Patagonia Nano Puff Bivy Pullover
Name: Patagonia Nano Puff Bivy Pullover - Women's
Specs:
Weight: 12.7 oz (Large)
Pockets: 2 - 1 kangaroo zippered pocket, 1 handwarmer pouch
Wrists: Elastic
Waist: Drawstring
Back Length: 26.5 in
Hood: Yes
Fabric: Pertex Quantum ECO recycled polyester
Insulation: PrimaLoft Gold Eco polyester (55% recycled synthetic)
MSRP: $219
What I Like:
Pockets: The pockets on this jacket are awesome. I can fit my Sony a6000 in the zippered top pocket and still have room for my hands/ headlamp/ snack in the hand warmer pocket, so plenty of room.
Hood: I love having a hood on a puffy, mainly because I'm not a big fan of beanies: they always fall off my head. So the hood on this is a big plus. It kinda looks funny because it does cinch further down on your forehead, but who said you're supposed to be stylish in the outdoors?
The Style: I really like the pull-over style of this. It feels more cozy and less fitted. Plus, it still has good venting since the zipper is a half-zipper. This is totally a personal thing, but I really like it.
Versatility: This jacket can be stuffed into the zippered pocket, and the resulting size doubles as a pretty good sized and moderately comfortable pillow! However, I've noticed that after only a week or so using it as a pillow it has some hair/ face oil and dirt stains on the fabric, so I decided to not use it for that anymore. But it was ok while it lasted! My inner fabric is a light blue, so maybe if you had a black jacket you wouldn't notice/ care.
What I Don't Like:
Weight: At over 3/4 of a pound, this is not the lightest insulated jacket out there, and definitely is not as warm as some lighter jackets out there, so for me, the weight isn’t justified, for a backpacking jacket.
Warmth: This jacket is ok with warmth. It does a much better job of keeping you warm if you're already warm when you put it on, but if you're already cold and putting it on, you better do some jumping jacks to jump-start the warmth. However, most backpackers would agree that you should put your puffy on right after you stop hiking, so you don't even have the chance to get cold in the first place.
Packability: Because this is synthetic, it won't pack down as well as down would. This jacket in particular is pretty bulky, and takes up a decent amount of space in my pack. It didn't bother me too much until I realized that my new down jacket and ultralight pillow weighed less and took up less space combined than this jacket, so the switch was easy to make.
Overall, I think this is a fine jacket, but I will be retiring it from my backpacking gear set-up and instead be using it for day hikes & outdoors travels where it doesn't get too cold.