GEAR REVIEW: Patagonia Nano-Air Light Hybrid Jacket

By Will Rietveld

I reviewed the Patagonia Nano-Air Jacket a year ago and found the jacket’s active exertion comfort range occurs at temperatures lower than I normally encounter. In other words, it is more insulation than I need in my location for high exertion activities. Granted, it is a very attractive, and warm, jacket for less active endeavors.

Still wanting to test the concept of “breathable insulation”, I opted to next test Patagonia’s Nano-Air Light Hybrid Jacket, which is a lighter weight version of the Jacket.

Here’s the stats: the Nano-Air Jacket has 60 ounces/square yard polyester insulation, while the Nano-Air Light Hybrid Jacket has 40 ounces/square yard insulation, one-third less.  The fabrics in the two jackets are very similar.

The whole idea behind these jackets is to provide extended range comfort and avoid overheating during aerobic outdoor cool weather activities. So, how does the lighter weight Nano-Air Light Hybrid Jacket perform in active exertion conditions?

Specifications and Features

Manufacturer	Patagonia (www.patagonia.com)
Model	Nano-Air Light Hybrid Jacket
Fabrics	Outer shell is 1.3 oz/sq yd nylon ripstop, lining is 2 oz/sq yd nylon plain weave, both with stretch and DWR
Breathability	Frontside fabric: 40 CFM, backside fabric 130 CFM
Insulation	40 oz/sq yd Full-Range polyester
Weight	Size men’s Large tested: measured weight 10.85 oz; mfr specification 10.1 oz for size Medium
Features	Full-height front zipper, slim fit, stretch fabric, wind-resistant frontside fabric, breathable backside fabric, 2 zippered handwarmer pockets, elastic hem and cuffs, thumbloops
MSRP	$199

Description

The Patagonia Nano-Air Light Hybrid Jacket is designed to be a high performance garment. Patagonia’s synthetic Full-Range polyester insulation is analogous to Polartec Alpha, which is a “breathable insulation” meant to keep you comfortable during aerobic activities in cool temperatures, and provide an extended comfort range.

The frontside of the jacket is insulated and has a tighter weave shell fabric to provide some wind resistance (40 CFM); the backside of the garment is uninsulated and has a knitted weave to provide greater breathability (130 CFM). Both the shell and lining have a DWR finish, which I previously tested to be very effective.

Close up of the insulated frontside and knitted backside.

Field Testing and Performance

I tested the jacket on 20 outings consisting of day hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, backcountry skiing, and backpacking. Testing was mostly done in cool temperatures ranging from 15 to 40F.

Fit – Excellent, as I have found with all Patagonia garments. The garment’s body is extra long to cover the butt, and the sleeves are longer too. Its slim cut makes it fit closer to my body, so it’s not bulky, and layers well.

Features – The hand pockets are nice and roomy, and zip for security. I like the stand-up collar to provide some sun protection for my neck. The thumb loops are handy to donn the jacket over a baselayer or other garment.

Wind-Resistance – The tighter front fabric provides needed wind resistance so a cold wind does not readily penetrate.

Breathability – The frontside fabric does allow for some air exchange; it’s basically a trade-off between wind resistance and insulation. The backside fabric is much more breathable, but it is often mostly covered by a day pack or backpack. Breathability is maximized in activities like running, bicycling, and cross-country skiing where one does not normally carry a pack.

Performance – The graph below tells a lot about the jackets performance while speed hiking an undulating trail, carrying a daypack, in temperatures ranging from 25 to 30 F and calm air. The test was done before sunrise to avoid sun warming. I recorded the temperature and relative humidity inside the jacket with a Kestrel 4000, located at mid-chest, at 10 second intervals.

Test data for Patagonia Nano-Air Hybrid Jacket

Note that the jacket’s insulation maintained a fairly constant internal temperature in the 65 to 70 F range, which is good. However, humidity steadily built up inside the jacket as I hiked, and flattened out at about 65%. That indicates that the jacket’s fabric breathability was not enough to exhaust the moisture, allowing it to build up.

In terms of perceived comfort, it took about 45 minutes for the humidity inside the jacket to build up to the point where the jacket felt somewhat steamy inside and time to open the front zipper to increase ventilation.

But that is only part of the comfort story, because the test was done without any influence from the sun. I live in the Southwest US, where we get a lot of sun, and the sun is warm even in the winter. Thus the radiant heat from the sun has a big influence in jacket comfort, even in cold air. There were many occasions when I simply had to take the jacket off because it was too warm, when the air temperature was in the 30s and 40s F.

Issues – I found that the jacket’s fabric gets dirty fairly easily, as evidenced by the ring around the neck (from sunscreen) in the photo. And the photo was taken after laundering the garment. Also the jacket incurred some abrasion damage from a skiing fall, so it requires careful use.

Assessment

Although the Nano-Air Light Hybrid Jacket was often too warm for me in the sunny Southwest, I found its sweet spot is cool, overcast, and breezy conditions, which is what the jacket is designed for. When I had those conditions, the jacket performed well for maintaining comfort over an extended range. In locations where it is overcast or breezy much of the time, or the sun is low, this jacket is capable of providing comfort over an extended range of conditions, as claimed.

The more consistent conditions are – namely overcast, cool, and breezy – the better this jacket will perform. Then all is good. The problem I found is variability; when the sun comes out or the wind stops, I get too hot. Opening the front zipper regulates comfort to some extent, but eventually it is not enough. The Nano-Air definitely provides some extended comfort, but the end result is usually the same – the jacket has to come off. 

Bottom line, it’s a very attractive, great fitting, hi-tech jacket that helps to provide extended comfort in cool, overcast, breezy conditions, but in my situation those conditions don’t exist for very long. If you exercise where those conditions are more typical, then this jacket is for you. However, don’t expect a silver bullet, the breathability part is subtle.