Curious about Marmot Mica/Crystalline

I have the very similar Marmot Essence. The main differences are that instead of the handwarmer pockets it has a napoleon pocket and underarm vents. They use the same Membrane-Strata technology.

1. It has a athletic cut, so if you are boarderline, I would go up a size.

2. Advertised weight for a Men's Medium is 7oz, mine is 6.4oz.

3. I haven't gotten to use it that much, but so far so good.

4. I find it more breathable than my Goretex Packlite III jacket, not that that says a lot.

Thanks, Brad.

Hi Ben,

I own the Mica and use it for my cold nasty weather trips. I ordered a size up to get insluating layers underneath, so I can't speak to the true to size question. That said, ordering one size up does not seem overly large.
While I don't have the exact weight in front of me, I can tell you it is true to the stated weight (I would remember if the stated weight varied from the actual weight..I'm OCD like that).
I've only used it in snow, but can say that it does an great job RE: waterproofness. Even when snow settled on me and melted, I never experienced any wet through.
The breathability, I'd say is it's best feature. It breathes so well, that I found no need to bring my Pat Houdini in winter. The breathability really helps to regulate my temperature in the cold. It's not as breathable as my ID eVent pullover, but it's close. For me, it's a great hardshell for colder temps and very reasonably priced. Only issue is the pocket locations. With a pack on, you can't get to them. Napoleon pockets like the Essence have the one up in that regard.

I have been thinking of picking up and Essence also to replace my Diad but am trying to figure out the torso length for the XL.

And does the Strata breath better than the Hyvent? Any Nisley breathability charts out there?

But the fabric does seem to wet out according to some users and here it tends to rain for a full day or two and I don't think I could hack that.

ben-
i own the mica, size medium.

1- it fits well and i am 5'9" – 165lbs. it has enough room for layering, but not too much.
2- actual weight was right on mfg. specs.
3- very waterproof for the short amount of rain time it has actually seen. one day for about 2 hrs. in the rain and it worked like a champ.
4- i can't say how breathable in comparison to anything else as it is my first decent WPB jacket, but i sweat like a pig anyways, and it didn't really bother me so i guess that's good.

my ability to compare isn't helpful, but overall i'm very happy with my jacket. i find i always take it on dayhikes to use as a windshell if needed. are you considering buying one?

Marmot claims 6.0oz or 170g for their women's version (crystalline) which presumably is for a medium. My wife has this jkt in a size small and it weights 5.7oz or 162g, so I would say the claimed weights are accurate.

I've been drooling over the Mica, Essence and North Face Triumph Anorak for a while now. My conclusion is that the Essence is better than the Mica because you get pit zips (and a breast pocket) which are more functional to me than hand pockets.

The North Face Triumph Anorak is about an ounce lighter than these Marmot jackets, but it's also an Anorak (pullover) so it's not for everyone. Personally I think I prefer an Anorak because a main zipper is just one more area that a jacket can leak, but I wish this had pit zips. My ranking based on my personal preferences is:

#1 – Marmot Essence
#2 – North Face Triumph Anorak
#3 – Marmot Mica
#4 – North Face Diad

I also own a Mica, but I use a Rainshield O2 Rainwear Hooded Jacket for most of my trips for the lighter weight.

I wonder, is the Mica more breathable than rain jackets made of Microporous Polypropylene like those offered by DriDucks and Rainshield? I have never tested this myself. The Marmot website claims that the Mica is almost as breathable as eVent. If this is the case, it should be more breathable than Polypropylene jackets. Has anyone tested this?

-Sid

Sanad:

I don't think Marmot actually came out and said that its Mica is almost as breathable as eVENT. According to Marmot's website:

"Marmot’s own lightweight waterproof / breathable technology. A lamination technology that rates a whopping 20,000mm in waterproof performance and 20,000 gr in breathability. Requiring neither lining nor 3-layer construction like many similar lamination processes, MemBrain® Strata™ products are by far the lightest, most breathable garments in their categories."

Notice the ending "in their categories"?

Marmot's 2.5 layer still incorporates a PU layer (else they would say so) and it is thus in the "traditional" group and not the same category as eVENT or MontBell Breeze Dry Tec's waterproof but directly permeable technology.

The numbers are certainly impressive, but I believe that's just half the picture. I recall reading a chart once where wp/b laminates like Goretex (and methinks this Marmot Strata membrane as well) perform optimally ONLY within a narrow band of conditions (i.e. when it's cold and dry outside) and performance drops significantly when conditions outside is less cold and less dry.

eVENT, on the other hand, performs well over a much wider range of conditions. In other words, it will perform very well even when it's not all that cold and/or not all that dry outside.

Ben,
You are right, they never did try to compare it to eVent directly.
Actually, now I'm wondering how microporous polypropylene garments compare with eVent.

-Sid

I actually feel that my Driducks are very breathable! I don't really do any real bushwhacking — so my only complaint (albeit a minor one) is the styling (or lack thereof). One day, I should do an actual performance comparison between my beloved Driducks and my beloved MontBell Peak.