REASONS TO BUY
Inexpensive
Lightweight and packable
Superior breathability
Functional storage
REASONS TO AVOID
Not very warm
Lacks good weather protection
Mountain Hardwear Kor Cirrus Hybrid Hoody - Women's Review
A breathable jacket that is packable and light
Credit: Mountain Hardwear
Our Verdict
The Mountain Hardwear Kor Cirrus Hybrid Hoody is a lightweight mobile jacket that provides exceptional breathability. The PertexQuantumAir fabrics offer passive airflow and abrasion resistance, while the interior layer helps to wick away sweat. When putting it on, we immediately fell in love with its roomier design through the chest, arms, and torso, which make layering under it easy. We started using it as a go-to for winter running and backcountry skiing as it offers the right proportion of protection, warmth, and breathability for these sweaty, cold sports. If you're seeking a packable and breathable insulated jacket, this is our top choice.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Mountain Hardwear Cirrus Hoody is built for women on the move. The mobile face fabric is light, airy, and offers exceptional ventilation. Whether you're backpacking, climbing, or running, it'll give some wind and water resistance while breathing like a champ. Use this Top Pick as a mid-layer in the winter or on its own in the summer months. It doesn't offer the most stand-alone warmth, but layer it appropriately, and it has four-season use.
Performance Comparison
We use the Mountain Hardwear Kor Cirrus Hybrid while running up 2000 ft onto the saddle of Horsethief Trail in Ouray, Colorado. This jacket offers just the right amount of warmth and breathability for this blustery, winter run.
Credit: Amber King
Warmth
This jacket offers warmth while on the move but doesn't provide the insulation you'll need for stand-alone warmth in the winter.
We tested this jacket through late winter and into early spring. We took it cross-country skiing and trail running through snowstorms. In both, we felt pretty warm, especially when we stayed on the move. The coat does a great job at breathing, which helps to vent moisture, keeping you dry while you sweat. When you take a moment to stand still, you stay a bit warmer because…well…you're drier.
The materials are thin and airy. It also has a hem pull that'll lock in warmth when temperatures really start to plummet.
Credit: Eddie Kemper
Stand-alone warmth, however, is lacking. The insulation isn't lofty, nor is it hugely insulating. While it offers functionality in a well-layered system, you should consider using this as a solid mid-layer on the coldest days of winter, where temperatures dip below zero. Even with a hefty fleece underneath, it won't provide much warmth during the coldest days of the years.
To optimize warmth in the winter, we layered appropriately. Here we use a merino wool base layer, fleece mid-layer, and the Mountain Hardwear Kor Cirrus as our outer shell. This provided good protection on a snowy trail run high in the mountains.
Credit: Amber King
Testing primarily in Colorado, we comfortably donned this jacket with a lightweight fleece and base layer at temperatures around 30F. When it got colder, we found ourselves reaching for another jacket. While you can wear this skiing, hiking, or adventuring on the warmer days of winter, we'd opt for a different option when the temperatures truly plummet.
The hood offers full coverage and protection which adds a little to its warmth. We also appreciate the collar that we can burrow into. There's plenty of space in the neck to add a buff or neck warmer.
Credit: Amber King
Weight & Compression
Wearing the Kor Cirrus makes you feel like you're hardly wearing a jacket at all! Weighing in at just 9.40 ounces, it's one of the lightest mobile face jackets tested and a favorite for lightweight adventures.
A look at the lightweight jacket and its super low number of ounces. For a mobile face jacket, it is exceptionally packable!
Credit: Amber King
This jacket is one we'd consider for overnight camping trips during warmer weather simply because of how light and packable it is. The jacket packs into its pocket, making it simple to store if you have the time to stuff it. Whenever it got a little too hot to wear, we typically just stuffed it into our packs. It takes up little space and compacts to the size of a water bottle.
We take off this jacket as the temperatures really start to warm up, and we have several layers on anyway. It packs and stuffs easily into the tinies spaces in your backpack.
Credit: Amber King
Comfort & Coziness
The comforts it provides are housed in its lightweight nature, soft and soundless fabrics, and spacious hood and pockets. While it doesn't have any fleece-lined features or super airy insulation, its comfort comes from an excellent lightweight fit.
We appreciate all the storage it offers. Here we see Amber, our main tester, using both handwarmer pockets which can easily fit a phone, snack, or gloved hand.
Credit: Eddie Kemper
Our favorite part of this jacket is its large chest and handwarming pockets. All will easily accommodate a phone. While the pockets aren't compatible with a backpack strap (they're unusable with a harness or waist strap), the chest pocket is still highly functional. We appreciate the softer fabrics and interior breathable mesh that does a good job wicking away moisture.
What can we say? We love chest pockets! The Mountain Hardwear Kor Cirrus Hybrid has one that's very large and functional. This gives you storage when wearing a harness or hip belt from a backpack.
Credit: Amber King
This jacket also layers well. The interior and exterior fabrics aren't sticky, and they slide easily over other layers. We were able to load this jacket on top of super bulky fleeces. We also appreciate the volume in the interior space and the arms that provide a nice fit for women with bustier anatomy or thicker arms.
This jacket easily layers over fleeces and other thicker layers. It has lots of room through the arms and torso, so it doesn't restrict movement.
Credit: Amber King
This jacket doesn't boast any cozy features, but it was a favorite for all-day wear. The versatile fit is roomier, which offers good layering ability. The hood is helmet-compatible (wear it above or below), while the interior fabrics feel good on the skin.
The hood is helmet-compatible, but the chin is a little lower when wearing one. It doesn't limit peripheral vision either.
Credit: Eddie Kemper
Weather Resistance
We wore this jacket while running through snowstorms, lounging in sunny weather, and while battling winds on high ridges. To really see how the fabrics stood up in water, we put it through our shower test for one minute. The result? While it offers some protection, be sure to bring an extra shell on any trips where heavy weather is expected.
In the snowstorm we encountered, we wore a base layer and fleece underneath. The snow fell on the jacket, beading up, eventually soaking into the fabrics. After being in the storm for over twenty minutes, the fabrics were wet, but the interior of the jacket stayed dry.
The fabric offers some water resistance in the face of a storm. However, it's far from waterproof. We recommend bringing a light shell for really high winds or the possibility of rain. It will, however, keep you warm when wet.
Credit: Amber King
We made this same observation during our shower tests. While the jackets repelled water for a moment, it then completely absorbed. All the water pooled between the exterior and interior fabrics. This substantial amount of pooling means it doesn't have excellent drainage (while other competitors do). The interior of the jacket was still dry, but the pockets were wet with water.
In our shower tests, we blast the jacket with water for one minute. We take the time to completely soak zippers, arms, the back, and other areas that we think could leak.
Credit: Amber King
Thus, this isn't the most wind or water-resistant jacket. Its thinner fabrics offer exceptional breathability but will only resist weather for a short period of time. That said, it'll break a sharp wind, but carrying a shell for wind or water is recommended.
While the water beads on the fabric, it eventually absorbs. This is the hem of the jacket that is completely pooled with water. We squeeze it to show how much water absorbed.
Credit: Amber King
Breathability
This jacket is our favorite for breathability. It features a breathable, mobile face fabric that is both easy to move in and vents moisture really really well.
It also retails for less than other breathable contenders, which is another huge plus. It features lightweight construction, breathable side ventilation, and a wicking interior that makes this our favorite.
We wear this jacket on a long haul backcountry split boarding mission during the late Winter. It offers great breathability which allows you to keep it on when the winds pick up and you're still sweating.
Credit: Amber King
Its construction moves easily with the body. The interior fabric offers excellent wicking power while it vents moisture readily. The thinner construction through the arms, sides, and hood makes moisture transfer simple and easy. If you've been searching for that backcountry ski layer that you can keep on while hiking up and skiing down, this is one of the first that have truly been successful.
We flip the jacket inside out to show that the arms are the primary vent points. The back of the jacket is similar to the darker material in the front. Throughout, the fabric is thin, but through the arms, it's ultra-thin and wicks moisture well. You can easily wear it over a tank top and it'll wick away moisture directly from the skin.
Credit: Eddie Kemper
Over a thin base layer and fleece, it'll do an excellent job of keeping you dry. We also like to use it while hiking, backpacking, and cross-country skiing. Winter running is another one of our favorite uses. If you're somebody that likes to sweat in the winter or prefers a lightweight insulating layer for backpacking in the summer, this versatile jacket is our favorite.
The face fabrics are thin, continuous, and offer passive breathability right through them. Unlike other mobile face jackets, its much thinner.
Credit: Amber King
Style & Fit
We appreciate the roomier, yet flattering fit and style of this jacket. It has long arms and plenty of room for layering.
The arms and torso are medium to long in length. While it does stretch, it's less mobile than other breathable contenders. This makes the jacket a little more flattering, as it doesn't hug every lump or curve in the body. If you've got long arms and a regular-sized torso, this jacket will probably work for you.
This jacket offers a medium torso length, but plenty of room in the arms. The fit is relaxed but fitted, offering a flattering shape for our testers. The torso rises when the arms goes up, but moves right back into place.
Credit: Eddie Kemper
It holds its shape well. While we tested the solid, navy color, it features many great color options. We especially like the bi-colored two-toned look that can be more slimming as the darker colors line the curves of the body. It's a jacket that'll easily go with you from the mountain summits and back into town, to your favorite coffee shop. We wore it everywhere comfortably.
There's plenty of length and room through the arms. Layer it with long-sleeves with ease and expect some length. It's also true to fit.
Credit: Eddie Kemper
Value
This jacket is priced at a lower cost than many insulated jackets. We think it's highly valuable, especially to those seeking an excellent mid-layer that'll breathe and dry quickly. Its highly packable and lightweight nature makes it a good choice for long backpacking missions. Since it's not the warmest, we wouldn't wear it on the coldest days of winter on its own, but it'll do a good job in a layered system. Durability wise, we haven't seen any issues after our three-month testing period, and it has been an excellent value choice.
This cute jacket is one of our favorites for any cold weather activity that requires a breathable layer. The fabric are mobile, thin, and quite packable. Make this the insulating layer your choose for a backpacking trip, running adventure, or cross-country ski escapade.
Credit: Amber King
This jacket comes with a 60-day limited warranty.
Conclusion
The Mountain Hardwear Kor Cirrus Hybrid Hoody is built to breathe. It's composed of thinner fabrics and a PertexQuantum Air face that allows optimal moisture control. It's easy to layer and quite comfortable, making it our favorite mobile and breathable jacket in this review. While it isn't the warmest, our testers were reaching for it during all four seasons for winter running, cross-country skiing, hiking, and backpacking. Did we mention it's also incredibly light and packable? The Kor Cirrus provides excellent value and is one we'd recommend adding to your gear closet.
This jacket offers excellent performance when you want breathability and mobility wrapped in a lightweight design. Here we pose on the lookout over Ouray, Colorado that's currently covered in snow during this late Winter run, 10,000 feet above sea level.
Credit: Amber King
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Amber King
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