For Spring 2018, Patagonia gets set to release their lightest, most compressible jacket to date. Using a new synthetic insulation, the warmth to weight ratio of the Micro Puff (not to be confused with the old jacket of the same name) exceeds any other puffy in their collection.
PlumaFill is a synthetic insulation made from a central fiber spiraled by fluffy microfilaments — it took Patagonia over seven years to perfect. Even though it’s synthetic, it lofts like down, is compressible and packable, but will retain warmth when wet. After washing or getting rained out, the insulation will even come back to full loft — extending the useful life of the jacket.
The jacket uses a 10 denier Quantum Pertex face fabric — the lightest face fabric for Patagonia yet. All materials are DWR treated to improve water repellency. In order to stabilize the insulation and prevent shifting, Patagonia quilted the face and liner fabric in a specific orientation to the PlumaFill strands and stitched offset and discontinuous quilt lines to achieve larger lofted areas — the result is a combination quilt and baffle construction. Reducing quilt points cuts the overall weight of the jacket and potential for cold spots. Patagonia also developed a method for using fewer yet larger pattern pieces, allowing heat to move more freely within the jacket.
When Patagonia had a third-party test the warmth of the Micro Puff, it came back with a clo value (how you measure warmth) equivalent to a standard synthetic jacket double its weight. Not bad for a jacket that weighs just nine ounces (men’s medium). The women’s medium hoody comes in even lighter at eight ounces.
The left hand warmer pocket doubles as a self stuff sack. It has a carabiner clip-in loop on the inside so that you can hook it to your harness for a quick multi-pitch climb.
The Micro Puff Hoody will retail for $299 — it will also be available in a jacket ($249) and vest version ($199) for both men and women. You will be able to get your hands on one of these new jackets starting September 6th on the Patagonia website.