Power Dry High Efficiency hoodies – Patagonia and Marmot – a comparison

[hwc 1954]

On a couple of winter hikes in the last few days (once in the teens, once in the low 20s), I've had a chance to try out two new Power Dry High Efficiency hoodies — a Patagonia Capilene 4 Hoody and a Marmot Thermo Hoody.

Patagonia Capilene 4 Hoody

Marmot Thermo Hoody

On both hikes, I wore these as the only layer over a light long-sleeve synthetic baselayer shirt while I was moving. Both were high output hikes with significant elevation gain and the potential to sweat profusely. These two, nearly identical hoodies, were fantastic. Keeping me just warm enough but breathing enough that I stayed dry. In both cases, there were also the only covering on my head — although I started out with beanies for the first mile each day and took them off.

FABRIC:

These use the same Power Dry High Efficiency fabric. It's a very light gridded fleece with a loosely woven exterior. Same rectangular grid size. Same pile thickness. Same size channels between the pile. Just one difference. It appears that Polartec uses a more aggressive final brushing on the Patagonia fabric, so the edges of the rectangular grids are a bit more ragged and abraded away. The grids on the Marmot are more cleanly rectangular. I don't think it makes a bit of difference.

Patagonia fabric

Marmot fabric

STYLE:

Functionally, these two hoodies are nearly identical, differing only slightly. The Patagonia is styled more like a base layer shirt, with a half-zip, shirt-style hem and shirt style cuffs. The Marmot is styled more like a jacket, with a full zip and elastic binding around the hem and the cuffs.

DETAILS:

Both have a zipper chest pocket. The Marmot has conventional thumb loops and longer cuffs, like a running shirt. The cuffs are tight enough to stay down under glove and I could only push them up short of the elbow. The Patagonia has conventional shirt cuffs with fabric thumb loops. In comparison, they don't stay down under gloves quite as well, but they can be pushed up easier/farther.

HOODS:

The Patagonia has more of a balaclava hood with a small opening. It can be easily positioned over the mouth and even up over the nose. The Marmot opening is larger. It can cover the chin, but not comfortably over the mouth and nose. The Patagonia hoody is a double layer of fabric so it's warmer. Marmot hood is single layer fabric so it breathes better. I guess which one would be preferable would depend on how cold it is. Since you could wear them with a beanie or balaclava, I guess the thinner hood would cover a wider range of temps. But, both hoods are fantastic.

SIZING:
At least in Men's Medium, the cut and sizing seems to be pretty much identical. Both are tight fitting "athletic" cuts designed to be snug over bare skin or, at most, a thin baselayer.

WEIGHT:

Essentially identical. The Patagonia weighs 227 grams, 8.0 ounces. The full zip Marmot weighs 230 grams, 8.1 ounces.

In summary, these are awesome pieces for cold weather activities. I see them as a perfect "step down" from a Power Stretch hoody, when the activity level is generating too much heat for a thin Power Stretch. These things breath like crazy — they offer virtually no wind or rain protection. They were just about ideal for cold weather hiking.

[Anonymous]

"In summary, these are awesome pieces for cold weather activities. I see them as a perfect "step down" from a Power Stretch hoody, when the activity level is generating too much heat for a thin Power Stretch. These things breath like crazy — they offer virtually no wind or rain protection. They were just about ideal for cold weather hiking."

+1 For the Cap 4 Hoody. I haven't tried the Marmot analogue. In combination with a beanie for starting out, and a Windstopper vest if the wind comes up or you like to start out warm, you're covered for high intensity hiking well down into the teens.
An excellent piece of gear.

[BlackHatGuy]

"Essentially identical. The Patagonia weighs 227 grams, 8.0 ounces. The full zip Marmot weighs 230 grams, 8.1 ounces. "

Marmot lists the weight of their hoody as 1 lb. Did you weigh yours at 230 grams?

[hwc 1954]

Yes. I weighed both of them. The 1 pound figure Marmot lists isn't even close. The full zip is a little heavier than the Patagonia, but the single layer fabric in the hoody and shoulders is a little lighter. Ends up being pretty much a wash.

I think the light weight and small pack size are what make these things so attractive. They are darn close to being as warm as a lightweight fleece, but are super thin for layering (or for stuffing in a pack).

[BlackHatGuy]

Weird that they'd get it so wrong. They're hurting themselves overstating its weight!

Looks like a nice piece.

[Delmar O’Donnell]

Excellent review, HWC. Thanks for doing it.

[J-L]

How does the Marmot's hood feel when not zipped up all the way? I found the Patagonia's hood hard to wear when not zipped up all the way – the material near the mouth was annoying.

[Daryl and Daryl]

hwc 1954,

Thanks for a refreshingly helpful comparison of these two garments. I wasn't familiar with either but might now buy the Marmot because of this review.

I can't pinpoint why this review worked so well for me but it did. Sometimes a review is full of data but I'm left with little that helps me decide what to do.

I guess reviews, like many things, are part art and part science.

The good photos were certainly part of it.

[hwc 1954]

The hoods are really completely different. The Patagonia is like a balaclava. Zipped up, it naturally falls just under the nose, covering the mouth. You can "hook" it under the chin, exposing the mouth (like a balaclava), but that's not super comfortable. To have it sit below the chin, you have to unzip about four inches. Un-zipped, with the hood on, there are big flaps of material to the sides of the mouth and chin. They don't bother me that much, but they are visible out of the corner of your eyes. Overall, the Patagonia is a great hood when you are in cold conditions where you would like to be wearing a very light Power Dry balaclava.

The Marmot hood naturally sits below the chin — zipped or unzipped. It's not really comfortable to pull it up over the chin and mouth. There is no material to the sides of the mouth, when unzipped. Fits like the hood on a wind hoody. Bigger around the face, not a small balaclava opening.

The hood is probably the biggest real difference in the two, along with rather different styling, the Marmot being more ninja/athletic, the Patagonia being a little more street shirt-ish.

I would love to wear either of them for around town, but they are both too form-fitting for that, because they are so stretchy. You'd have to size up to make them a little baggy and that would make them less functional as trim baselayers.

I do think that either one, with the Patagonia Cap 4 bottoms, would be the worlds most comfortable pajamas!

[hwc 1954]

Went snow shoeing today with one of these as my only layer with a pair of Scree pants. 33 degrees starting out, warming up to 43 degrees. Absolutely perfect. Never really cold. Never really sweating. Had water dripping from melting snow on the trees overhead for a couple of hours. Seemed to wick and evaporate pretty much as soon as it hit. Never felt wet.

I think these things wick and dry so well that they probably can be used in warmer temps given how warm they are at the cold end. I've now worn them as cold as 11 degrees (F) over a baselayer shirt and as warm as 43 (43) as the only layer.

[TJ Christopher]

Just FYI, REI Outlet has men's and women's Thermo hoody in all sizes for ~$64, with the current 20% coupon.

I picked on up a while ago and agree it's a nice piece.

A note on the sizing: I (male, 5'10" 145lbs.) went with a medium and the fit is athletic and just enough to go over a base layer. To me it seems more like the equivalent of small in my Patagonia stuff (e.g. R1 jacket, older style cap 4).

[Author]

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