Trail And Ultra Running MENU

Altra Torin 3 review

Finding Myself in the Mountains

July 24, 2017 Comments (0) Featured, Gear Reviews

Insulation by Primaloft

The Trail and Ultra team spent a lot of the winter and spring testing some of the best Primaloft has to offer. We are excited to share some of our favorite Primaloft jackets. We tested both the Primaloft Gold & Silver insulation products.

The Primaloft Gold series products feature insulation that is very breathable, lightweight, water resistant, have 4-way stretch and are designed as a high-performance product.

The Primaloft Silver series products have similar features but with more emphasis on durability and loft over performance and compressibility.


The Eddie Bauer IgniteLite Hybrid jacket is a warm and versatile jacket good for cooler weather and windy days. With 100 grams of PrimaLoft Silver insulation, the jacket is flexible and yet helps maintain core temperature. Eddie Bauer lists this active “motion” jacket as weighing 14 oz designed to fit over baselayers and mid layers. It stows to the size of a gallon freezer bag and features Primaloft silver active insulation, nylon sleeves and HeatFree polyester spandex on the body of the jacket.

Our testers used this in late winter conditions with temperatures in the low 30’s and windy conditions on peaks and stayed warm.  The jacket has high-quality construction throughout the fabric and zippers. The hoodie was generous in size and kept the tester covered in rain. Most importantly, the jacket had great mobility for running.

The testers received many compliments on the IgniteLite Hybrid jacket. We loved the length and coverage of the jacket, and it was very warm, even at 12,000 feet.  It’s a good middle range jacket. Very soft and comfortable and with a great fit and solid contruction.  The tucked in hood is a handy feature since it’s nice to have the hood out-of-the-way most of the time.

The only suggestion for improvement is to make the cuff material more sturdy. It tends to get snagged and snarled so it stops looking new and nice fairly quickly. Lastly, the pocket on the arm did not hold the iPhone well and was too low on the arm. The collar felt bulky when the hood was stowed. We would recommend this jacket to friends and continue to wear it. Great jacket overall.

 


 

One of our favorite jackets for those brisk fall and spring days has just gotten an upgrade. Using the PrimaLoft Gold Active Insulation, the Xenon X is a must have in the arsenal. At only 12 oz, the jacket is both lightweight and durable with the Pertex outer fabric. Rab also took the time to develop a jacket with many creature comforts to complement the high performance construction. We loved the pockets, helmet compatible hoodie, soft inside features and smooth feel of the jacket. The colors were attractive; strong but not too bright.

 

We enjoyed the Xenon X on runs, ski tours, around town and as an everyday good looking outerwear option. There are only two detractors for this jacket. Be advised that the jacket is an active fit, envision more of a Euro fit. Additionally, the zipper on multiple occasions unzipped form the bottom. The women’s jacket fit true to size. For taller women, you may find that the sleeves and torso may be somewhat short.

Overall, we loved the insulation and the jacket itself. We strongly recommend adding the Rab Xenon X to your ever growing collection of jackets.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *