Marmot PrimaLoft Evolve Aerothermal Hoody Review

As an alpine climber, I’m always keen to try a new light synthetic jacket. If it packs down, weighs little more than a feather, and seems like it might do well even with a spot of moisture, color me interested. That’s why the Marmot PrimaLoft Evolve Aerothermal Hoody caught my eye. It has a few of the key traits that I’ve come to trust in alpine layers. In testing though, it’s turned out to be something I’d not initially expected.

Marmot PrimaLoft Evolve Aerothermal Hoody Features:

• PrimaLoft® Active Evolve high-loft fleece insulation for breathable, temp-regulating next-to-skin comfort
• Soft, high-loft fleece provides cozy, insulating performance
• 100% recycled polyester ripstop shell fabric offers lightweight durability and breathability
• Two zippered hand pockets for warming hands and storing phone, keys, and more
• Raglan sleeves for increased range of motion
• Elastic-bound hood, cuffs, and hem
• Weight: 270 grams (as measured on my scale in size Medium)
• MSRP: $170

Absurdly Comfortable

I greet each potential alpine insulation layer with a few expectations and a couple hopes. If it’s alpine material, I fully expect it to be comfortable, light and packable, decently warm, and good in spite of wet weather. I also hope that it would have good breathability and the kind of mobility that allows the layer to fade into the background as you move. Not all alpine insulation layers check those boxes, but the best of them do. The testing points remain the same for each layer I see as having alpine potential, and it follows that that’s what the Aerothermal was getting tested against.

Let’s start on easy ground here. The Marmot PrimaLoft Evolve Aerothermal Hoody would have a much shorter name without the “PrimaLoft Evolve” bit, but if you took out the PrimaLoft Evolve from the jacket itself, you’d strip away the jacket’s star player. The PrimaLoft’s Active Evolve insulation sits right next to the skin, and it is wildly comfortable.

I can tell you it’s soft as you might imagine a cloud to be, but what does that really give you? Here are a few things I can say with confidence. It has the singular best next-to-skin feel of any layer I have ever worn. It is so comfortable that I tried to get both of my brothers to try it on. One brother put his arm part of the way in the sleeve, then withdrew, saying it was too comfortable and he didn’t want to be jealous. The other put the jacket on and immediately asked how much it would cost to get one. Both responses made sense to me. It is that comfortable.

All the fuzzy feels in the world can’t make a whole jacket though. Other considerations have to be made. At 270 grams, the Aerothermal can slash weight off the list of worries. It’s a featherweight, and it packs down like one too. Even without a ski strap to aid in the squishing process, the Aerothermal packs down to less than the size of a Nalgene bottle. The layer doesn’t include a stuff sack, or an in-pocket storage option, either of which would’ve been a nice bonus.

In spite of not taking up much in the weight or the space departments, the Aerothermal is nice and warm. Ultimately, that comes down to two things. One, the PrimaLoft Active Evolve just does a lot with a little as an insulator. It doesn’t need to be thick and padded to keep you warm. The airy loft does the trick just fine. And two, the outer fabric, a post-consumer recycled ripstop polyester (all things I like to hear), does a good job keeping the wind at bay. I wouldn’t say that the Aerothermal is a jacket to keep you warm just sitting around in the 30s, but it is a jacket to keep you warm when you’re moving moderately at those temperatures. It’s designed for activity, so the heavier the activity, the colder the temps you’ll find it to be comfortable.

In order to shine, an alpine layer has to be breathable, and the Evolve Aerothermal is. I’ve worn more breathable jackets in the past. The very similar Patagonia Nano-Air Hybrid Hoodie comes to mind. In order to be more breathable though, you almost necessarily have to remove sections of the outer fabric, leaving thin, exposed insulation at the key heat points. The Patagonia Nano-Air did just that and became very breathable, but it comes at the cost of weather protection. Marmot eked out as much breathability as I could hope for from the Aerothermal Hoody without sacrificing wind protection. It’s a trade-off, and I can get behind their decision.

Not all weather protection is great with the Aerothermal though. The Aerothermal doesn’t have any kind of DWR treatment to it, and is, as a result, rather absorbent. When faced with light rain, it doesn’t spend much time as beaded droplets on the outer. Instead, the jacket sucks it in. I very much wish that Marmot had put a light DWR treatment on this layer. It would be more versatile with just a bit of extra water protection. It also would help fight staining a little better. As it stands, my Claystone color test jacket gets stains remarkably easily. Each time I wash it, I have to use a stain remover. Just a bit of DWR could’ve nearly eliminated that issue.

But then, water resistance is not a critical trait for all applications, just a bit limiting for alpine use. Mobility, however, is critical no matter where you are, and the Aerothermal does that extremely well. I’ve gone out rock climbing with the jacket many times at this point, and I’ve been very happy with it as a climbing layer for two reasons. One, it doesn’t impede my range of motion or resist me really at all. It flexes with me as I move, and that’s critical. Two, it doesn’t try to pull up and out from underneath my harness when I’m reaching high above my head. I can’t tell you how annoying I find that for other jackets. The Aerothermal just sits tight, exactly as it should, even when I’m reaching for the skies. I can’t ask for anything more in the mobility department.

So where does this leave us? Well, it’s a superbly comfortable jacket that moves extremely well, keeps you warm in the chilly temps, but breathes well when heat is a consideration, and while it does a great job protecting against wind, it’s really not so good at protecting against water. Do you know the answer? I do. It’s an absolutely ideal desert climbing layer. It’s there for the cold nights and mornings, but has a wide band of comfortable temperatures, and it’ll stand up to desert wind with no worries of rain being a problem. If I still lived in a place that allowed me frequent trips to Red Rocks, you’d see me in the Aerothermal in Black Velvet Canyon all the time. It’s built for it.

Fit: I’m 5’11” and a lean 170 lbs. I tested a size Medium, and it fit wonderfully in all regards.

Buy Now: Available at Marmot