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Reviews > Clothing > Jackets and Vests > Helly Hansen Lifa Loft Hybrid Insulator > Test Report by Brian HartmanHELLY HANSEN LIFALOFT HYBRID INSULATOR JACKET TESTER INFORMATION
I have been backpacking for over 20 years throughout Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and most recently in Western USA. In addition to backpacking I enjoy family camping with my wife and kids and being outdoors in general. I would describe myself as a mid weight backpacker. I use fairly light weight equipment and gear but still like to bring more than the bare essentials with me while on the trail. INITIAL REPORT August 31, 2018
PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS
Available Colors: Olympian Blue Matte, Black, Graphite
The wrist cuffs are made from simple stretch banding and the waist skirt has an elastic cinch cord that runs around its perimeter to prevent cold air or snow from entering the jacket from below. INITIAL IMPRESSIONS The Insulator arrived
at my house in a thin, lightweight UPS envelope. The envelope was
so light and thin, in fact, that when I pulled it from my mailbox
I thought it was a pair of shorts I had recently ordered. Even after looking at the shipping label I struggled to believe an insulated jacket could be inside the small package. My first impressions upon seeing the Insulator were positive, although I admit I'm not a big fan of the bright blue color, or of the design style with stretch fabric covering both sides of the jacket as well as the shoulders and sleeves. The shell was soft and smooth, while the stretch fabric, especially on the interior, felt like fleece. The jacket was in perfect condition and the fit and finish were flawless. The stitching was straight, the seams were tight, and the jacket appeared to be of high quality. I'm not too concerned about the shell fabric in the outdoors but I am a little apprehensive about hiking through brush with the stretch fabric, as it seems like it could easily snag or get torn on a tree branch or briar. Moving on to some other key features of the jacket, I like the size of the zippered pockets. They are wide and deep and look like they'll provide plenty of storage space for items I need to access quickly. I can also see myself using them to warm up my hands on cold days. I'm not sure, though, how often I'll use the internal pockets since there's no way to keep things that I place in them from falling out. The shape of the jacket is a little strange to me in that the chest and waist measurements are the same. Although I'm jumping ahead, my thoughts in regard to the shape of the jacket were confirmed by its fit when I put it on. It is loose in the waist and snug in the chest and arms. Given that most people looking for Helly Hansen clothing are skiers, sailors and outdoor enthusiasts, I expected the jacket would have a slightly tapered cut. READING THE INSTRUCTIONS Three hang tags were attached to the left side pocket zipper of the Insulator, when it arrived. The tag line on the 1st hang tag said "Lifaloft - Lighter, Warmer. Keeps you warmer with less weight and bulk." I thought that was a great tag line and really summed up everything I'd read about Lifaloft. Following this statement were several bullet points that detailed the features / benefits of the insulation. To summarize the bullet points: Lifaloft is 20% lighter because the Lifa fibers are much lighter than polyester fibers. Lifaloft traps more air resulting in a warmer jacket. Lifaloft fibers are hydrophobic and so the insulation dries very quickly. It does a better job of repelling moisture than even polyester. This jacket is ideal to wear during intense activities in all temperatures.
TRYING IT OUT Based on the manufacturer's sizing chart, I should have ordered a size Small jacket, but something in the back of my mind told me to upsize, and I'm glad I did. As it turns out, the Insulator fits me very snug, even in size Medium. Luckily the jacket has lots of stretch, and for the most part I don't plan on wearing more than a t-shirt underneath it. The Insulator was easy to slip on, thanks, once again, to stretch in the fabric. I wore the jacket on a short walk around my neighborhood with temperatures in the upper 60s F (20 C) and felt very comfortable. I look forward to taking it on upcoming backpacking trips this fall and winter.
SUMMARY The Insulator jacket is
lightweight and warm, and it's purported to be wind resistant
and breathable. It is an interesting product that seems to lie
somewhere between base layer and insulation layer. I look forward
to testing its durability and
effectiveness at keeping me warm and dry while backpacking. FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS During the past two months I wore the Lifaloft Hybrid on three backpacking trips. In addition, I wore it while biking and jogging in cold weather and on day hikes at a local park. I used it as both a mid and outer-layer jacket during testing, depending on what I was doing. My
first overnighter was a two-day backpacking trip to the Charles Deam
Wilderness in the Hoosier National Forest, Indiana (IN). While I was there
skies were mostly overcast with just a few hours of sunshine in total
between both days. Temperatures ranged from 30 to 48 F (-1 to 9
C) with light to moderate winds during the day and evening hours.
The terrain was hilly, and the trails consisted of hard packed
dirt. I hiked 14 miles (22.5 km) and stayed mostly on-trail since
the vegetation was still quite thick. Elevations ranged from 560
to 780 ft (171 – 238 m). Location: Charles Deam Wilderness My
second trip was back to the Hoosier National Forest, but this time I
went to a different part of the forest that was closer to Lake
Monroe. Skies were sunny, and although temperatures were similar
to my previous trip, they felt colder due to wind chill. My
third trip was an overnight outing to Oldenburg, Indiana (IN). I
went there with my brother although I was the only one who stayed
overnight. While there we explored a nearby creek as well as in
the neighboring woods. Daytime temperatures were in the mid 30's
F (1.7 C) with a low around 31 F (-0.6 C) and elevations ranged from
570 to 780 ft (174 to 238 m). PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD During field testing I used the Lifaloft Hybrid as both a mid and outer layer
jacket. In addition to the weather conditions above, it saw light
rain, brief periods of snow and temperatures down to 20 F (-7 C), on
the days I went hiking in a local park. My overall impressions of
the jacket during testing were positive as it’s lightweight, warm,
breathable, and fairly durable. On the downside, it’s tight
across my chest and arms when layered over anything more than a thin
t-shirt. Comfort
and fit – I like the feel of the shell fabric. It’s soft and
smooth, and although thin, it didn’t get hung up on branches or
twigs. The stretch fabric, though, was more prone to snagging and
so I was cautious where I hiked when I was wearing the jacket as
an outer layer. As for fit, the Hybrid is tight in the chest,
waist, arms and arm pits. Although the sizing chart indicated a
Medium would be plenty large for me, after wearing it for extended
periods I think a size Large would have fit me much better. My
observations regarding its fit are similar to what others said on the
net. Lately it seems I can’t catch a break with proper fit when
ordering clothes online. I recently saw two jackets, from
different companies, one with a 46 in (117 mm) chest and the other with
a 34 in (86 mm) chest measurement, both labeled as size Medium.
It certainly seems like there’s no standard at all in the
industry. I love shopping online, as my wife would attest, but it
makes it difficult when sizing is all over the place. SUMMARY Overall, I’m happy with the Lifaloft Hybrid. It’s lightweight, warm, breathable, and does a good job of blocking wind. So far, I haven’t had durability issues with the jacket and am not too concerned about its water resistance.LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS During
the past two months I wore the Helly Hansen LifaLoft jacket on two
backpacking trips. My trips were to the Cuyahoga National Forest
near Cleveland, Ohio (OH), and Devil’s River State Trail in Manitowoc
County, Wisconsin (WI). Cleveland,
OH – The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is located just 20 mi (32 km)
south of downtown Cleveland and is a wonderful location in the Midwest
to enjoy the great outdoors and everything nature has to offer.
Temperatures during my visit ranged from the low 30’s F (0.5 C) to
almost 40 F (4.4 C) and skies were cloudy to partly sunny with no
precipitation. I hiked approximately 16 mi (25.7 km) on this
three-day visit.
PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD Temperatures during the last two months were above normal with daytime highs ranging from the low 30's (0.5 C) to the mid 40 F's (7 F). During this time, I wore the Hybrid as both a mid and outer layer. The Helly Hansen LifaLoft Hybrid jacket performed well during the past eight weeks, and it ultimately survived four months of testing with only minor abrasion marks from my pack straps, and no loss of insulation loft as a result of compression. The jacket proved to be durable and the zippers worked flawlessly, never getting stuck or catching on the fabric. When hiking off-trail, I tried to stay away from briars and low hanging tree branches and am happy to report no snags or rips in the jacket fabric.Overall, I was very impressed with LifaLoft fabric. It was warm for its weight, did a good job blocking wind, and was very compressible. The Hybrid was warm as a mid layer jacket with a shell over top. It also did well on two occasions when I wore it as an outer layer, keeping me warm in 40 F (4.4 C) temperatures, with albeit lots of physical activity. Most of the time I wore a midweight long sleeve base layer underneath the jacket and it worked wonderfully, except for the tight fit which kept reminding me it wasn’t perfect. While in Wisconsin, I went on a 5K run and wore the Hybrid as an outer layer with a thermal shirt underneath. The jacket breathed incredibly well, so much so that sweat I accumulated while running was completely gone within 10 or 15 minutes of me stopping. At that point the jacket was dry, and I didn’t feel cold or clammy. SUMMARY The
Helly Hansen Hybrid performed well this winter. It handled 40 F
(4 C) temperatures as an outer layer jacket, and it did well in windy
conditions, keeping me warm and dry even after sweating. It was
fun to wear during this test period and I look forward to seeing what
Helly Hansen comes up with next. Read more gear reviews by Brian Hartman Reviews > Clothing > Jackets and Vests > Helly Hansen Lifa Loft Hybrid Insulator > Test Report by Brian Hartman | ||||||||||||||||||
The
Helly Hansen Lifaloft Hybrid Insulator Jacket (hereafter
called Lifaloft, Insulator or jacket) is a lightweight, breathable,
wind resistant jacket. It's made with a proprietary
insulation, called Lifaloft, which was the result of a combined effort
between Helly Hansen and PrimaLoft to create an extremely lightweight,
breathable, warm fabric. Lifaloft has 75% Lifa fibers and 25%
PrimaLoft insulation. Combining these two fabrics makes a lot
of sense since Helly Hansen's Lifa fibers are extremely lightweight and breathable
and PrimaLoft fabric is known for having great heat retention.
The result of their combined efforts is an insulation that is
less bulky, weighs 20% less than standard polyester, but has more
warmth, due to large numbers of microscopic air pockets inside it.
Lifaloft is hydrophobic, meaning it doesn't absorb moisture, and
it is able to capture and retain heat even when wet.
Weather
Resistance - The Lifaloft Hybrid did a good job of blocking wind.
I think its snug fit helped in that regard, as there was no room for
air to come in at the cuffs, collar, or waist line. As for how it
faired in light rain and snow, the shell fabric on the front and back
of the jacket did a good job of shedding water but the stretch fabric,
located on the shoulders, arms and sides of the jacket, quickly
absorbed any water that landed on it, and took some time to dry.
Interestingly enough, although the stretch fabric was soaking wet on
the outside, it didn’t feel wet at all on the inside. Strange,
considering it appeared to be single layer. I don’t view my
findings as a problem at all, because I always carry a lightweight
rain jacket with me when backpacking. And the Hybrid jacket was
certainly not meant to endure rain and snow. 
