Climbing Apparel Reviews

The Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody.

Review: Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody

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Ultralight Insulated Hooded Jacket
Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody
$345, 10 oz./283.5g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-3XL, women’s XXS-XXL
backcountry.com

Since getting my first Micro Puff Hoody when Patagonia rolled it out eight years ago, I have zipped into this lightweight, synthetic jacket in countless circumstances that include: sitting at campsites on cool, windy evenings and mornings while backpacking in the Wind River Range and on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim; wind blowing over 40 mph while belaying a climbing partner and in camp at Idaho’s City of Rocks; on winter days (wearing it under a shell) when skiing downhill in the backcountry; and at kids’ soccer games on blustery autumn and spring days.

Most recently, I wore the latest update of the Micro Puff Hoody on three mornings in the 40s Fahrenheit on an August backpacking trip in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains; and three mornings and evenings in the 40s and 50s Fahrenheit, with strong wind at times, on a late March backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon—affirming again that it remains one of the lightest and most versatile insulated jackets on the market, and remarkably warm for its weight.

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The Patagonia Fitz Roy Down Hoody.

Review: Patagonia Fitz Roy Down Hoody

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Down Jacket
Patagonia Fitz Roy Down Hoody
$399, 15 oz./425.2g (women’s small; men’s medium is 17 oz./482g)
Sizes: men’s XS-3XL, women’s 2XS-2XL
backcountry.com

From backpacking trips in the Canadian Rockies and Oregon, hut treks in New Zealand, and spring and summer camping and climbing trips in Idaho’s Sawtooth Valley and Oregon’s Smith Rock State Park, to countless days of resort skiing at Oregon’s Mount Bachelor and in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, plus days of backcountry ski touring, my college-student daughter has stayed warm in Patagonia’s Fitz Roy Down Hoody in temperatures down to around freezing—while demonstrating this hooded jacket’s versatility.

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The Himali Men’s Endeavor Fleece Hoodie.

Review: Himali Men’s Endeavor Fleece Hoodie

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Hooded Fleece Jacket
Himali Men’s Endeavor Fleece Hoodie
$180, 15.5 oz./439.4g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL
himali.com

On January days of backcountry skiing in Idaho’s Boise Mountains and Galena Summit area, moving constantly between cold shade and warm sunshine, with temps ranging from single digits to the high 20s Fahrenheit and a cool breeze at times, I wore this hooded, full-zip fleece jacket all day: both as my outer layer while climbing uphill and under a shell while skiing downhill. I never took this hoodie off—very unusual for me when skiing in the backcountry—and remained comfortable the entire time. That illustrates why the Himali Endeavor Fleece Hoodie ranks among the most versatile fleece hoodies and other breathable insulated jackets I’ve reviewed.

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The Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Shell and Fineline Stretch Full-Zip Pants on New Zealand's Milford Track.

Review: Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Shell and Pants

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Rain Jacket and Full-Zip Pants
Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Shell
$189, 10 oz./283.5g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-3XL, women’s 2XS-2XL
Men’s: blackdiamondequipment.com
Women’s: blackdiamondequipment.com

Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Full-Zip Pants
$179, 9 oz./255.1g (men’s small)
Sizes: men’s XS-XL, women’s 2XS-XL
Men’s: blackdiamondequipment.com
Women’s: blackdiamondequipment.com

Few places test rain gear as brutally as New Zealand’s chronically rainy Fiordland National Park—which is where I put Black Diamond’s Fineline Stretch Shell and Full-Zip Pants through the paces in early December (late spring there) on two classic hut treks where rain occurs almost as prevalently as oxygen: the Routeburn Track and the Milford Track (photo above). In some of the heaviest and most relentless wind-driven rain I’ve encountered over four decades of hiking and backpacking, this jacket and pants performed quite impressively—and I saw their limits.

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A backcountry skier in Idaho's Boise Mountains.

The Best Clothing Layers for Winter in the Backcountry

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By Michael Lanza

There’s one thing we can confidently say about the clothing layers we use in winter: We get our money’s worth out of them. While a rain shell or puffy jacket may rarely come out of our pack on a summer hike or climb, we almost invariably wear every article of clothing we carry when Nordic, downhill, or backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, trail running, or climbing in winter. That’s money spent wisely to make us more comfortable and safer.

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