Salomon Agile Full-Zip Hoodie Review

The Salomon Agile is a breathable, comfortable athletic jacket that offers an intriguing balance of breathability and weather resistance. Although you wouldn't exactly expect it from a 100% polyester upper, the panels that cover the hood, shoulders, and top of the arms have an unusual ability to shed water. The rest of the jacket incorporates 12% elastane into the mix for superior ventilation and a natural stretch.

Performance Comparison

Wind Resistance

The Salomon Agile stands apart from the crowd as two jackets that opt for a polyester shell, rather than the more traditional nylon. Polyester is a fabric common to base layers, as it tends to be more breathable than nylon. Unfortunately, this advantage on one hand negatively affects its wind resistance on the other. Not only that, but the bottom half of the Agile is partly elastane, which is about as wind resistant as spandex. So while this jacket works fine for running trails in more covered areas, expect a chilly greeting as you climb onto exposed ridgelines.

Breathability and Venting

While wind resistance suffers a bit as a result, breathability is capitalized as a performance feature of this lightweight shell. The polyester/elastane panel makes up the majority of the back of this jacket, which has the added benefit of efficiently transferring moisture away from your base layer to keep you fresh and cool when you're working hard uphill. This superior ability to thermoregulate means that the Agile particularly excels anytime there are major temperature swings — like everyday in the desert Southwest, or during the shoulder seasons. If the heat is getting to you in the middle of a run, you also have the option of opening up the two hand pockets, which are also mesh-backed for improved airflow.

Weight and Packability

Tipping the scales at 5.6 ounces, the Agile is surprisingly in the upper tier in terms of weight when compared directly to the rest of the jackets in this review. But any jacket that weighs only about 1/3 of a pound is incredibly light, and indeed that's how it feels when worn — lightweight and airy, thanks to the breathable panels that extend from your back, through your underarms, and around to your core. While this jacket does have the ability to fold up into one of its hand pockets to form a rather petite package, neither is specifically designed as a stowable pocket, so be careful not to lose a zipper if you pack this jacket up.

Fit and Functionality

This athletic shell has a particularly slim fit that appeals to the running crowd, pavement pounders and trail runners alike. Even our head tester found this jacket to be a bit slimming, who at 5 feet, 10 inches, has a skinny mountaineer's frame that generally fits well in most athletic wear. The Agile certainly lives up to its name — the polyester/elastane panels are supple and stretchy, allowing for complete freedom of movement. While this may seem like a good choice for rock climbers as a result, we worry about the ability of this jacket to stand up to abrasion. As the only ones available, the low position of the hand pockets also eliminate any possible carrying capacity once hidden underneath a harness.

Similarly, the hood is designed to be pulled tightly over your head or a lightweight hat, and isn't helmet compatible. But for its designated purpose, it does a fantastic job of keeping your hat securely on your head, even through heavy springtime gales. To continue to point the Agile in the direction of a running-specific jacket, this shell very much has the style of an urban athletic piece, which is further supported by particular design features. Notably for commuters and those who like to run in the evenings or early mornings, the right arm is branded with a highly reflective insert.

Water Resistance

Based on our experience with other polyester windbreakers, we didn't expect much in terms of water repellency — yet, the Agile blew away all of our expectations. Don't think that you can take this jacket out comfortably with heavy rain in the forecast, but it is more than adequate in a light drizzle. Even in our standardized shower test — which is designed to replicate a quick, heavy downpour — our shoulders stayed remarkably dry under this exceptionally thin jacket. Almost more so than the water resistance of the upper body, we were impressed by the hydrophobia of the polyester/elastane back panel. If you are running without a hat, the hood also features a duckbill to help keep rain out of your eyes.

Value

Given its affinity for breathability, and its astounding water resistance, the Agile stands out as an interesting option for a windbreaker — most lightweight jackets are generally one of the two, but infrequently both. Given its middle-of-the-road price point in this category, this would make a great companion for those runners or cyclists looking to strike out without worry in those areas that tend to see short, passing showers in the spring and summer.

Conclusion