Asics Men's Fujitrail Jacket Review

The Asics Fujitrail is one of the lightest and most breathable running jackets that we reviewed. It has breathable mesh panels in the armpit and laser-cut breathability vent holes on the back. This jacket is seriously breathable. Since you aren't overheating in a jacket it's easy to forget you're wearing it. The fact that it weighs barely 4 ounces helps with that, too. One of the best things we can say about this running jacket is that we often forget we're wearing it. It's just that comfortable.

Performance Comparison

Breathability

The Fujitrail has some of the best breathability features of any jacket we tested. It has breathable mesh panels in the armpits and another patch of breathable mesh on the back of the neck. It also has laser-cut vents all over the back of this jacket. Each vent is about 1/2 a millimeter wide. They start from the shoulders and neck to make a six-sided star pattern of breathability across the back.

The material used on the Fujitrail is quite breathable on its own. Even without all the vents, we're pretty sure this jacket would still breathe really well. During breathability testing, we paid close attention to sweat build-up in the arms of the jackets since there weren't usually breathability features built into this area. Well, the arms of the Fujitrail didn't fill with sweat condensation after running up a 1/2-mile hill and then stopping to rest in the sun.

The Fujitrail is breathable enough that you don't have to immediately stop to take it off when you start to heat up. We definitely still sweated while running uphill in this jacket, but the sweat didn't collect on the inside of the jacket nearly as much as with some other jackets.

Weather Resistance

While the Fujitrail provides some of the best breathability of any jacket we tested, it still does an excellent job of blocking the wind. We took this jacket on many high alpine runs late into the fall. It always protected us from the chilly wind enough on its own. We wouldn't want to rely solely on this jacket when it gets really cold, but for chilly fall days, it's perfect.

The Fujitrail is not waterproof, however. In fact, this is one of the least protective jackets we tested when it comes to water resistance. It will protect you enough in a light mist, but we wouldn't take this out when there's substantial rain in the forecast. We used it on some foggy mornings and evenings, and it protected us enough in those conditions, though. There is a DWR coating on this jacket, but the breathable mesh panels are just too breathable not to absorb water immediately. We especially noticed that the mesh panel on the back of the neck was prone to soaking in any amount of heavy rain. This jacket definitely isn't intended to be a rain layer and should not be expected to be one.

Comfort and Mobility

The Fujitrail is comfortable enough that we often found ourselves wanting to put it on. We carried this on more runs than almost any other jacket, just hoping it would get cold enough to throw this on. The fabric isn't swishy. It barely feels like it's there at all against your skin. The mesh panels in the armpits are particularly soft as well. This fabric feels like a soft jersey-knit, something we would wear all day without issue.

The Fujitrail allows for a full range of motion. The fabric has just a little bit of stretch to it. And, the cut is loose enough not to inhibit any movement. We can move our arms in any way, and the jacket is barely noticeable. It's also loose enough to layer a jacket or two underneath.

While the fit and comfort of the Fujitrail are awesome, we did find the hood to be on the small side. Some of our testers do have pretty large heads, but when wearing this hood over a hat, it felt a little tight. It definitely wasn't a deal breaker, and we often wore the hood, but we did find ourselves unzipping it slightly to provide some extra room.

Portability

The Fujitrail weighs 4.1 ounces in a men's size medium. It packs into its own tiny chest pocket and is small enough to carry in a running belt. We were very impressed at how light and portable this jacket is. It's one of the lightest running jackets we tested and packs down to one of the smallest footprints, too.

While the Fujitrail can be stuffed into its own pocket, the chest pocket is so small that it's not the easiest task. However, this does mean the jacket packs into a tiny ball when you've stuffed it away. You'll definitely need to prepare your fingers for this task, though. We wouldn't want to have to pack this jacket away with cold hands, but if our hands are cold, we'd be wearing it. So, we don't think this is a big issue, really.

Features and Visibility

The Fujitrail has some of the best visibility features of any jacket we tested. It has reflective striping on both arms and on the back. It also comes in many bright colors. The color we tested this jacket in was bright enough for us to run confidently in the street at dusk. And once the sun fully set, we were still able to be seen in a crosswalk due to the reflective striping on the arms.

The Fujitrail has the most adjustable hood of any jacket we tested. It can be tightened or loosened on the back of the head and on both sides in the front. The hood is also easy to adjust while running. There is no toggle to find and try to squeeze, we found it easy to simply yank on the pull attachment and the hood tightened.

The Fujitrail also has thumb loops for wearing with gloves. These loops keep the sleeves down to cover your wrist. This way, when you slide your gloves on you don't have to fuss with your sleeves too.

Should You Buy the Asics Fujitrail?

We think the Fujitrail is an excellent value for a running jacket. It has some of the best visibility features we've seen on any jacket. And, this is one of the best jackets for ventilation we tested here as well. It's small and light enough to carry with you whenever the weather is questionable. It's also one of the more comfortable jackets we tested for this review. For anyone needing a lightweight jacket for chilly weather running, this would be an excellent purchase.

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