Patagonia Granite Crest Jacket | Tested and reviewed

Is the Patagonia Granite Crest Jacket for you? If sustainability, environmental and ethical credentials are a big priority for you when looking for a waterproof jacket, then yes – across those metrics, this is a market-leading hard shell.

It’s made from 100% recycled ripstop nylon, constructed from reclaimed fishing nets, thus reducing ocean plastic pollution. No harmful PFAS chemicals are used and the manufacturing process is Fair Trade certified. Oh, and Patagonia is one of the most ethical companies in the world, with profits supporting global environmental projects.

Sadly, the Granite Crest’s performance isn’t quite as elite as its eco efforts. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a protective, well-executed jacket, with solid features and 20k-20k HH and breathability ratings. But, for £270, I expected a little more – perhaps you’re over-paying slightly for that trendy "Pata-Gucci" logo?

I have a few gripes: the fabric feels too soft, stretchy and quiet, lacking in the protective stiffness for truly awful weather; the hood peak is poor and easily mis-shaped; and there are slight concerns about the PFAS-free DWR wetting out and requiring regular re-proofing.

However, overall, the Granite Crest sits in the middle of Patagonia’s range, and it delivers appropriate mid-range performance. It’s not exceptional, but it’s definitely not poor, and for most hillwalkers it will prove reliable with protective waterproofing and good features.

Waterproofing and construction

The Patagonia Granite Crest is made from Patagonia’s own waterproof-breathable technology, which is known as H2No – a cheesy little pun, but it makes sense. The idea is that this fabric will say ‘no’ to the ingress of H20. Get it?

Patagonia promises that the Granite Crest is “ideal for all-day movement on the trail in wet conditions”, and that it's been “designed to be high performance” and achieves “the H2No performance standard for exceptional waterproof/breathable protection”.

This standard includes a quoted 20,000mm hydrostatic head (HH) waterproof rating. As an official stat, this is generally considered a high-performing grade that should keep you dry in poor conditions – although it’s worth noting that Gore-Tex claims all of its fabrics have a minimum of a 28,000mm HH rating. So 20,000mm is solid, but (officially-speaking) not as good as some others.

The Granite Crest’s H2No fabric features a 3-layer construction, with the PU-based waterproof membrane wedged between a 30-denier nylon fabric and a soft jersey backer.

This three-layer construction enhances the sense of solid waterproof protection, because 3-layer jackets are generally considered sturdier, more durable and more protective than 2-layer and 2.5-layer alternatives. All of the Granite Crest’s seams are also fully taped.

Having said all of this, I do have a few reservations about this jacket’s protective qualities. While it worked well in short-lived light and medium showers during my test hikes, I do think that this fabric feels too thin and soft for truly awful weather.

Other fabrics, such as Gore-Tex Pro, feel like they provide a robust, thick, 'proper' physical barrier to rain – you don’t get the same sensation with the Granite Crest. It’s also worth noting that PFAS-free DWR treatments have a tendency to wet out quickly and require regular re-proofing.

More time is needed to truly judge this for the Granite Crest, but I imagine you’ll have to reach for the Nikwax re-proofing bottle quite regularly.

Breathability and ventilation

This jacket offers pretty impressive breathability. It feels lighter in-use and less bulky and thick than many other 3-season jackets, which helps to reduce the sense of clamminess and over-heating. You also get two long pit zippers underneath each arm, which deliver lots of ventilation when required.

The fabric also has a 20,000g/m²/24hr breathability grade, which is universally considered a premium rating, offering you as good a chance of feeling airy and cool as you’ll find almost anywhere outside of ultralight running-style jackets.

Having said this, I personally believe breathability is a bit of a con peddled by the outdoor industry. When I’m working hard in the humid conditions of the UK mountains, I tend to become a sweatbox in any hard shell, no matter how amazing its alleged official breathability stats are.

So, what I’m saying is, it’s always best to take brands’ breathability claims with a pinch of salt – you might still find yourself over-heating in your hard shell.

Weight and packability

On my scales the Patagonia Granite Crest weighs 395g in a men’s medium. This is not quite ultralight, but it’s definitely lightweight, offering a sizeable weight saving compared to heftier 3-season jackets.

For comparison, the men’s medium Patagonia Granite Crest is 156g lighter than the Highlander Munro V2 (551g, men’s medium), for example, but it’s 120g heavier than the ultralight, 2-layer Montane Pac Plus (275g, men’s small).

Overall, however, the Granite Crest is still an impressively lightweight option and will please gram-saving hillwalkers who like to feel fast and athletic.

In terms of packability, the Granite Crest works absolutely brilliantly – no complaints whatsoever across this metric. It folds down very compactly, stuffing into the left-hand chest pocket, forming the shape of a pencil case or small handbag (20x15cmx8cm).

This compact package can be sealed closed with the zipper and stashed in a backpack pocket easily, without take up too much space.

It’s worth noting, however, that the lightweight design of the Patagonia Granite Crest is a double-edged sword. While it’s a positive attribute to be light and agile, particularly for hikers who like to move quickly in the mountains and require good freedom of movement, a lighter weight build also always comes with compromises.

Arguably the 30-denier fabric used is quite thin and will (probably) lack the long-term durability of sturdier materials with higher denier ratings, while the fabric also lacks the stiff, robust feel you get with alternatives like Gore-Tex Pro – which may mean it struggles to be as protective in truly atrocious conditions.

Size, fit, freedom of movement and comfort

I like the fit of this jacket. I’m 178cm tall and weigh 66.5kg, with a slim build, and the medium size has a cut that suits my body shape nicely. The fit is a little roomy, with space for layering underneath (see our list of the best fleece jackets if you're in the market), but it’s certainly not too baggy and it still feels quite streamlined and athletic.

In some brands I’m a men’s small, so this implies you may need to size up – although the Patagonia website states 67% customers find it “true to size” with 13% rating it “kinda large” and 15% stating it “runs large”. If you can, it’s worth trying before you buy.

During my test hikes, I found the Granite Crest delivered good freedom of movement, as well as high levels of comfort.

Compared to stiffer jackets, which can feel clunky, rigid and inflexible, the softness and stretchiness of the Granite Crest ensured the jacket always felt very comfortable. It was the kind of waterproof jacket I could put on and mostly forget about.

Features: Hood, pockets, wrist cuffs, zippers and waistband

The Patagonia Granite Crest has a good feature set, with some premium hardware and Patagonia’s usual attention to detail in terms of design and construction. Almost everything you’d expect is present and most of the features work very well.

I particularly like the water-resistant zippers and the face coverage of the hood. But I also have two main gripes. While the overall hood design is great, the visor is quite poor with no stiffness (I’d prefer to see a wired brim).

Instead it feels flimsy and weak, and can be easily mis-shaped – indeed, straight out of the package, my sample jacket has an annoying fold in the peak.

My second gripe is a minor one. You don’t get an internal pocket, so if you really favour placing your keys or mobile phone in a zippered internal pocket, the Granite Crest might not be the jacket for you. Although for many this won’t be a deal-breaker.

Looking at the features in more detail, the wrist cuffs are sealed via hook-and-loop Velcro tabs. These cuffs have a nice shape and seal around the wrist effectively. The waist hem has a single drawcord toggle, located at the right hip, for cinching-in the fit.

It is easy to operate and works fine. In terms of pocket orientation, you get three zippered options: a Napoleon pocket at the left breast, and two handwarmer pockets.

All of the zippers have a premium-feeling water-resistant design. The central zipper is backed by an internal stormflap for added protection against water ingress, while all of the pocket zippers have zipper garages at the top. But none of the pocket zippers are two-way functional.

Underneath each arm, you get 35cm long pit zippers to aid with ventilation. These zippers are two-way, and are protected by a relatively chunky external stormflap.

Finally the hood of the Granite Crest is a roomy, helmet-compatible hood. It is adjustable via three toggles – one at the rear, and two external pull tabs at the sides, by your neck. The hood actually has an excellent shape which can be fine-tuned to your head shape and offers comprehensive coverage across the face.

I can micro-adjust it to offer near-complete coverage over my face, leaving only a letterbox-style rectangular window for my eyes.

This delivers top-notch protection and means the risk of horizontal rain getting inside is significantly reduced. It’s just a real shame that the otherwise excellent hood is somewhat let down by the sub-standard laminated visor, as mentioned above.

Sustainability

This is one area Patagonia always excels and the Granite Crest is no exception. It has market-leading eco and ethical credentials. Firstly it is made from a 100% recycled material known as NetPlus, which is a post-consumer recycled nylon constructed using reclaimed fishing nets – a process designed to help reduce ocean plastic pollution.

On top of this, the waterproof’s DWR treatment is PFAS-free, meaning it has better eco credentials and hasn’t involved the use of harmful perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), sometimes known as 'forever chemicals', in the manufacturing process. Such chemicals are believed to be linked to health risks and cause environmental toxicity.

Interestingly, it’s worth noting that Patagonia is quite precise with its wording on chemicals – it states “the fabric, membrane and durable water repellent (DWR) finish are made without intentionally added PFAS”. This is an acknowledgement that trace amounts of PFAS might still be present in some materials due to complexities in the supply chain.

The Granite Crest jacket is also Fair Trade certified, meaning it has higher ethical standards and the people who made the product are supported fairly. Produced in Vietnam, Patagonia pledges that “the people who made this product earned a premium for their labour”.

On top of this, as widely publicised across the mainstream media, all of Patagonia’s profits are used to help fund environmental and climate change projects, and it is a founding member of the 1% For The Planet movement.

Verdict

The Patagonia Granite Crest is an eco-friendly jacket with a 3-layer design and promising a 20,000mm hydrostatic head rating – but it feels too thin and soft for truly awful weather.

Find out how well the Granite Crest does against other lightweight waterproof jackets.

About the author

James Forrest tested and reviewed the Patagonia Granite Crest jacket over several walks in his native stomping ground of the Lake District. James reviews every type of outdoor kit for LFTO and Trail and is a real authority on everything you need for wild camping and packing light for a multi-day walk.

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