Patagonia Women’s Nano-Air Hoody
Colour: Gypsum Green (?!)
Size – Large (I regret not getting the medium)
Time Used – 16 months

Post-coastal trail runs when it’s definitely too cold for ice cream!

Patagonia is one of those companies that I find myself constantly lusting over, but often can’t afford, so finding this jacket at an awesome price was a big win. My boyfriend has the older model of this jacket and loves it, so I had a little bit of insight as to what this jacket would be like before it came. After a quick visit to the Patagonia shop in Manchester I decided to order the Large, and patiently waited for it to arrive.

Style & Features
This jacket has A LOT to love. The colour for one, is just gorgeous and the unusual old-school feel of the fabric is something I much prefer to the shiny baffles of a lot of mid-layers today. The panelled style feels casual but the technical capabilities are far from it.
The cuffs are interesting – with a triangular cutout forming the loose ‘cuff’ area in a different material, and at first I really liked them but they’re getting a bit grubby what with my short arms and inability to push them up.

There are plenty of big pockets perfect for stashing all sorts, including a nice little interior pocket. All the little things like zip toggles and stitching are excellent as per Patagonia’s usual output. The hood is helmet-friendly as it seems are all of the mid-layer jackets companies put out nowadays. I hate looking like a weird alien creature every time I want my hood up, but this just seems to be the current fashion so I suppose I can’t hold it against JUST Patagonia. 

Performance
The warmth to weight ratio is brilliant, and it’s become my go to jacket when I need to pack light and prepare for all weathers, including fast-packing the West Highland Way. It sheds water like a dream even after over a year of hard work, and the windproof factor is excellent for colder evenings and chilly exposed days. I love wrapping up in this, and despite shoving it in packs, vans and cupboards for the past year it shows no dip in performance. IT claims to ‘shed heat’ to stop you becoming too hot and I definitely feel that.

Sizing & Fit
I’m not sure what I was on, or what I was wearing the day I tried this jacket on but I think the Large is a bit too big to be honest, so that would be my first bugbear. Although I love the brand I often find the sizing doesn’t quite suit me: a short torso, wide hips, boobs and short arms don’t quite line up with the streamlined fit of the Patagonia products. This also might have something to do with the longer fit of this jacket as it falls nicely over the hips for a bit more coverage. It’s a bit of a shame as the jacket sometimes looks too big on me, but I like being cosy and it means I can layer up underneath if needs be. I also like looser fit clothes so I can’t complain that much.

Manufacturing Issues
So here it is, the big issue with this jacket that kind of spoils it a bit for me. The material is lightweight and feels like and old school duvet coat, but is actually recycled polyester with 4 way stretch, and is pretty thin. I’m not sure how they didn’t catch this in the manufacturing process but as soon as you put anything next to this jacket for any length of time it BOBBLES like mad. I wore it to work on the train the first day I got it, purely because I was excited, with a small black rucksack on., By the end of the day (after a 10 minute walk either end of the train) I found a large patch of of black bobbles on my lower back. After emailing Patagonia they told me it was a known manufacturing fault and I could either have another jacket or buy a sweater stone to remove the bobbles. This is a pain and at least one of the bobbles has caught on something and made a small hole, but there’s not much you can do. I decided to keep the jacket but it’s always somethings that bugs me when I see it.

In conclusion…
Love the colour and style, should have probably bought the Medium, and it works really well for all-weather warmth.
BUT, the bobbling, cut and cuffs are things I will definitely take into consideration when I go to buy my next mid-layer.

Our first night fast-packing the West Highland Way. Lochside and inhaling our dinner!