Dec 11

Dec 11 Norrøna Trollveggen Primaloft100 Zip (2019)

Alex Rakestraw

Active, Insulation, Review

Norrøna Trollveggen Primaloft100 Zip (2019)

And, a metaphor about crustaceans!

Norrøna Trollveggen Primaloft100 Zip (2020)

Type: Insulationa / Use: Active / Face: Nylon / Insulation: Synthetic

Technologies: Primaloft Gold Aerogel 100g

Price: $248.95

At least five separate species have undergone a phenomenon known as “carcinisation.”

In theory, evolution modifies species according to the needs of their environment, creating the menagerie of Earth’s creature from just a few genetic parents.

In reality, nature keeps creating the crab.

Carcinisation describes a specific type of convergent evolution where non-crab-like crustaceans evolve into - you guessed it - crabs. Long lobster claws become squat pincers. Soft bodies harden into shells. Both in combination and alone, there’s just something about the combination of features we call “crabby” that makes a specific branch of a specific family particularly good in the wild.

Nature keeps creating the crab. The outdoors, the synthetic mid-layer.

Norrøna’s Trollveggen Primaloft100 Zip is a frost-fighting puffer that reaches everywhere from mid-layer to outer - an upper-middle layer, if you will. While descended from an entirely different lineage than the admin-favorite Atom, it ends up eerily close. That said, its rugged styling and expedition cut may turn off urban users who find other synth mids more refined.

So what makes the Primaloft100 the coconut crab of down alternatives?

Well, let’s start with the tech.

As the name suggests, the Primaloft100 is filled with Primaloft - in this case, the fabric house’s Gold Aerogel 100g.

A quick explainer on how Primaloft names its materials.

Primaloft (New York-based makers of the O.G. “synthetic down”) makes two tiers of poly-based insulations: a cheaper and less insulating “Silver,” and a more expensive “Gold” that insulates ~15% better by CLO value. The fibers of this specific Gold textile are imbued with silica aerogel, the NASA-developed (but widely-available) ultralight insulator, making it warmer still without having to throw on bulk. And per the suffix, the whole thing tips the scales at a bulk of 100 gsm: denser than the insulation used in the Atom LT mid-layer, but more wispy than the Coreloft 120 in the Radsten Parka.

The major reason to use a synthetic like Primaloft over down is weather resistance. When down gets wet, it collapses, losing its ability to trap air and insulate. Synthetics do not. The tradeoff for that resiliency is a lower insulating power. Historically, even the best synthetic insulations insulated only as well as medium-potency (~650-fill) down.

Norrøna claims that Primaloft Gold Aerogel is “14% warmer when dry and 24% warmer when wet, than the competitive insulation.” It certainly feels it.

As for face fabric, the Trollevegen is cut from a silky DWR-coated nylon ripstop without any membrane backing. It’s not exactly a rock-buster, but it’ll keep out the wind and on pure subjective touch, it does feel a little beefier than the 20d Pertex you tend to find on other performance insulators. Otherwise, standard ripstop rules apply: good packability, decent breathability, fine for showers but bad for downpours. Moving on.

Wear-wise, this one surprised me. Given its $260 price point and ripstop/synthetic fill construction, I was expecting an Atom LT analogue. Instead, the Trolly is a belay parka carcinised into a synthetic middy, in every sense of those words.

For starters: it’s shit hot for its category.

I’m not saying the Primaloft100 has broken the down-synthetic paradigm. But they’ve taken a good crack at it. If I had to compare it, I’d say the warmth feels on par with more lifestyle-slanted down pieces. The jacket won’t beat great down like Mountain Hardwear’s Ghost Whisperer. But it’s mad impressive for its category.

For this reason, this jacket has become my first choice of mid-layer when snow starts falling. Skiing. Trekking. Hauling laundry six blocks. You name it. The weather-resistant combo of hot synthetic and resilient coated nylon works particularly nicely as a daily knockaround. As long as it’s not actively sleeting, just throw it on whatever you’re wearing. It’s fine with just a tee down to around 40° F.

Those living in milder climates (D.C., San Fran, even Philly) will want a lighter option due to aforementioned “shit hot.” But if you live in New York, Chicago, or London, it’s a nice three-season option that certainly biases two of those seasons more than the other.

While solid materials may be powering the Primaloft100’s functionality, its comprehensive feature set is what makes the jacket work.

The genetic link between parka and lobst- Trollvegen is clearest here. There’s a double zip (notably missing from the Atom). There’s four pockets (two slash on the waist, two harness-compatible on the chest). There’s even an extended back hem. All in a light enough (528g / 1.15lbs) insulator that packs into itself.

Save the self-pack, the Trollvegen is packed with things you tend to find only in outermost layers: why burden a mid with a double zip if it’s going to just sit behind a shell? But given how mid-layers tend to get worn - as knockaround outers anytime a proper layering system would be overkill - I always felt like their presence was missing. Double-zips and extra pockets are just nice to have, yo. Norrøna gets extra credit for attendance here.

Add in the fact that it’s solid in precip (good for ~15 minutes of non-downpour; quick-drying once out of it), and there are times I catch myself wondering why anyone would get an entry-level hardshell parka (think: $250 racks-at-Dick’s 3-in-1) over this jacket.

For cheaper, you get a jacket that’s almost as warm but way more versatile, and the only trade-off is you can’t walk through a downpour with it. Seems like a lay-up for me. And then you get to the styling.

I’ll start by saying I personally like the Trollveggen. I aim for somewhere between Earth Gym Pokemon Trainer and ‘80s European Ski Movie Villain in my dailywear, and In this context, it looks phenomenal. It really is a slimmed down, stylized utility jacket with an undeniably modern finish. Rock it with Salomon ADV’s. Call it a day.

That said, it’s way harder to style on the daily than I anticipated.

The Primaloft100 is awkwardly unstructured for a mid-layer. Yes, there is more volume to manage since it’s designed for double duty. But there’s something with the way insulation interacts with the lining that gives the whole package a wispy, even alien look in motion. Combined with the slight vinyl sheen on the face, I just couldn’t get it to play nice with cotton chinos and leather sneakers. And that’s just not what a more style-conscious audience is looking for out of a premium outdoors brand’s mid-layer.

This is the only place the belay-into-mid evolution makes me crabby. If I had to change one thing, I’d make it slimmer profile - then it’d just be warmer, functional alt vs. an entirely different phlyum.

Worn around the Mountain West, the Trolly’s premium alpinist vibe can make anyone look - and feel - like Bond in Spectre. Worn anywhere else, it’s just less versatile than you’d hope. Especially from a jacket whose chief functional benefit is “you can throw it over everything.”

Overall, the Norrøna Trollveggen Primaloft100 Zip is a great jacket for winter sports with a promising urban use case: it can either a bomb warm mid-layer, or a throw-on jacket that won’t sweat you out for running around town. It’s great at both: a true subway commute piece if there ever was one.

Unfortunately, it’s just missing on crossover styling. This one is for the real outdoors heads: the belted trousers types (me) who own enough nylon (me) to make it work (maybe me). If you like it, grab it. If you’re between this and other more pared down synth mids for your an everyday piece, it’s just hard to recommend the Trollvegen unless you were, say, also going ski mountaineering next weekend.

If any part of this review sounded harsh or pedantic, it isn’t because this jacket is bad. It’s just that it has such steep competition. Synthetic mid-layers rock for urban wear, and Norrona’s upper-middle layer is for sure in my top rack for winter coats.

There are just a lot of crabs to choose from.

When I’m in nature, this one is king. When I’m in the city, it’s one of 5.