Patagonia R1 Air Full-Zip Hoody - Women's Review

The Patagonia R1 Air is a lightweight, recycled polyester fleece with near-midweight performance. It has two zippered hand pockets as well as a small zippered chest pocket. We love the moisture-wicking fabric and the fact that there are no abrasive seams on the tops of the shoulders or in the armpits.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

Though the R1 Air is very lightweight, the warmth it offers is much more akin to a midweight fleece — in most situations. When hanging out in camp or traveling to far-flung locations, the soft, fluffy fabric of this fleece does an exceptional job holding in our body heat. Its slim fit keeps the heat close to your body, while stretchy fabric allows it to accommodate different body shapes reasonably.

A fitted, scuba-style hood that features a very high chin (to keep your face even warmer) stays up in the wind and layers nicely under shell hoods. Even our lead tester with self-professed “monkey arms” (an ape index of +4) found the R1 Air sleeves to be long enough for most things. Excessive reaching — like in rock climbing — exposed our wrists slightly, but during activities like cycling, we still felt protected. If you're looking for thumbholes, though, the R1 Air doesn't have any. The biggest sap of this fleece's warmth is in any wind. Even more than “average” fleece jackets, the zig-zag pattern of the R1 fabric and its lack of any wind guard for the zipper lets chilly fall breezes slip right through. If you're encountering wind in the R1, you'll want an outer shell.

Almost none of the fleece jackets we tested offer meaningful water protection, so we didn't dock too many points from the R1 Air for soaking up a light mist during our testing. The exterior material of the pocket repels some water, and it takes a while for precipitation to make it through the face fabric to the interior. But the zig-zags in the main fabric — while adding extra comfort and breathability — are the weak point when protecting against the elements. The main zipper features a fabric strip that mostly covers the medium-sized teeth but doesn't entirely stop water or wind from penetrating your core.

Comfort

All our testers who wore the R1 Air commented on how nice it feels. It's equally as fuzzy on the inside and outside, giving it a nice cozy air. The fabric is very stretchy and accommodating to a diversity of body shapes. Seams have been moved away from key areas of movement to keep you comfortable while you do whatever it is you're setting out to do. The seams on top of the shoulders have been moved back to avoid conflicting with backpack straps. Seams typically located in the armpits have been lowered to the ribs, eliminating that annoying rubbing that is often behind our excitement to take off form-fitting clothing at the end of each day. A drop hem helps keep your waist protected during movement. Our only real complaint about the comfort of the R1 Air is that its slim design, despite a fair amount of stretch, isn't as accommodating for curvier body types or those with wider hips.

The R1 Air features a lot of pockets, compared to most fleeces in our lineup. The two zippered hand pockets are deeper than their zippers, helping to hold items even when unzipped. They drop all the way down to the hem of the jacket, though, rather than floating above it for easier access when wearing the hip belt of a pack or a climbing harness. On the inside, the pocket material has been sewn closed across the bottom to create two narrow but deep drop pockets. A small chest pocket on the left side is just large enough to hold some credit cards, cash, gel, and lip balm.

Breathability

The R1 Air is far more breathable than your average fleece. In fact, the only models we tested that are more breathable are all made for high-output activities and sacrificed significant warmth to maintain breathability. When it comes to threading the needle of warmth and breathability, the R1 Air outshines the rest. Those ever-present zig-zags in the fabric between rows of fluffy fleece allow your body to expel extra heat whenever necessary. The cuffs are mostly unlined, making them comfortable to push up our arms if temperatures really start to skyrocket.

Wearing this fleece unzipped when we needed to let off a little steam was more comfortable than most, and we never noticed the lightweight fitted hood of the R1 Air pulling the jacket in odd directions. Though some fleeces make the hand pockets out of mesh to facilitate venting, the R1's pockets are made of the same material as the small chest pocket, which helps seal in warm air. Combined with its other breathable features, we appreciated the extra warmth and didn't even notice the lack of pocket ventilation, as we could simply unzip the whole thing. We loved wearing the R1 Air for everything from moderate output activities like hiking to even some extremely cold early morning runs well below zero.

Layering Ability

Here again, the R1 Air finds the happy medium when it comes to functionality. Its slim shape and fit aren't ideal for wearing over a baggy t-shirt, but this fleece easily slides on over a next-to-skin baselayer. The fluffiness of the internal fabric doesn't catch as much as some others, but it also isn't the most accommodating fabric for an outer layer.

As a mid-layer, the R1 Air excels. Its fitted shape and thinner material make it a joy to wear under a puffy jacket, waterproof shell, or both. Without thumbholes to encumber your layered wrists, the sleeves and hem length of the R1 prove to be a great length for layering — keeping you protected without awkwardly sticking out the openings of your jacket.

Weight

The size Small R1 Air we tested weighs 10.4 ounces, placing it on the lighter end of the spectrum of the jackets in our lineup. Once again, none of the fleeces we tested have specific packable features (like stuffing into a pocket), so we didn't hold that against the R1 Air, either.

However, when packing this jacket into a backpack, the benefits of the lightweight design became evident in ways that they weren't during our warmth testing. The zig-zag material helps cut weight, while the thinner fabric is more compressible and easier to pack than many other fleeces. Considering the weight and packability of the R1 Air alongside its warmth, comfort, and versatile performance led us to reach for this jacket more often than we expected when packing for various adventures.

Should You Buy the Patagonia R1 Air?

When it comes to value, the R1 Air is an excellent purchase. It's one of the more expensive fleeces we tested but also one of the most dynamic layers to wear through a huge range of activities, locations, and weather conditions. It lacks some of the very specific features that niche users may be looking for, but as a general, all-around fleece, this is one of our favorites.

What Other Fleece Jackets Should You Consider?

Though we love so much about the Patagonia R1 Air, its fit and function may not be exactly what you're searching for. We'd compare this hoody directly against the Outdoor Research Vigor Grid Quarter Zip and Rab Ascendor Hoody, both of which are also highly breathable, technical fleeces. But if you're hoping for more of a relaxed fit, sweatshirt vibe, the Arc'teryx Kyanite is a great choice for a fleece that still offers a solid level of protection and performance.