HomeOutdoorREI Flash Hyperstretch Fleece Jacket

REI Flash Hyperstretch Fleece Jacket


REI Flash Hyperstretch Fleece Jacket
REI’s Flash Hyperstretch is an ideal stand-alone jacket on a breezy day. – picture credit score: heather eldridge (cleverhiker.com)

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 Hyperstrech stock image in blue

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

Man with a jacket hood hood up in a sunny alpine meadow.
Some hoods don’t put on properly, however this one does an awesome job of holding onto a hat and trapping treasured heat. – picture credit score: David Younger (cleverhiker.com)

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.

A man carries a backpack down a trail.
The 2 hand pockets of the REI Flash Hyperstretch Fleece Jacket preserve your fingers heat on chilly fall hikes. – picture credit score: David younger (cleverhiker.com)

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.

A man walks down a trail with a pack and fleece looking at the ground with hands in pockets.
We examined the REI Flash Hyperstretch Fleece Jacket mountaineering with a pack to make sure it remained snug and in place. – picture credit score: David Younger (cleverhiker.com)

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.

Man's arm shows hem of a sleeve.
REI Flash Hyperstretch Fleece Jacket has a well-stitched but gentle cuff. – picture credit score: David younger (cleverhiker.com)

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.

A man opens a jacket in a meadow.
The REI Flash Hyperstretch Fleece Jacket could be very light-weight. – picture credit score: David Younger (cleverhiker.com)

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.

Hand pulls sunglasses out of a fleece pocket.
The 2 pockets within the REI Flash Hyperstretch Fleece Jacket are nice for hand warming or holding objects corresponding to sun shades. – picture credit score: David younger (cleverhiker.com)

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. 

A man opens the drop pocket in a jacket.
REI Flash Hyperstretch Fleece Jacket has drop pockets on the inside for gloves. – picture credit score: David younger (cleverhiker.com)

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. 

The zipper on a jacket close up.
The zipper on the REI Flash Hyperstretch Fleece Jacket is straightforward to clasp, even with gloves on. – picture credit score: David younger (cleverhiker.com)