derives from having just the right amount of breathable insulation to make it the insulated jacket you grab more than any other all year.

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The Patagonia Nano-Air Jacket.

Review: Patagonia Nano-Air Jacket

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Hybrid, Breathable Insulated Jacket
Patagonia Nano-Air Jacket
$199, 10 oz./284g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-XXL, women’s XXS-XL
backcountry.com

Throughout four straight days of backcountry skiing in the mountains above Lake Tahoe in early February, winds gusting at 40 to 50 mph buffeted us—the pockets of protected terrain seemed rare—and snow fell for three of those days, heavily at times. A few days later, I was Nordic skate skiing and snowshoeing in Idaho’s Boise Mountains, on days ranging from overcast and windy to breezy with warm sunshine. On all of those days, temperatures were cold enough—from the low 20s to the mid-30s Fahrenheit—to quickly chill me if I either under-dressed for the wind or sweated from overdressing. And for hours at a time on those days of widely ranging conditions and exertion levels, I wore Patagonia’s new Nano-Air Jacket.

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Review: The North Face Desolation ThermoBall Jacket

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The North Face Desolation ThermoBall Jacket.
The North Face Desolation ThermoBall Jacket.

Hybrid Insulated Jacket
The North Face Desolation ThermoBall Jacket
$199, 14 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
Men’s: moosejaw.com
Women’s: backcountry.com

Backcountry skiing in Idaho’s Boise Mountains in heavily falling snow, I pulled my Desolation ThermoBall Jacket on over my waterproof-breathable shell for extra warmth while digging a snow pit to assess avalanche conditions. Finishing that, with the Desolation ThermoBall’s shell damp from snow, I stuffed it inside my pack while we made a couple of downhill runs and climbs. Later, I pulled it on over my shell again for the ski down to our car, as snow continued dumping and temps were dropping fast. Although damp, the jacket kept me warm. It did the same on other ski tours in temps in the teens Fahrenheit, repelling light, falling snow and giving me the warmth I needed by simply wearing it over my shell—no getting blasted by cold wind to add a layer. That illustrates the versatility of The North Face Desolation ThermoBall Jacket, an insulation piece that won’t just sit in your pack.

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