REI Winterflyte Combination Jacket Review
First Impressions
Versatility is the name of the game for the Winterflyte Combination Jacket. It converts easily from jacket to vest thanks to cleverly designed zip-off sleeves. And because of this capability, we found the Winterflyte to be a workable outer layer for conditions ranging from the mid-50s down into the 20s.
Features
Let’s start from the outside and work in. REI builds the Winterflyte from a combination of polyester and spandex which gives the jacket a nice stretch feel. It’s nicely water repellent and blocks a good amount of wind. One missing feature seems to be reflective accents. Although REI’s website lists them as features, they were not apparent on ours.
Three pockets line the exterior – two zippered handwarmers and one at the rear, cycling-jacket style. Our sample had a hole at the bottom of the rear pocket where the seam pulled apart. Look out for this when shopping for yours.
Specs
Fabric: Polyester and spandex blend
Weight: 1 lb 3 oz
At the shoulder, REI place zippers for the removable sleeves. These easily detach for the vest conversion. Nice touch and very well executed on the Winterflyte.
Moving to the interior, there are two pockets and a headphone pass-through port rounding out the package.
Fit
The Winterflyte fit perfectly, no need to size up or down. There’s plenty of stretch thanks to the polyester/spandex construction and the cuffs/gaiters with thumb holes provide additional flexibility.
Final Verdict
If you can buy only one jacket for cool weather running, the Winterflyte Combination Jacket could be it. REI packed a ton of features into the product and backs it with their standard 100% Satisfaction Guarantee making the purchase a no brainer.
