Patagonia R1 Hoody - Review

The R1 Hoody is perhaps one of my favourite pieces of outdoor clothing so after 18 months of use I’m going to offer my thoughts on it here. This is Patagonia’s run down of the product:

The minimalist R1® Hoody follows our guiding design principle: Perfection is achieved when there's nothing left to take away. Alpinists and backcountry skiers live in this finely tuned, versatile favorite that's made of Polartec® Power Dry® polyester with a high/low grid interior. The fabric provides enhanced breathability, superb compressibility and stretch, has a terrific feel, and remains durable and warm. Its design features the pared-down detailing that avid climbers and backcountry skiers need - from the deep-venting front zipper that's offset at the face, to wrist-warming thumb loops, to the snug-fitting balaclava-style hood. With raglan sleeves for pack-wearing comfort, an exterior chest pocket and low-grid stretch polyester at the cuffs and bottom hem for minimal bulk under a harness.

The first regulator garment that I bought was a R1 Flashpullover back in 2006, it’s a sort of cross between the R1 hoody and the pullover in the current line. It has the more sculpted and longer fit of the hoody and the lighter stretch fleece in the cuffs, round the lower torso and under the arms but lacks the thumb loops and hood. I don’t know the exact number but I wouldn’t be surprised if this top had seen more than 150 days use. It’s been used as a midlayer while skiing, a stretchy cragging top on cooler days, a super warm baselayer in really cold conditions and now my girlfriend occasional dons it as pyjames on cold nights! I’m a little disappointed that Patagonia has dropped this from their current line as I feel it’s a significant step up from the regular pullover because of the longer cut, and small features like the offset neck and zoned use of fabrics. I’m guessing their logic behind this is that the regular pullover, without those aforementioned features are cheaper to make and anybody who does desire them will buy the hoody and probably benefit from the hood and longer cut as well. In a perfect world I guess we’d have all three, but Patagonia can’t have an infinite range.

Cragging in Sqamish,BC in my Flash pullover.

After using and abusing the Flash for so long I decided that it was time to replace it with a hoody, and eventually about 18 months ago I managed to find the elusive item in Patagonia’s outlet shop in Salt Lake City, Utah. It soon became clear that this was indeed going to be an upgrade rather than a replacement for my old Flash pullover.

Let’s talk about the material first. It uses a high/low grid interior made of Polertec’s Power Dry supplemented my Capilene stretch panels on the waist to minimalize bulk under a harness and around the cuffs and thumb loops to have the same effect under gloves. Because of the grid design it is noticeably more breathable then other standard fleeces, it also means that it’s is comfortable to wear next to the skin in in moister conditions.

Sport climbing on a cool day in the Saas valley in Switzerland with the R1 Hoody.

The hood, there weren’t up until a few years ago a lot of hooded fleeces out on the market and Patagonia were ahead of their time with the original release of the R1 Hoody and when they brought it back I feel they were still ahead of the game as its only in the last few years that we’ve seen other companies start to copy the design with couple of examples being the Berghaus Smoulder Hoody and Rab’s Shadow Hoody. I also hear Mountain Hardwear has a similar piece in the pipeline which has been designed in conjunction with Ueli Steck. While the hood isn’t a replacement balaclava as it doesn’t cover the face entirely it gets pretty close to it. My routine at the bottom of a winter route is pull the hood up under my helmet as it keeps my head nice and warm and stops spindrift going down my back. The offset zipper means is comfortable to wear all the time as you have no zipper rubbing against your chin. The zipper itself its nice and deep, deeper than most pullover tops which allows for excellent venting and dumping of heat if it gets too hot.

Winter climbing on Aonach Mor with the Hoody as a midlayer.

This is a climbing garment so it is perhaps prudent to mention that the combination of the stretch properties of the fabric and superb cut mean that his garment doesn’t restrict movement at all. Mine is a snug size small and I still don’t feel restricted all, even when using it as a midlayer. It’s also comfortable to wear having flat lock seams which are cleverly positioned away from areas where they might rub or chafe. Predominantly this is a winter climbing top for me, check out my article here to see what I wear in conjunction with.

The workmanship, being Patagonia is second to none. This top has probably seen 50 days of use, having climbed 35 routes in the UK last winter, and seen two summers in the Alps and has little wear to show for it apart from a little balling of the fabric, and to be honest I expected this. My Flash pullover which is now 6-7 years old and has been my go to cragging to top for the last few is still wearable now despite the fabric being quite heavily balled and two small holes appearing in the chest – I’ve certainly had my money’s worth though.

Belaying on Tower Ridge, Ben Nevis with the hood up under a helmet.

Yes, £120 is a lot for a fleece. But you not just getting a fleece, your getting a super versatile piece of clothing that will probably last you for quite a long time. If you don’t have one, and you do any winter or alpine climbing I cans seriously recommend them and guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.