Patagonia Stretch Nano Storm Jacket

NOTICE: This is my favorite jacket of the past 10 years. The light insulation and breathable construction let me get outside and into my adventure quickly. No need to muck around with layering. This jacket is essentially a Nano Air Hoody combined with a breathable shell.

A favorite

First of all, I admit to being an outerwear fanatic. I research new designs to the moon, and obsess over every detail. All to better understand how the item may serve my needs. With that said, the Patagonia Stretch Nano Storm is my favorite jacket, probably ever. Why? Well it comes down to a handful of features that are just executed beautifully. 

Amazing fit

Patagonia really hit the bullseye with this one. I found the cut and fit to be the best of any jacket, Patagonia or otherwise. The torso has added length and gives coverage, but isn't bulky side-to-side, and the arms taper to the wrists. A tall zip front protects my neck and chin, and the hood -- somehow-- fits great no matter if I'm using a hat or helmet (a claim made often by manufacturers, but is less often a reality).

Stretch shell + stretch insulation

It's difficult for me to put into words just how much a revelation the Stretch Nano Storm has been. I've been a 'layerer' forever, but more recently I've wanted simplicity with quality. This jacket makes my choice easy. Just grab it and go! The shell is thin and stretchy-- and breathable. AND WATERPROOF! Patagonia adorns this jacket with it's 2-Layer 'H2No' designation, which is a guarantee of strong waterproofness (to 20,000k I believe). Water beads up under normal use.

Breathability-wise, the Nano Air-style insulation allows moisture to pass from your body out of the jacket without being held back. It acts more like fleece, and less like Primaloft, for example. And it stretches in concert with the stretchy shell fabric. All in all, this combo of breathable materials seem to work as advertised.

Updated: Patagonia made an update to this version, and added a Recco reflector, protection to the chest zips, and adjusted the shell to be 2.5 layers.

Layering

Continuing the 'fantastic cut' claim from above paragraphs... layering is a breeze. I found this jacket to work best layered over an R1 or other 100-wt fleece. On warmer days, layering over only my Smartwool baselayer was great. Or conversely, doubling up by adding a Nano Puff or Nano Air underneath felt great; no restrictions to note.

In action: snow, bike stress test

Taking the Stretch Nano Storm into the snow is likely its 'happy place'. While snowshoeing the Sierras, the jacket breathed well and kept me warm all day. It did so well, it's no wonder Patagonia updated it with more snow-friendly features like the Recco reflector. The breathability of the Stretch Nano Storm was noticeably better compared to my old standby combo of a 3-Layer shell over a Nano Puff.

Another regular case for grabbing this jacket, is bike riding in colder, unpredictable weather. Here, the pit zips and soft lining are fantastic. On one particularly horrendous occasion, I did experience some water ingress through the front zipper, and wet my midlayer. The conditions: 40 degrees F, 30-50mph wind, driving rain, full exposure, riding bike (adding 10-20mph to wind chill), for 2-3 hours. The storm came in faster than predicted, and I sure got caught out! But, with the Stretch Nano Storm I felt protected and happy as a clam.

Background

I use this jacket often in the fall and winter, for a variety of purposes. While I've used a bunch of hard shells and soft shells and insulators, this is my first good combo jacket. Has been great for hiking, snow, bike, and around town.