Review: Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody

The Patagonia Micro Puff is a super lightweight zip up hoody that should be highly considered by anyone who is going into the outdoors! The warmth to weight ratio is outstanding for a synthetic jacket.

Specs:

Insulator: PlumaFill 65g 100% polyester
Shell and lining: 0.7-oz 10-denier 100% nylon ripstop Pertex Quantum with a DWR
Pockets: Two welted zippered pockets
Stuff sack: Yes, Pocket stuff sack – Re-enforced clip loop
Weight: 264 g (9.3 oz)
Hood: Under Helmet Fit

The Fit:

Fit considerations, I am 6’1 with a plus 1 ape-index… aka tall skinny guy with long arms.

The Patagonia Micro Puff is an awesome piece of equipment. However for such a technical piece of gear I would prefer it to have been more fitted. The Micro Puff fits a bit lose on me through the core. This jacket doesn’t have stretch much but I didn’t notice any motion limitations. I believe this is due to the new knit pattern Patagonia used.

The arm length is great, the elastic cuffs are awesome for keeping wind out and you can roll up your sleeves by sliding them up your arms. A problem I normally run into with light weight jackets is tightness through the shoulders. No problems here, the shoulders fit great!

The new hood design is a “Under the Helmet Fit” and I didn’t really like it. The big problem with this design is in the spring/fall I take my jacket off and on between pitches; if you want to have the hood up this means you must take your helmet on and off . I don’t enjoy taking my helmet off while multi pitching for safety reasons. That being said it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for such a light mid-layer.

New stitch patten on back that doesn’t limit mobility

The Build:

The Micro Puff is made with “Ultralight Nylon Ripstop Pretax Quantum Shell”. What does that mean? Don’t worry I had to look it up too. It’s a treated nylon that shouldn’t rip easy and has a DWR (durable water repellent) treatment. This is no rain jacket though, I found that out rather quickly. Walking in the rain from work to a coffee shop while wearing just the Micro Puff shell it soaked through, but it still kept me warm when it was wet! Ohh and it’s very light, 264g to be exact.

New stitch pattern on elbow and arms – Justin wearing jacket

Using PlumaFill 65g 100% polyester as an insulator makes this jacket very light! Did I mention the jacket is extremely packable. Using a synthetic fill makes the jacket still hold its warmth when wet, which is a must have in the mountains!

With the Micro Puff, Patagonia use’s what looks like a brand new stitch pattern. With the appearance of a down hoody but using synthetic insulation. The isolating panels hold the insulation in place and give you large amounts of warmth in areas you need it most. The stitch pattern was designed to allow the PlumaFill to get very puffy and warm in high heat loss areas. It also gives you amazing range of motion.

This jacket can pack down to almost nothing. It has a reversible pocket that can be used as a stuff sack. A small loop makes for easy clipping to a harness or outside of a pack. The jacket had 2 large pockets on the inside that are almost big enough for skins or gloves.

Micro Puff in Stuff Sack, Carabiner to campare size

Durability:

We put this jacket through the works over the past 4 months. Using it as my everyday jacket plus I took it craging and multi-pitching and much more.

For what this jacket is, its is very durable! I personally don’t know any other lightweight jacket that will hold up the same. In the past I used the Arcteryx Atom and Atom LT, both have either worn out or the insulation went flat in a similar time frame.

The ripstop has perform well, nothing ripped yet. Along the stitching of the jacket, some small frays have started to come loose, but nothing unexpected for what the jacket has endured.

Summary:

Pros: Light, great weight to warmth ratio, very packable

Cons: Under the helmet fit is not ideal for climbing as you have to take your helmet on and off every time you want to put your hood up or down.

Overall: This jacket is amazingly light for its warmth (for a synthetic jacket). The Micro Puff is decently durable and very packable. This would be one of my top picks for an extra layer on a fast and light mission of any kind due to its lightweight and packability. It also works well as a puffy for cool cragging days, spring ski touring and alpine camps.

Patagonia gave us the Micro Puff to review. But we call the cards like they’re played, honestly.