Puffies have been my friend lately. With ambitious sufferfest mountain days, I often find myself hitting the trail early in the morning and slowly trudging out late at night when the sun is long gone. For days like these, I need insulation that moves with me but also doesn’t take up much space. The Adidas Outdoor Flyloft Jacket fits that bill.
Ultra packable and lightweight, the Adidas Outdoor Flyloft Jacket is made of 100% nylon for the shell and lining and 100% polyester for the insulation, or synthetic down. The jacket weighs in at approximately 9.8oz and comes with an inner pocket stuff sack. Two zippered hand pockets and another internal slip accompany the stuff sack.
This has been my go to jacket all summer for backpacking and climbing. It packs down nice and small to clip to a harness or backpack for no fuss access when temperatures drop. No carabiner is attached though; you’ll have to supply that. In terms of packability, I find the Flyloft to be pretty comparable to the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer.
The jacket isn’t really harness compatible, nor does it have two way zippers, but the fit makes it easy to toss on over a harness and still have gear loops and belay loops handy. I absolutely love internal slip pockets because I can tuck away things like snacks and a headlamp when I don’t want to stop moving.
The synthetic material means I don’t have to baby it as much as down out of fear of destroying an expensive puffy. I’ve stemmed, chimneyed, wiggled, and flopped over all types of granite in the Flyloft and the fabric has remained intact.
The jacket, however, has two pain points for me. First, the zippered hand pockets are not optimal. The zippers are tucked slightly inside the pocket. Zipping up the pocket one handed while on the move results in just popping all the fabric out and not actually zipping it up. When I’m stopped, it’s not a problem. When I’m riding a bike trying to shove my phone in my pocket without dropping it, it’s rough.
Speaking of phones, I have an iPhone 6S with a Lifeproof case on it. It’s no phablet, but it’s not perfectly slim either. I have to slide my phone in just right to get it to fit completely in the pocket. Again, when I’m on the go and I need to tuck that away fast, not really ideal. The shell fabric often gets caught in the zipper as well. I’ve never had a jacket that consistently ate itself.
Lastly, what happened to quality control, Adidas Outdoor?! The first thing I noticed when I took the jacket out of its packaging was that threads were coming out and seams were pulling. Luckily it hasn’t gotten any worse, especially with the abuse I put it through. It’s a little concerning when your brand new item is already falling apart when it arrives.
Despite my pocket gripes, the Flyloft Jacket is a solidly functioning jacket that can take a beating in the outdoors. If you tend to operate your pockets single handedly and you have a larger phone, this may not be for you.
Buy through Moosejaw or Amazon for $150.
This was sent to me for review.
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