OR - Big Agnes Marvine Jacket

Dear Editors,

 

Here's #3 for the weekend.  Text below.  HTML in test folder at:
http://tinyurl.com/lr3x36z

 

Still raining.  Starting on #4!  Thanks for your work as editors!  Much
appreciated!

 

Kathy

________________________________

BIG AGNES WOMEN'S MARVINE JACKET   

 

Big Agnes Logo 

BY KATHLEEN WATERS 

May 24, 2015   

 OWNER REVIEW   

 

 

  

 

TESTER INFORMATION   

 

NAME:    Kathleen Waters   

 EMAIL:    kathy at backpackgeartest dot com   

 AGE:    64   

 LOCATION:    Canon City, Colorado, USA   

 GENDER:    F   

 HEIGHT:    5' 4" (1.60 m)   

 WEIGHT:    125 lb (56.70 kg)   

 

Living in Colorado and being self-employed, I have ample opportunities to
backpack. There are over 700,000 acres/280,000 hectares of public land
bordering my 71-acre/29-hectare "backyard" in addition to all the other
gorgeous locations which abound in Colorado. Over the past 15 years, my
husband John and I have also had the good fortune to hike/snowshoe glaciers,
rain forests, mountains and deserts in exotic locations, including New
Zealand, Iceland, Costa Rica, Slovenia and Death Valley. My hiking style is
comfortable, aiming for lightweight. I use a tent (rainfly if needed).
Current pack averages 25 lb (11 kg) excluding food and water.  

 

PRODUCT INFORMATION   

 

 

 

Manufacturer: Big Agnes, Inc.

Year of Manufacture: 2014

Manufacturer's Website: http://www.bigagnes.com

MSRP: US $179.95

Listed Weight: 11 oz (312 g) Women's Medium

Measured Weight: 13 oz (369 g) Women's Medium

Colors Available: Crimson/Orchid & Cool Gray/Turquoise

Color Reviewed: Crimson/Orchid

Sizes Available: Extra Small to Extra Large

Size Reviewed: Medium

 

Other details: 

 

* Materials: 60g Pinneco CoreT synthetic insulation, 100% recycled polyester
shell

* Fill weight size Medium - 4.6oz/ 131g

* Front zipper includes draft flap and a zipper garage at chin

* Two zippered front hand-warmer pockets with zipper garages

* Textured zipper pulls

* Two large interior mesh pockets at hem

* Interior chest pocket used for a stuff sack

* Hem can be adjusted via a barrel locked drawcord

* Elasticized cuffs have thumb holes

 

 

BA Women's Marvine Jacket 

Day Hike on Cooper Mountain, Fremont County, Colorado 

 

 

 

FIELD USE AND PERFORMANCE   

 

Over the winter months, I continued to backpack/hike and snowshoe as much as
possible. I spent most of my time in the south central region of Colorado
that I can home. Mostly, I hiked in the mountains of Fremont County,
including the Wet, Fremont and Cooper Mountain ranges. This area's terrain
runs the gamut of evergreen forests, to grassy plains to high desert rock
and dirt/mud (as the moisture or lack thereof dictates).

 

I also spent some time snowshoeing in the Wasatch Mountains in Utah and a
wonderful week in the snow in Twin Lakes, Colorado, snowshoeing in and
around the Colorado Trail. These two areas are environmentally similar to my
usual haunts but had way, way more snow.

 

It's been a strange year for weather, so early on, winter was mild but
snowy; then it became very bitter cold and snowy, to mild temperatures, to
downright warm. All this in the time span of November 2014 to May 2015. As I
write this, it's late May 2015 and it's been raining almost every day for
the past two weeks and I'm back to wearing long-sleeved base layers along
with wind and rain jackets! Wacky Weather!

 

 

 

Stuffed Jacket vs Liter Bottle 

Stuffed Jacket vs. Liter Water Bottle 

 Over these 5 months, I estimate I've covered 55 miles (90 km)
backpacking/hiking/snowshoeing and walking in the Big Agnes Marvine Jacket.

 

I have probably worn the Big Agnes Marvine Jacket more than any other
jacket/outerwear this year. When I wasn't wearing it as a top layer, I most
likely had it on under a hard shell as a mid-layer. In the very lowest
temperatures I encountered, I would wear it with a wool base layer, a
lightweight synthetic or down vest and then under a hard shell. But mostly,
I wore it with a wool base layer and that's it.

 

I found the jacket to be properly sized per the website size chart. I
generally wear a women's medium in most clothing and the Marvine is no
exception. 

 

The cut of the Marvine is contoured and not bulky so it would fit under my
"athletic-fit" hard shell, but yet it is still roomy enough for me to wear
even with my heaviest base layer and down or synthetic vest. It looks very
neat and tidy and can easily be worn in town as well as in the wilderness. I
wear it just as often shopping as I do trail blazing.

 

Another thing I really like about the Marvine's fit is the drop tailed back.
This is great when it's cold out to keep my rear protected from the elements
and to keep that ole North Wind from blowing up the hem and chilling my
core. And while the Marvine isn't advertised as being a dead-of-winter
jacket, it worked very well for me throughout the winter.

 

One area I sometimes have trouble with when wearing winter jackets is the
sleeves. With many jackets, the sleeves are too narrow when worn with
multiple layers and my range of motion is compromised greatly. Not so with
the Marvine. I never once felt constricted and the thumb holes were perfect
for keeping the cuffs down where they belonged so I didn't get drafts up the
sleeves. This enabled me to pull on my gloves or mittens over the cuffs,
securing the cuffs under the gloves/mittens. This is particularly important
since the cuffs are rather tightly formed with elastic and there is no way
I'm going to be able to get a pair of gloves or mittens under them except
for my thinnest glove liners. 

 

 

Even though I looked it up, I'm not sure I really understand why the
Marvine's Pinneco CoreT insulation is a big deal or how it is so different
from other insulations, but I am sure I understand how well I was kept warm
without sweating while wearing the jacket! The strong 20 mph/32 kmph winds
we encountered (at worst) seemed to go right around me - though I know I had
to struggle against them at times. I never felt any cold spots in the jacket
either.

 

I didn't experience backpacking/hiking/snowshoeing in any really heavy
precipitation, though I was caught in a couple of light snow and light rain
showers while walking the dog. So I can't make any claims about how the
Marvine would handle a major downpour. It did handle the light stuff well
though and even when the outer shell of the jacket was pretty well wet
through, I was still dry. The jacket dried out in a matter of an hour or so
but that might say more about how dry our climate is than about the jacket
itself.

 

I'm not a hood fan, so I'm just as happy that the Marvine does not have an
attached hood as if it did. Unless it is "blizzarding" as my youngest
grandson would say, I don't use an a hood. But the jacket does have a very
nice standup collar to snuggle into and my chin is protected from the zipper
by a flap of material Big Agnes calls a "zipper garage".

 

A total of 5 pockets are sewn into the Marvine jacket - 3 interior and 2
exterior. The exterior pockets are good-size and I can easily tuck in my
Canon Powershot A520 digital camera, lip balm, an energy bar or gel along
with some tissues and when not on my hands, my glove liners/light gloves.
The zippers operate smoothly and have textured ends on the pulls which I
found easy to grip even with my gloves on. Two of the interior pockets are
located at the front hem and are mesh. This is good material to be used here
as it helps keep the Marvine more breathable in my experience. 

 

The third pocket is a chest pocket that can be used as a stuff sack. I like
using the stuff sack pocket as a space-saving convenient packing option. I
plan on using that a lot this summer when I backpack above treeline and need
a just-in-case shell for protection from the wind and possible errant
afternoon storm. The stuffed jacket can (and has been) used a a decent size,
though rather hard, backpacking pillow.

 

Even though I'm generally a klutzy hiker, I haven't snagged or torn the
Marvine over these last 5 months. In fact, I haven't even spilled a cup of
cocoa on it yet (knock on wood)! So, I haven't had to wash the jacket and it
still looks quite good. If the rain stops today, I might even brave the mud
and take the Marvine out for a hike to our mail box. (We haven't been able
to get down our washed out road for a couple of days now!) I could use a
little fresh air!

 

STARRING ATTRACTIONS   

 

1.) Stellar weight to warmth ratio.

2.) Slim but very comfortable silhouette.

3.) Well-placed and sized pockets.

4.) Drawcord hem for a custom fit.

 

MINOR DISTRACTIONS   

 

1.) Slightly tight, but stretchy cuffs don't allow me to wear gloves
underneath the cuffs.  

 

SUMMARY   

 

I've worn the Big Agnes Marvine Jacket for several months now in all sorts
of weather conditions during this crazy weather winter/spring of 2014-2015.
I quite simply love it! I love it so much that I gave away my previous go-to
jacket to my daughter-in-law. It's a versatile piece of outerwear that I can
wear with various combinations of layers in almost any weather. I'm quite
pleased with the functionality and I'm just as happy with the look of it as
well. This is one great jacket! 

 

I heartily recommend the Marvine Jacket as a staple in anyone's outdoor
wardrobe. It certainly is in mine!

 

Kathleen (Kathy) Waters