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Patagonia
Women’s Micro Puff Jacket
Owner Review by Andrea Murland
November 16, 2014
Tester Information
| Name: |
Andrea Murland |
| Email: |
amurland AT
shaw DOT ca |
| Age: |
29 |
| Location: |
Elkford
& Kimberley,
British Columbia, Canada |
| Gender: |
Female |
| Height: |
5 ft 2 in (1.57
m) |
| Weight: |
130 lb (59 kg) |
|
Bust / Waist / Hips: |
35 in / 31 in /
39 in (89 cm / 79 cm / 99 cm) |
Image Courtesy of Patagonia
 |
I began hiking frequently in 2006 and have
since hiked in Western Canada, Australia, and spent 2 months
backpacking in the Alps. I spend most weekends either day-hiking or on
2-3 day backpacking trips, with some longer trips when I can manage
them. I also snowshoe and ski in the winter, but don’t have a lot of
experience with winter in the backcountry yet. Elevation is typically
500-3,000 m (1,600-10,000 ft), in the Canadian Rockies and the Selkirk,
Purcell, and Monashee ranges. I try for a light pack, but I don’t
consider myself a lightweight backpacker.
Product
Information
| Manufacturer: |
Patagonia
|
| Manufacturer's
URL: |
www.patagonia.com
|
| Year of
Manufacture: |
2009 |
| Model: |
Women’s Micro
Puff Jacket |
| MSRP: |
US $159.00 |
| Size: |
Medium |
| Sizes
Available: |
XS, S, M, L, XL |
| Colour: |
Brown (no longer
available) |
| Colours
Available: |
Curacao (blue),
Tailored Grey |
| Listed Weight: |
428 g (15.1
oz), no size specified
|
| Measured
Weight: |
446 g (15.7 oz),
without stuff sack |
Description
The Patagonia Micro Puff Jacket is a synthetic-fill insulated jacket
which comes with a stuff sack. The insulation is 100 g (3.5 oz)
Primaloft Sport. The shell of the jacket is 1.7 oz, 30 denier 100%
recycled polysester ripstop treated with a durable water repellent
(DWR) finish. The lining of the jacket and the stuff sack are made from
1.4 oz polyester. The jacket has a very clean outer fabric, with no
stitching in the front or back panel. There is some diamond-pattern
quilting in the underarm panels, which the manufacture indicates is for
an improved fit. The lining of the jacket is stitched horizontally, and
I can feel through the jacket that although the outer face fabric isn’t
bonded to the insulation, the stitching of the lining does go through
the insulation, presumably to keep it from all migrating to the bottom
of the jacket.
The jacket has two zippered handwarmer pockets. My jacket has an
interior mesh drop pocket on the right side, but the manufacturer’s
website indicates that the jacket now comes with an interior zippered
pocket. Other features of the jacket include articulated elbows,
elastic cuffs, a fabric hang loop, and a drawcord hem. The jacket
measures 63 cm (24.8 in) from the top of the collar to the hem, and is
even front-to-back. The collar stands 6 cm (2.4 in) high. The plastic
zipper is backed with a wind flap right to the top, with a zipper
garage at the top to protect my face from the zipper. The zipper pull
on the main zipper is metal with a plastic cover, while on the
handwarmer pockets the pulls are string with a plastic tab at the end.
The stuff sack closes with a simple drawcord.
Field
Conditions
This jacket has been a key part of my gear closet since I purchased it
in the winter of 2009. It has been snowshoeing, geocaching, hiking,
backpacking, ski touring, and been stuffed in my Search &
Rescue (SAR) pack. Through the summer months, this jacket has a
permanent place in my SAR pack as a warm layer for getting stuck out
overnight, and has even been used to keep a rescuee warm for a night.
In the spring, fall, and winter, it becomes my go-to jacket for doing
anything outside that requires insulation. As a guess, I have worn it
on about 60 day trips, and about 12 nights out in the backcountry. I
have carried it in temperatures up to about 25 C (77 F) just in case I
needed it, but typically only wear it while in temperatures between
about 5 C (41 F) and -30 C (-22 F). I have worn this jacket in clear
weather and in snow, but I don’t think I’ve worn it in rain unless
covered by another waterproof jacket.
Review
Comfort & Fit:
The jacket is a good fit on me. It is comfortable in the arms,
bust and waist, but a bit snug in the hips. It has a tendency to ride
up a bit towards the waist, especially if I am wearing thick layers on
my legs. I can put this jacket on top of a fitted shell and other
layers if required, but not over top of a really bulky shell. The
sleeves are a perfect length for me, extending about halfway down my
hands with my arms extended. The elastic cuffs keep the sleeves in
place but are not so snug as to be uncomfortable; I barely notice them.
The lining of the jacket is soft and smooth, and is comfortable against
bare skin or slides easily over other layers made of any fabric I’ve
tried: wool, fleece, silk, polyester, cotton, or nylon.
The jacket stuffs easily into the provided stuff sack, with little
effort. The sack doesn’t have any built-in compression. However, since
the stuff sack was a separate piece and not integral to the jacket or
attached, it disappeared on the side of a mountain during a SAR mission
a while ago. Since losing the stuff sack, I have occasionally stuffed
the jacket into the mesh drop pocket on the inside, and that works ok.
The drop pocket is big enough to fit quite a bit in, but I am a bit
cautious putting too much into it as there is no closure. As well, the
handwarmer pocket on that side is in the same place, so the two pockets
compete for space. Overall, I don’t use the drop pocket much. I like
that this jacket doesn’t look like a “puffy” when I’m wearing it around
town, with the smooth outer fabric.
Warmth & Water Resistance:
The Micro Puff is reasonably warm for what I’d expect from a jacket of
this type. It’s not warm enough on its own at -30 C (-22 F), but it’s
also not a big puffy jacket that I would expect to be. If I am doing
something active (snowshoeing or ski touring, for example), it is warm
enough for me with just a base layer underneath down to about -25 C
(-13 F), but I need another layer to put on when I stop. At about -15 C
(5 F), I might be looking to use this as my “stopped moving” layer and
switching out to something lighter while I’m active, as I’m too hot. I
don’t think the jacket is quite as warm as it was when new, but it
still works as I need it to.
For water resistance, the jacket repels snow with ease. I haven’t worn
it in the rain as an outer layer. I have no hesitation wearing this
jacket as an outer layer in the snow. It also breaks the wind very
well.
Care & Durability:
The jacket is still in great shape after five or so winters of use.
There are a couple of stains on the outer fabric, but they aren’t too
noticeable unless I’m looking for them. There is a very small amount of
wear starting on the seams of the sleeves, near the cuffs, but again,
unless I was looking for it I wouldn’t have noticed. The hang loop on
the inside remains sturdy and the zippers still run smoothly. I have
washed the jacket about six times, with a technical garment detergent.
I have never had to renew the DWR coating. Although I hang the jacket
to dry most of the way, I always finish it off in a warm dryer with a
tennis ball to make sure the insulation is dry and not clumped up, and
to help the DWR.
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Summary
The Patagonia Micro Puff Jacket is a synthetic insulated jacket which
excels in the winter as a layering piece. You won’t find me too many
places in the backcountry without it at any time of the year.
Thumbs Up:
Comfortable fabric
Good insulation for what I’d expect
Repels snow and wind
Great durability
Thumbs Down:
A bit tight in the hips
No attached/integral stuff sack
Read more gear reviews by Andrea Murland
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