Backside Line
The REI Flash Hyperstretch provides top-notch consolation and wonderful worth. It’s made with tremendous gentle, stretchy materials with an impressive warmth-to-weight ratio. Throughout our testing in North Park, Colorado, the Hyperstretch excelled within the backcountry, proving breathable and protecting on demanding cool and windy hikes. Whereas the match isn’t fairly as streamlined and trendy as different related fashions, the Hyperstretch jacket is without doubt one of the finest values in the marketplace for a technical fleece.
To completely fit your mid-layer wants, see our information to the very best fleeces for extra examined and reviewed jackets.
Fast Specs
REI Flash Hyperstretch
Tremendous Gentle & Heat Hoodie Fleece
Value:
$159
Measured Weight:
13 oz.(Males’s M)
Fleece Weight:
Light-weight
Professionals
- Light-weight
- Extremely breathable
- Fast-drying
- Straightforward to layer
- Inclusive sizing
Cons
- Not as heat as some
- Not as sturdy as some
Heat
The REI Flash Hyperstretch is an efficient mid-layer, offering good heat for cool mornings and chilly days on the path. Whereas it’s not best as the only real layer in below-freezing temperatures, it was enough in average situations. We examined it in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Nationwide Park on brisk mornings and a few cloud-covered, windy fall hikes, and it carried out properly. The fleece retains you heat as your main jacket in spring and fall, and as a mid-laying within the winter. The comfortable hood helps retain physique warmth, including to its total heat.
Consolation
The REI Hyperstretch could be very snug on and off the path. We examined this on hikes and across the neighborhood on walks. Its spandex and fleece mixture make it gentle and stretchy, so your mobility is unencumbered. The polyester-backed fleece creates a gentle, heat inside with a sturdy exterior. It additionally has a wind barrier behind the entrance zipper that blocks cool air and is snug in opposition to your chin. The scuba-style hood is a pleasant addition with an elastic binding across the edge, making it straightforward and cozy to put on on a chilly or windy day.
Sturdiness
In our testing, the REI Hyperstretch held up properly. We hiked and camped in it and located it did simply high-quality for on a regular basis put on and tear. It additionally got here out of the wash trying trail-ready, with no fuzz or unfastened threads in sight. Over time, the fabric and stitching might come aside because the recycled polyester is gentle and doesn’t seem as sturdy as another designs. This jacket is described as extra of a sweatshirt or hoodie-type layer, which resonated with our testing. The standard design, materials, and stitching give us confidence that the REI Hyperstretch may grow to be your most beloved layer.
Weight
This mannequin is 13 ounces, making it one of many lighter choices on our record. The value level mixed, weight, and luxury make it onerous to search out fault within the REI Hyperstretch. It was straightforward to stash in a pack, because it balls up into a light-weight ball in regards to the measurement of a grapefruit. It’s actually compact and light-weight sufficient to maintain in a backpack as a heat backup for cool mornings and evenings across the fireplace.
Options
The REI Hyperstretch has the usual options anticipated of a mid-layer. It has two zippered hand pockets. The sleeves have an elastic binding on the cuff, a pleasant function that retains the sleeves heat and in place. The scuba hood works with hoodies, hats, and helmets for chilly and windy days. The drawcord on the hem cinches tight and retains heat air. The gentle backing behind the entrance zipper is a pleasant function that blocks wind and chilly air from getting into via the zipper.
Ought to You Purchase The REI Flash Hyperstretch?
The REI Flash Hyperstretch is a good bang on your buck. It provides stable heat and luxury with out the majority and weight. It received’t work as properly in extraordinarily chilly climate, and the light-weight, gentle supplies might put on down over time. However this is a superb fleece for every thing from sitting within the yard on a cold fall day to a strike mission with an alpine begin.
What Different Fleeces Ought to You Contemplate?
Kuhl Interceptr: This model is hotter and a bit burlier than the REI Flash Hyperstretch Fleece, however provides an identical type and performance.
Out of doors Analysis Vigor: Just like the REI Flash Hyperstretch, the OR Vigor is a light-weight possibility that works nice for backcountry hikes. It’s not the warmest fleece, however it’s light-weight, snug, and can breathe straightforward on high-output hikes.
