Polartec Alpha product reviews

Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody.

Review: Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody

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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Review: Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody

Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody
Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody

Hybrid Insulation Jacket
Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody
$185, 10 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
moosejaw.com

On cool mornings in May while backpacking the Grand Canyon’s Royal Arch Loop, and in late March on a five-day, family backpacking trip down Paria Canyon on the Utah-Arizona border, I did something unusual: I started the day’s hiking wearing the same jacket I had worn while in camp, OR’s new Deviator Hoody. From cool-weather hiking to skate-skiing in winter, I liked the Deviator as a next-generation, hybrid insulation piece whose versatility is limited only by your creativity in thinking about your layering system.

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Gear Review: Marmot Alpha Pro Jacket

Marmot Alpha Pro Jacket
Marmot Alpha Pro Jacket

Hybrid Cold-Weather Jacket
Marmot Alpha Pro Jacket
$225, 13 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL
marmot.com

If you’re like me and cycle between being hot and cold when you’re active outdoors in cold temperatures, here’s a secret weapon for comfort. I wore this jacket frequently over the course of four days of wonderful backcountry skiing in the Baldy Knoll area of the Tetons last March, when daytime temps ranged from around zero Fahrenheit into the high 20s, often with strong winds and bright sunshine combined. I also wore it ski touring in Idaho’s Boise Mountains in temps typically just below freezing, at times in a cold wind and snow flurries. Both places presented challenging conditions in which to stay warm and dry. But the Alpha Pro shined, keeping me remarkably comfortable in rapidly shifting conditions where I would have otherwise been repeatedly taking a shell on and off—all while making my layering system lighter and simpler.

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Gear Review: Marmot Isotherm Hoody Puffy Jacket

Marmot Isotherm Hoody
Marmot Isotherm Hoody

Breathable Insulated Jacket
Marmot Isotherm Hoody
$225, 13 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
marmot.com

A puffy jacket that’s breathable? That holy grail of backcountry apparel seemed elusive until Polartec Alpha synthetic insulation entered the scene. Looking for a fairly lightweight, Alpha-filled jacket that would be versatile for year-round use—and that has a hood—I used Marmot’s Isotherm Hoody on spring and summer hiking trips. Although just 13 oz., this full-zip jacket kept me warm on mornings ranging from calm and 15° F. (with a warm top on underneath it) in southern Utah in late March, to the 40s with steady winds of 40 to 50 mph in Idaho’s White Cloud Mountains in July. Even more impressively, on a frosty morning in the teens and 20s in Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, I could wear it hiking at a brisk pace without overheating.

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