Evaluation: Starling Primaloft Insulated Jacket and Vest by 5.11 Tactical

Living in a colder environment, I am always on the lookout for anything insulated. It’s exciting when your favorite apparel company keeps trying to innovate and come out with gear and clothing for those who live almost anywhere in the world.

5.11 Tactical has released a new line of insulated jackets and vests for both men and women. I got a chance to try out the women’s line of their new Primaloft Insulated Jacket and Vest.

It started snowing and dropping in temp here around October. For October and November, I was wearing the jacket and vest exclusively if I needed to go out anywhere. Anything above 10 degrees F, this was a great combination that kept me warm and comfortable.

I would even sometimes just wear the vest over a sweater if it was in the 30s as that’s all I really needed at the time. The vest itself is an excellent insulated layer to be worn in the fall weather.

When you add the jacket on top of it, it certainly did its job to keep me warm.

Of course, once it starts reaching zero and below, I had to switch to bigger jackets, but that’s to be expected. The Primaloft insulated jackets and vests are really meant for fall and maybe some colder weather above zero degrees.

Some features of the Primaloft Insulated Jacket:

• Full zip up
• Zipper pockets, which I personally love to keep my items secure
• Hood with elastic fit to keep wind out, again, another great feature that I love
• Internal dump pocket, great to keep phone warm
• Easily pack it down into a stuff sack
• Internal shock cord to tighten the hem around your body, again, to prevent wind, another feature I love
• The entire jacket is insulated from hood to core to sleeves.

Here are the features of the Primaloft Insulated Vest:

• Full zip up
• Internal dump pouch
• In seam zipper pockets
• Can fit into a stuff sack
• Internal shock cord to tighten the hem around your body to prevent wind
• The entire vest is insulated

While I wore these in my home state, I took both of these on a trip and I was able to pack these down on the side of my backpack. I only had to use the jacket while I was there because the vest would have been too warm, but it works great for that fall weather. It works exceptionally well at keeping the wind off of you. From the internal shock cord at the waist to generally how it’s made, this is a solid choice for colder-weather apparel.

It’s hung up for now as we’re in the negatives here in Alaska, but once it hits spring again and maybe even on some chilly summer days then into fall, I’ll be breaking out this set again to get me through the chillier side of the seasons.

Check out the Starling Primaloft Insulated Jacket by 5.11 Tactical for $130.

And be sure to get the Starling Primaloft Insulated Vest by 5.11 Tactical for $98.

Morgan Rogue

Morgan writes for OutdoorHub while also being the founder of Rogue Preparedness where she helps people get prepared for emergencies and disasters, as well as thrive any circumstances.