Are you in search of a puffy jacket that may do all of it? Are you a fan of merino wool? Wait, how are these associated, you ask? Let me inform you in regards to the Ibex Wool Aire Hoodie, an ultralight puffy jacket with merino wool as its insulation.
This jacket will preserve you heat all 4 seasons lengthy both at camp or throughout exercise because it’s so breathable. On high of that, it’s wind- and waterproof for all climate and even *gasp* mechanically cleanable! For those who’re uninterested in babying your down jacket, the Wool Aire Hoodie may simply be for you.
Ibex Wool Aire Hoodie at a Look
MSRP: $285
Weight: 9.875 oz (Ladies’s Medium)
Supplies:
- Shell: 100% Nylon
- Wool Insulation: 80% Merino Wool, 20% Polyester
Males’s Wool Aire right here.
Meant Use
This jacket is meant as an ultralight insulated puffy jacket for backpacking or any out of doors exercise the place you should keep heat and dry. It may be used solely as an insulating layer round camp or worn actively, because of its breathability and moisture-wicking capabilities. I discovered it nice for colder-season backpacking and winter actions.
Circumstance of Use
I’ve carried this jacket backpacking in Utah for a number of weeks in March and April with temperatures as little as 20 levels Fahrenheit. It got here snowboarding with me as a mid-layer on a sub-20-degree day. I’ve additionally used it round city on a number of events throughout Portland’s chilly and wet winter.
Ibex Wool Aire Hoodie Options
Merino Wool Fill
The jacket consists of 80g of insulating merino wool fill (technically it’s a mix 80 % merino and 20 % artificial). This isn’t your typical down-filled puffy, however merino is simply as heat and arguably extra versatile. It’s a lot simpler to scrub, handles moisture higher, and supplies antimicrobial properties.
Handwarmer Pockets
There are two hand pockets and one inside pocket, all of which zip to maintain your valuables protected!
Wind and Water Resistant Face Material
The outer jacket materials supplies further wind safety and retains you dry as nicely. I liked this characteristic once I simply wanted a fast jacket round city. I seen the rain beading away, so it’s clearly efficient!
Athletic Match
The Wool air jacket has an athletic match with cuffed hems and a scuba hood. It’s not too saggy and never too tight, excellent for energetic put on. The massive hood is comfy and matches over a helmet, however stays up simply as nicely with out one too.
Environmentally Aware and Protected Supplies
The jacket makes use of PFC-free, bluesign-certified supplies, Oeko-tex-certified dyes, and renewable uncooked supplies for insulation. These supplies are unhazardous and environmentally aware.
Breathable & Moisture Wicking
Not solely can this jacket be your heat, insulating camp mid-layer, but it surely may also be worn actively and nonetheless be breathable and wick your sweat away. That is excellent for winter actions, as you gained’t sweat the jacket out.
Heat
This jacket positively packs the warmth. I wasn’t certain how the merino insulation would carry out, as I’ve by no means seen something prefer it earlier than, but it surely competes with down within the heat class. Throwing this on at camp helped heat me up instantly, a lot in order that I often didn’t must put on it for very lengthy, even when it was 20 levels.
I took it downhill snowboarding as a mid-layer on a chilly and windy day and stayed toasty. Nevertheless, it was breathable sufficient to deal with my sweat nicely whereas being energetic.
Packability
The Wool Aire Hoodie can pack into its inside pocket. Because the merino insulation doesn’t develop like down, it’s smaller than your common puffy. Nevertheless, it doesn’t compress like down both. It positively packs down moderately small for backpacking, however I did discover myself wishing it could squish down a bit smaller.
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Sizing
I obtained a Ladies’s XL on this jacket, sizing up for layers. It match a bit extra snugly than I hoped, however I used to be nonetheless simply capable of match a base layer and a fleece beneath. The athletic match was good, as was the sleeve size and total size. The hood was sufficiently big to go over a helmet had no hassle staying up with out one too.
Sturdiness
I’ve no fears of ripping or in any other case damaging this jacket. The supplies should not flimsy like a lot of my ultralight items. By some means the burden penalty for this puffy isn’t too steep, both.
I didn’t really feel like I needed to fear about snagging this on something, and also you positively don’t have to fret about down feather loss that slowly takes away the heat issue. This is likely one of the greatest issues about this jacket.
Merino vs. Down
I’ve already highlighted a handful of the variations between merino and down insulation, but it surely additionally deserves its personal class because it’s such an necessary characteristic of this jacket.
So far as heat, I felt the merino was simply as cozy as down. I’ve had some skimpy, too-light down jackets, whereas this hoodie has simply the correct amount of insulation.
At lower than 10 ounces for a girls’s medium, the Wool Aire is about as mild as your common down jacket as nicely.
The one main distinction between the 2 is that down lofts way more than wool does. This makes the merino jacket smaller basically, but it surely doesn’t pack down fairly as small.
Nevertheless, merino has some benefits over down as nicely. It performs when moist, is extra breathable, and has antimicrobial properties that may inhibit odor. An enormous profit is which you could machine wash it like some other clothes merchandise; simply don’t dry it.
READ NEXT – Gear Wars: Merino Wool vs. Artificial Baselayers
Ibex Wool Aire Hoodie Execs
- Light-weight: Coming in underneath 10 ounces, this jacket is competetive with any purposeful down puffy within the weight division.
- Heat: The entire level of the jacket is to maintain you heat, and it does simply that. It saved me loads heat on the coldest nights.
- Breathable: On high of being heat, the jacket breathes, so you may put on it whereas being energetic and never fear about overheating.
- Mechanically cleanable: It is a lifesaver and a giant enchancment over down, which must be hand washed with particular cleaning soap.
- Water and wind resistant: Not like a down jacket, you may put on the Wool Aire even in inclement climate, and it’ll nonetheless preserve you heat!
- Sturdy: You don’t should child this jacket. The supplies are of excellent high quality and impressively robust for the way mild they’re.
Ibex Wool Aire Hoodie Cons
- Packability might be higher: Whereas it’s nonetheless comparatively small and packable, it could be good if it compressed a bit extra.
- Measurement up: I discovered the jacket to run a bit small, so simply order a dimension up, particularly in order for you room to layer
- Price: At $285, this jacket is a bit dear, but it surely’s not outrageous when in comparison with different puffy jackets available on the market.
General Worth of the Wool Aire Hoodie
I used to be intrigued by the idea of a merino puffy jacket, and the Ibex Wool Aire Hoodie exceeded my expectations. I might advocate this jacket to anybody in search of a light-weight, breathable puffy jacket that’s nonetheless actually heat.
The jacket is beneficial via the winter and shoulder seasons, although it turns into a bit too heat for summer time use. The comfort issue of merino (and the truth that it may be washed) provides lots of worth too.
The jacket is spendy, like many merino merchandise, however it’s price its price for a jacket that may carry out whenever you want it to.
Store the Ladies’s Ibex Wool Aire Hoodie
Store the Males’s Ibex Wool Aire Hoodie
Comparable Merchandise
Arc’teryx Cerium Down Hoodie
MSRP: $400
Weight: 10.2 oz
Patagonia Down Sweater
MSRP: $279
Weight: 10.3 oz
Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer/2 Down Hoodie
MSRP: $360
Weight: 7.8 oz
The Ibex Wool Aire Hoodie was donated for goal of assessment.
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