Review: Patagonia All Free Jacket

“There’s nothing ultra-light about this burly, durable jacket—except its weight,” one tester said after six months with the full-zip All Free, using it for long days in Colorado’s alpine and sport cragging in Smith Rock, Oregon. Although it’s the heaviest in the test at just over 12 ounces for the men’s medium, it’s also the beefiest jacket with a polyester stretch-woven fabric that was flexible enough to move with testers and heavy duty enough to resist major rock abrasion in the chimneys and offwidths of Red Rock, Nevada. Plus, it had the highest amount of water repellency and windproofness in the test, only wetting out after 35 minutes in a full-on downpour (minus the leakage from no hood) and easily cutting gusts up to about 30 mph. “Absolutely loved the lighter weight and stretchier cuffs that rode comfortably high around my elbows when I needed to get sinker jams.” Microfleece at the chin and neck didn’t irritate faces, and a cinchable waist prevented any updrafts on windy days. Nitpick: It doesn’t pack down super-tiny, about the size of a small watermelon.

Conclusion

Take this when you need maximum wind protection and will be groveling up wide cracks; the thicker fabric is super-tough. It’s highly water-resistant, but no hood means you’ll get soaked anyway.

$129; 12.4 oz.; patagonia.com

Further Reading
Review: Our Top 5 Ultralight Shells