Patagonia Nano Air [Fall 2019] Update: What is new?

As some of you know, Nano Air received an update in Fall 2019. 

On Patagonia's site, this is the new hoody.

I couldn't find any information about this online, so decided to contact the customer service myself.

Here's the summary of what I found:

• Hemcord got replaced with a non-adjustable elastic. You could use the drawcord to adjust a more a snug fit to the hips when required - which now you can't do.
• Durability and abrasion resistances seem to have improved.
• It used to have 2 chest (not hand) pockets, now it has only 1.
• Surface material is now smoother and feels somehow more pleasant in your hands.
• The design changed: Horizontal lines through the front bottom are removed. It also looks more homogeneous now. We think it looks much better now and hence increased the style rating of the Nano Air as you can see in this post.

Here's what the representative told me first:

• Fabric is now 87% recycled.
• 3-D texture which improves the next to skin feel and piling resistance.
• FullRange Insulation is now 40% recycled.
• Fabric is now Bluesign certified and Fair Trade certified.
• Overall it is 10% lighter and more pack-able.

And how would one experience these technical differences when using? In terms of, for example; durability, warmth, weather resistance, breathability, comfort etc?

Here's what the rep told me about this:

"I think you'll definitely notice that this model is more durable - one of the things we get asked about all the time is the piling of our items. Piling comes with trying new recycled fabrics, so the fact this is 87% recycled and we're seeing reduced piling is really cool. The Nano Air Hoody also has 60 grams of insulation to keep you warm. It's very breathable, which makes it nice so you don't have to keep putting it on and off on days where the temperature is always changing or you're occasionally physically active.

I used to work at a grocery store, which was very labor intensive. One of my coworkers would wear his Nano Air Hoody everyday. He loved how warm it kept him in the morning but also cool enough to wear it all day even when he was doing heavy labor jobs (breathability). I'd ask him about it all the time because I'd be changing layers throughout the day, and was jealous that he never needed to do that. He had the light blue and even with the job he was doing, I didn't see any damage, or stains on the jacket. I believe that he had the 2017 season jacket but seeing it first hand how much even an older Nano Air could handle, I can only imagine how durable the 2019 season can be."

Obviously there's also at least a little bit of a marketing here - but I agree with everything she says except the durability part. Yes, durability did improve, but Nano Air is still a fragile, highly technical piece that wouldn't be able to handle a lot of damage.

If you'd like to look at something a little less breathable but with significantly more abrasion resistance and durability, I'd recommend checking out the Proton LT.

Back to my convo with the rep...

She then told me that the hemcord got replaced with a non-adjustable elastic (after I asked her so... lol), and also the number of chest pockets got decreased from 2 to 1 of them (you can see this conversation in the screenshot below).

In the end...

These are the changes (same list in the introduction):

• Hemcord got replaced with a non-adjustable elastic. You could use the drawcord to adjust a more a snug fit to the hips when required - which now you can't do.
• Durability and abrasion resistances seem to have improved.
• It used to have 2 chest (not hand) pockets, now it has only 1.
• Surface material is now smoother and feels somehow more pleasant in your hands.
• The design changed: Horizontal lines through the front bottom are removed. It also looks more homogeneous now. We think it looks much better now and hence increased the style rating of the Nano Air as you can see in this post.

DWR stays the same.

That's it. Hope this is helpful for you, guys. 

Thanks a lot for reading. Happy trails & travels.

Screenshot proof

Click on image to enlarge:

You won't find anything in this screenshot that I didn't cover above though...