Outdoor Vitals Vario Jacket: A Review

Over the past few months, I got the chance to test out the Outdoor Vitals Vario Jacket. It’s quickly become one of my favourite pieces of kit on my days out climbing and hiking. It’s aptly named – Vario comes from the root of the word ‘variability’ and the jacket has many different applications where it excels.

The Vario has an insulated hood, a full-length zipper, and two outer zippered pockets, and it’s available in three colours – blue, black, and mahogany. The jacket uses “3DeFX insulation” technology, with 50% of these fibers coming from recycled materials. 3DeFX is made up of tiny insulating coils.

As you move, these coils deform and allow heat to escape. When you’re at rest, the coils instead retain their shape and hold in warmth. You can see a comparison of 3DeFX fibers and traditional microfiber insulation in the Outdoor Vitals graphic below. Outdoor Vitals says that 3DeFX insulation has no performance and durability degradation over time. I have stuffed the jacket tightly into my pack dozens of times and I haven’t experienced any reduction in its feel or performance.

In my opinion, there are two things that makes the Vario special. The first is that due to its 3DeFX insulation, the jacket provides exceptional warmth while being extremely low weight. When on an a steep approach to a crag or boulder, the jacket lets out excess heat. When standing around belaying or spotting, however, it provides a truly surprising amount of heat retention for such a light jacket. The men’s medium weighs in at only 9 ounces (255 grams) and packs down to the size of a small water bottle.

The second aspect that I found surprising about the jacket is that it doesn’t feel like typical outerwear. It feels more like a comfortable hoody. It’s stretchy and soft and its construction doesn’t impede the movement of the arms, neck, or shoulders. I often find myself wearing the jacket inside because it’s so comfy. Although it looks like outerwear, it doesn’t feel like it all. While it doesn’t look like it, the jacket actually provides fantastic wind protection and its DWR treatment produces solid water resistance.

While I love the Vario on hikes and approaches and for standing around in the cold, it alone is not a great jacket for climbing. The 20D ripstop nylon outer lightweight material is burly, but it’s not burly enough to weather grinding up a crack or dihedral, or scraping across an arete. When paired with a protective shell, it makes a great climbing jacket as it’s light, breathable, and super flexible. The hood does not fit over a helmet but it fits comfortably under one. I should note, I’ve been testing the Regular length version of the jacket, which means it rides a little high when outstretching my arms overhead while climbing. The Tall length version of the jacket might be better suited to climbing.

There are a few other tiny details about the Vario that should be mentioned. The armpits have no insulation and are perforated for heat dissipation. The arm cuffs are stretchy but not tight, keeping the arms in place when moving quickly. The jacket also sports minimalistic thumb loops that can be used to prevent the jacket from bunching up when adding or removing another layer.