Patagonia R2 Jacket (Men's)

What Is It For?

Patagonia says the R2 Jacket 'serves as a stand-alone outer layer when you're on the go or as a superb insulating layer under a shell'. It's designed as a close-cut, unashamedly technical insulation top rather than a 'sitting around the pub' casual jacket.

Technical Lowdown

The R2 gets its name from Patagonia's R2 Regulator fleece, essentially part of Polartec's Thermal Pro range of low bulk / high wamth textured fleece. It combines longer fibres for insulation with shorter, densers supportive ones to optimise insulation and reduce bulk.

Essentially the textured fabric taps more air for less weight than conventional fleece, packs smaller and, thanks to a directional knit, wicks and dries faster than normal fleece. The fabric's also used to line Patagonia's Speed Ascent Jacket which we tested recently.

Other neat touches include the glued-in pockets with tough laminated surrounds and shoulder seams that sit forward to avoid pack-strap friction discomfort. The inside of the collar and the cuffs use lighter, gridded, R1 Regulator fleece for added comfort.
How It Performed

Fleece has kind of been consigned to a pub ghetto thanks to a two-pronged assault from the likes of Primaloft on the insulation side of things and soft shell fabric on the protection front with the result that a lot of fleece has been consigned to pub visits and general lounging use.

The R2 isn't like that. For a start, the short, close fit is unashamedly technical and designed to work under close-fitting shell layers. Next, it has an exceptional warmth to weight ratio for a fleece.

The textured R2 may look a bit like a posh carpet, but it traps warm air really effectively and we were always surprised by just how warm it felt. Pretty much mid-weight fleece insulation at close to microfleece weight.

It also wicks really well and dries fast, making it great for hard-working, multi-day outings and giving it an edge over synthetics like Primaloft as a mid-layer. Pack size is very reasonable too.

The down side is that it doesn't pack a lot of wind resistance, so as an outer garment works best on still days or with some sort of shell assistance.

We like the glued-in pockets - the stiffened surround makes the zi p easy to use and feels like it should be very wear resistant too.

Verdict

While a lot of fleece seems to have meandered into a casual cul de sac, the R2 Jacket with its unashamedly close, short, technical cut and excellent warmth to weight and bulk ratio, is still a live and kicking mountain fleece.

We'd look at it as a mid-layer to be worn with a shell rather than as a stand-alone jacket unless it's very still, and the combination of wamth, wicking and packability means that it excells in that role. Try before buying though, the fit is quite tight.

Buy if you're looking for a properly technical fleece mid-layer with a brilliant balance of warmth, weight, bulk and moisture management and like the carpet texture.