TreeLineBackpacker

Odin, the furious one. A bold name for a bold performance jacket from Helly Hansen. Can a jacket with such an epic nomenclature live up to its name?

About the Jacket

The Odin is built from high quality, ultralight Pertex Quantum nylon, and filled with Primaloft insulation, a synthetic insulation. The jacket has a full collar, and full frontal zip with two hand pockets which are also zippered and lined with a soft, warm Lifa material (similar to a thin fleece). One chest pocket provides an extra storage option for a phone or keys. The wrist cuffs are a stretchy Lycra spandex to provide flexibility and a good fit. The light weight Pertex nylon is DWR treated to provide water resistance.

The jacket retails for $300, and comes in 3 colors and multiple sizes.

What I liked

Warmth! The Odin provides an exceptional amount of warmth for such a lightweight jacket. Staying warm well into the 20’s with little more than a t-shirt underneath, the jacket is guaranteed to keep you comfortable in the worst of conditions. The synthetic Primaloft insulation provides protection from the cold even after becoming moist from perspiration up a long hard rock climb. Wind never penetrated the jacket, even on gusty exposures dangling over gushing waterfalls with moist air currents.

When it comes to comfort, you can barely tell the jacket is even on your shoulders. Smooth, pleasing materials envelop the entire jacket. Switching to a cooler fleece jacket(known far and wide for softness and comfort) bestowed the odd sensation of immense discomfort, when coming out of the comparatively luxurious, soft and silky Odin jacket. It was like crawling out of a silk linen and into a scratchy wool blanket.

The jacket regulates very well, providing heat when you need it, but only overheating during times of high activity.

Pack-ability is great, easily falling to the crevices and folds of a heavy winter pack, taking up minimal, vital pack space.

The jacket looks great, fitting close without being bulky or in the way.

The Lycra (spandex) wrist cuffs stay put without actually constricting around your wrist, and they dry very quickly when wet. The provide enough room to allow for fairly thick gloves to be used under them, blocking air current and heat loss.

What I didn’t like

Like most Primaloft fill jackets, you’ll pay a premium for the high-end performance of this jacket. $300 bucks is a little steep, but entirely worth it for the confidence a synthetic fill provides in wet conditions.

The collar likes to stay up. rolling it down results in a collar that tries to point in the air despite gravity’s convincing. Tucking it under a backpack strap over time alleviated the problem, and perhaps over time it will stay down after repeated use. The collar is also a little thinner than I’d like, not because it doesn’t keep you warm, but because it doesn’t sit close against the neck, providing a little wiggle room for those precious warm air molecules.

Overall

I can’t recommend a jacket more. Built from high quality synthetic Primaloft insulation, and Pertext ultra-light nylon, the Odin is one of the lightest, and warmest, synthetic jackets I’ve ever tested. Synthetic insulation means you won’t loose your insulating properties if the jacket becomes wet, which is an amazing thing when dealing with cold, wet conditions.

highly recommended

 

 

Thanks to the manufacturer for providing this product. For full disclosure, see our about me page.