Down and Insulated Jackets

Patagonia Nano Puff Jacket (2021) | Review

A classic synthetic insulated jacket from U.S. brand Patagonia that’s made out of plastic bottles

Why We Chose It: Eco-friendly, durable and insulates even when wet
Price: £185
Weight: 363g

The Patagonia Nano Puff has been around for a number of years now and we’d go so far as to say it’s become a bit of a classic. It arrived as one of the first properly functional synthetic insulated jackets and has since become one of Patagonia’s flagship products when it comes to sustainability.

We’ve featured it a number of times on our site and not much has changed about it in terms of its look. What has changed though is that Patagonia have now upped its eco-creds fairly substantially since we last reviewed it, increasing the recycled content in its fill from 55% to 100%. For that reason, it makes it into our Green Gear Guide for this year.

What’s The Nano Puff Best Suited To?

The Patagonia Nano Puff serves well as a stand-by mid-weight insulator for backpacking, bikepacking and climbing. It’s the kind of thing you want to have in your pack to pull out in the evening during a summer wild camp, or when you’re paused in a windy spot while climbing. It’s not the warmest of insulators out there, so you won’t want to use it as your main insulator in winter but it’ll come in handy as part of a layering system.

The Eco-Creds

We’ve already touched upon the fact the 60g of PrimaLoft Gold Insulation Eco inside the Nano Puff is made from 100% recycled polyester, but on top of that, there’s also a 100% recycled polyester shell and a fully recycled lining as well. The jacket comes with a P.U.R.E stamp too, meaning that it’s produced using reduced emissions. Then there’s Fair Trade Certified sewing and bluesign approval for its fabrics. A lot going on.

As is the case with most of Patagonia’s wet weather gear, PFCs are still present in this jacket, which isn’t ideal from an environmental perspective. They have however managed to use a PFC-free durable water repellent finish on the inner lining.

Performance

The Nano Puff’s simply a no-nonsense, all-round piece of portable, water-resistant, all-round outdoor insulation. It has a trim fit, a neat, close-fitting hood that also sits nicely under a climbing helmet and packs just enough warmth to up your comfort on short stops and for general pottering about.

It’s completely windproof too, but we found it a little bit too sweaty to use for long on the move. We were also a little dubious about the brick-pattern quilting. The stitching holds the insulation in place and looks good – it’s the iconic Nano Puff pattern – but it also both exposes the stitching to potential abrasion damage and also creates relative cold spots along the seams. You won’t feel the wind whistling through as the inner fabric is unstitched and windproof, but it will rob heat from the insulation. Does that matter? We think it’s one reason why rivals like the Rab Xenon X feel warmer in real life use, despite having a similar spec on paper.

With its distinctive design, appealing aesthetics and iconic status, along with those excellent eco efforts, we do still love the Nano Puff. It might not be the warmest of mid-weight synthetic insulated jackets out there, but it has the edge over its rivals in plenty of other departments.

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