Customer Reviews Marmot Alt HB Hoodie

Great product from a great brand. Looks and feels and wears as described. The best review, however, is when it is put to use.

As long as you keep your expectations in check and treat this jacket delicately, it is great for what it is: a packable, versatile midlayer or outer layer. Unlike most synthetic insulation, the Okta-Yarn insulation will not degrade if it is stored compressed for a long time. There is no adjustable drawcord hem like the description of the features says there will be. Ultimately a great lightweight breathable jacket if you can treat it with care.

Great hoody that's lightly insulated. It's perfect for chill days and evenings of fall/winter California. The DWR is not that repellent, but the insulation is like artificial fur facing outward, which I imagine is water repellent by its very design. This fur is on top of a 3D mesh, which is by design moisture wicking. As the result, we get the unicorn fabric: one that is actually BOTH waterproof (water resistant?) AND breathable at the same time. I only tested it in medium rainfall for maybe 10-15 minutes combined exposure to rain, and didn't get wet under it. It's also super light, and fits me well (5'10", 155 lbs, size S). I like the feeling of the "fur" inside the pockets, very cozy!

One of those jackets that you did not know you wanted until you had it. Light, warm, and cool due to breathability it's a versatile layer for activities and cool offices

Much to love about this jacket. Love the cut and fit, not too slim, room enough to have a decent sized base layer under, but tight enough for good articulated movement without feeling encumbered. The color is fantastic, love the limelight. It has a jersey like mesh facing the interior of the fabric, with a more traditional fleece backing as insulation. Believe they have the more fleece like material facing in to help with moisture management. I find the material comfortable on the skin. There is instant warmth when putting on this jacket, and I love the feel of it. Nice hand pockets, and a useful interior chest pocket. Believe they could choose an outer material that has stretch and is more abrasion resistant, but the cut is so good I don't feel like I need the stretch, and I don't personally plan to use packs while using this. Plan to use this for day hikes, biking, and camping, as well as post surfing.

Light, bright and repells the rain! Well made, great color and good fit. Yet another great example of Marmot design and construction

I like too much I bought 2 colors. And 2 extra gift

This jacket is a great midlayer for cool conditions. I've worn it hiking in the mid 30's by itself and felt very comfortable. The hood is a perfect fit and tucks in nicely under my rain jacket when it starts to pour. On its own, the outer layer will repel a a pretty good sprinkle, though I'm sure the DWR will wear off eventually. I'm 6'1", 175 lbs and the Medium fits perfectly and weighs 10.4 oz. A great, versatile layer.

Great job on designing! Fit perfectly and keep it warm. Very light weight and versatile.

Good lightweight jacket for slightly chilly weather (50-60F) if you're not someone who gets cold easily. Decently breathable, but I also overheat more easily than most, so YMMV. Easily layered with something heavier if conditions require it.

I was looking for something in the mid to lightweight range and this jacket nailed it. Perfect for those 50-60 degree days as an outer layer and works extremely well as a mid-layer underneath a vest or coat for colder temps. Serves like a windbreaker with a bit of insulation and DWR yet weighs almost nothing. I can't wait to use this on my next backpacking trip. Great job, Marmot!

I hike pretty much daily in four seasons so, over the years, I've accumulated specific gear for specific conditions. I picked up the Alt HB on a screaming sale to add it to the few insulated jackets I have as I prefer them when moving. The first thing I noticed was the weight. 11 ounces is featherlight for an insulated. Obviously, you're losing some stand around warmth, because cold weather insulation is what this is about, but because the jacket layers well, given it's outstanding stretch, it extends in to a bigger temp. range. The material is very soft and with that I was anticipating durability issues. Not long after I got I developed rips near both thumbholes but otherwise I haven't babied it and it's held up over a couple of spring to fall seasons. I wear a Large at 6' 185 lbs and 32" waist. I do find that it fits a little tight in the underarm but is perfect through the shoulders and waist. And given the stretchiness, which is huge positive to the jacket, I've never feel encumbered by it. I do find the arms a bit short but I have longer arms. Using the well-designed, lay flat thumbholes isn't a problem though. The description said it came with a hem drawstring but mine didn't. For the conditions I wear it in it's no big deal but it would be nice to have. This is not a heavily insulated jacket or feature rich. There's no hood adjustment but there's a stretchy band around it that keeps it in place nicely. There's a soft, brushed material in the two hand pockets (solid zippers) but it's only on the jacket side so it doesn't deliver much warmth. It has a breathable mesh like interior which is great for the breathability but on windy days it does cut through a bit. A couple of things to consider is that jacket does soak up sweat but dries relatively quickly. A sort of downside for me is that it also picks up and holds stink. After just a couple of hikes it became very noticeable. I sort of bought this with the thinking it would be a solid trail to town choice. And it is. After a washing. But I don't like to wash my gear much so this used almost exclusively used on trail. Which is fine. What I do know is that in temps from about the low 30's to 50's when I'm moving with just a 250 weight base layer, this is the jacket I pull. I don't like feeling restricted and it really does move with me. I can't speak to the long term durability yet after a just a couple of seasons but something tells me this will have a good life span outside of the quick, small tears on the wrist cuffs. Would I pay full retail? I don't know. Would I buy it on sale again? In a heartbeat. I see this as a 'working' jacket even though I like the understated, non-techy style. So if you were just looking for something to take the chill off when knocking around town it would work well there too but given the "flow" of the light material it does wrinkle a bit but comes out immediately in the dryer. It does pack small in the left hand pocket, which includes a material 'hook' which is a nice touch if you want to secure it with a biner on a pack but I just stuff it and it takes up very little room. So when this one craps out I'm pretty sure I'll grab another. While adding a couple of features might make sense I hope they don't make any drastic changes to this workhorse.

Nice but Runs a little small. XL fits like a LT instead

Fit and feel are really nice. Durability was immediately put into question after washing. Multiple snag points were revealed as in other reviews. Glad I got it at a substantial discount but would not be happy, and am still bothered by its faults, had I paid full price. Quality of material needs to be improved for durability and if not the price needs to be dropped significantly.

Marmot has a habit of cutting these mid layer jackets too slim in the arms/shoulders and too long in the body. They should look to Canada goose and arcteryx for sizing cues as those are the gold standard when it comes to fit.

Material is not really what you want, not very soft.

Short version Almost perfect, it is light and warm. However, the face fabrics might show clear sign of wear, similar to another review posted prior. Long version This jacket uses a relatively new material from octa, which can be thought as a direct competition against the polartec Alpha direct fabric. Currently there are 2 main variations of Octa Loft on the market: the one with high density of relatively short fiber (used by this jacket), and another version where the fiber is more fluffy and more loosely woven, more similar to alpha direct. The first version can also be found in tons of active insulation or close to skin base layer. The second version is also used by slightly warmer jacket. This fabric achieves roughly the same CLO value as polartec Alpha direct: around 0.38. Both are breathable and suitable for active insulation. The main differences are: it is usually only fluffy on one side, allowing manufactures to put some protective fabrics to completely cover the insulation part, and it is hydrophilic instead hydrophobic for Alpha direct. The main trend in cottage companies is to use these fabrics as stand alone pieces to achieve incredible weight saving, warm to weight ratio, breathability, while implicitly asking users to be more knowledgable and more careful when using the piece. Big name brands that need to consider general population and all their warranty claims tend to put a stronger face fabrics (often wind resistant but highly breathable with CFM >=50) on top of it to achieve a mid-point between functionality and durability. Marmot has used a very similar recipe with a more minimalistic design, and I got mine at a very steep discount. It is incredibly warm at its weight, it is breathable, it is light (considering it has a full length center zipper and 2 pockets). It is a perfect piece for aerobic activity in the mountain, while also not too technical for my taste to wear in city. The only downside for this jacket (or at least the one I got), as mentioned before, is that it has an extremely weak face fabric, prone to show very clear pattern of use. It might look like it is technically some ripstop fabric? But the entire grid "reinforcement" thread going horizontal and vertical can be easily pulled out of the fabrics on the slightly snag if that area of the fabric already shows some sign of abrasion. So it is not functionally rip stopping, it merely has the grid looking pattern. And ironically it is actually the first thread to go when you caught something . Also, I generally took extremely good care of all the gear I use. I haven't seen such obvious pattern of abrasion even on my alpha direct fabric hoody from a cottage manufacture, where the entire insulation fabric is completely exposed to the element without any face fabrics and I have worn that heavily for the past 2 years going through mountaineering trip in the winter and long backpacking trip in summer under 35lb pack . Yet, I got some worse wear pattern from this jacket within a month in winter time with only one snowshoe trip. I will have to baby care this jacket when I am hiking. I definitely wont take it to anywhere near rock, so the bouldering and rock climbing community might need to think twice before purchasing this piece. All in all, a truly almost fantastic piece, except for the durability of the face fabric.

Hard to say if I would recommend this jacket or not. I purchased one in October. Very comfortable and has just the right amount of warmth. The reason I am at a debate is the fact that it is now February, and I noticed some pilling on it. The pilling has a distinct pattern.... being caused by my car's seatbelt! Am I expected to take my jacket off anytime I am going to ride in a car?