Here it comes, a ten-syllable name for a fine piece of outdoor clothing: Nano-Air® Ultralight Freeride Jacket. Although this is a first look, we’re going to get some things out of the way first, before a more lengthy review. Patagonia’s NAUL Freeride is a purpose-built active insulation jacket for touring. This jacket shares DNA with the Nano-Air Ultralight Full-Zip Hoody, which is more purpose-built for climbing and alpinism, but, as noted in our review, it’s an excellent touring piece. 

Let’s zero in on the NAUL Freeride. It’s a two-tone jacket (in both women’s and men’s), and the different colors indicate different fabrics/insulation with slightly different functions. 

The Upper

• The NAUL Freeride’s yoke (shoulders/neck) hood and side panels have no insulation. It is weatherproof to a point due to the DWR coating. 
• Here’s Patagonia’s specs. “2.4-oz 100% recycled nylon stretch ripstop face fabric bonded to a 100% polyester circular-knit backer, with a durable water repellent (DWR) finish made without intentionally added PFAS.” This is the same fabric used in Patagonia’s Dirt Roamer line of mountain biking jackets.  

The Lower

• The body (chest, arms, back) features a thin layer of 20 g FullRange® insulation, which is Patagonia’s way of denoting a thin layer (panel) of synthetic insulation. 
• According to Patagonia, the lower and liner are “1.6-oz 30-denier 100% recycled polyester air-permeable shadow stretch ripstop with a DWR finish made without intentionally added PFAS.”

Active Insulation Backstory

Maybe I’ll repeat myself, but it is worth going over Patagonia’s active insulation. They have the Nano Air (60 g of FullRange® insulation, body-mapped nearly throughout the piece). And there’s the Nano Air Hybrid, which features 40 g of FullRange® insulation with R-1 Air fleece fabric on the back and side panels. These are cool concepts, and the Nano Air was a near-first regarding active insulation that worked, or aspires to work. Both the Nano Air and Nano Air Hybrid are way too hot for me when uphilling unless it’s single-digit weather. As a result, for years, the best active insulation I could find was a thin-ish hoody (TNF Futurelight hoody) over a thin baselayer. An excellent system until a cold wind blew. Then I layer a windbreaker vest (sometimes insulated) on top. If the gods spat moisture or a mighty wind, I topped it all with a windbreaker or a well-vented hardshell. I’ll do some more research, but much of what I see on the market regarding active insulation is 60g or 40g (referring to the insulation). Even with cleverly mapped panels, the extra insulation is, again, too hot for me.    

My Active Insulation Layering

In the spring of 2024, I was sent a pre-sales Nano-Air Ultralight Full-Zip Hoody (20g of FullRange insulation). At ⅓ the insulating capacity of the Nano Air, and ½ that of the Nano Air Hybrid (based simply on the g/m² of insulation), I found an oh-so-sweet spot for my layering. And it has pretty much remained the same since: a thin long or short-sleeved baselayer and the NAUL overtop. It is real-deal active insulation. Breeaaaathablity (check). Some modicum of wind protection (check). And if the winds kick in, I layer a Dirt Trail Vest for added wind protection.

Back to the NAUL Freeride

I’ll write up a different piece comparing the NAUL and NAUL Freeride in the near future. Something akin to the Tale of Two Protons, I wrote a few years back comparing Arc’teryx’s Proton LW (now Proton SL) and their Proton Hybrid Hoody (please bring this back). 

Although this is a first look, I’ve spent plenty of time in the NAUL Freeride. I used one for about a month last spring, and then sent it back to the folks in Ventura. I’ve had this current NAUL Freeride for about two weeks. The NAUL Freeride is very much for ski/ride tourers. The cut is very kind for our touring habit. Meaning it is long enough to cover the waist and a bit of the bum, even with arms stretched overhead. Furthermore, the cut is both fitted, as in it is a not-too-baggy fit, and roomy enough for unimpeded movements while touring, booting, transitioning, and faffing. It is comfy, feels stylish, and is very functional. Although I’m aspirationally free-ridey, I feel more free-ridey in the jacket.  

For this user, the NAUL Freeride’s features are near-perfect examples of minimalism. There are two zippered hand pockets (still accessible while wearing a waistbelt), a zippered chest pocket for small essentials, and a hood that fits under a helmet or over your toque. For stashing skins, I have no problem stuffing modest-sized skins under the main zipper and against my chest. 

The real kicker here is that the NAUL Freeride offers ample breathability while working hard uphill, sufficient wind-breaking, ample airflow as the face fabric does not shut down the wind, and sufficient weatherproofing to keep me dry in a steady state of flurries. (When the DWR is fresh, which it still is, water tends to bead on the NAUL Freeride’s yoke.) These are attributes of a multifunctional outer layer. In the big picture of Patagonia’s newly released PowSlayer kit, the NAUL Freeride functions as a midlayer. And if the weather turns for the worse, the NAUL Freeride plays the midlayer role well, too. 

The cuffs are slightly elastic to fit under gloves or mitts (and they do), while the waist hem does not have an adjustable cinch closure (neither does the NAUL, or my older DAS Light). 100% of the time I’m wearing the NAUL Freeride, I’m also wearing a pack with a waistbelt, so I’m not feeling any draft when it’s windy.