The Montane Featherlite Down Jacket is an exceptional lightweight down jacket, good for year-round use as an outer-layer or as a mid-layer under a shell in very cold winter conditions.
The hood is one of the best I've tested on lightweight insulated jackets and fully adjustable, something you find less and less on other jackets in its class. It has two draw strings (shown above), a rear volume adjuster, and a semi-stiff bill above the eyes good for keeping blowing snow out of your face.The main zip comes up very high forming a good snorkel while providing excellent wind protection for the neck. The hood also rolls up and folds away to form a warm collar when not needed, for example when wearing it under a shell as a mid-layer. Montane really nailed the hood.
The Montane Featherlite is also amazingly warm, surprisingly so, since it's filled with 750 fill power goose down and not a higher grade like 800 or 850 fill power. Montane attributes this to a specialized baffle design that gives the down insulation optimal space to loft. Whatever. With 140 grams (4.9 ounces of goose down) this jacket is a furnace and beats the pants off of the other down mid-weight down jackets I use in terms of warmth.
Weighing just 16.2 ounces (in a size XL mens), the exterior of the Featherlite is a lightweight, windproof Pertex Quantum ripstop. The jacket has two zippered hand-warmer pockets, a zippered chest pocket, and internal right hand side pocket that secured with a velcro tab, perfectly sized for storing an iPhone or smartphone.
The sleeves have snug elastic cuffs and the arms are cut so that you can lift them without much hem lift, making Featherlite a good belay jacket too. Plus there are hem adjusters to provide a snug fit and prevent wind from blowing up underneath.
Fit is a big snug when worn over a thick mid-layer, but not enough to require sizing up. There's also a women's version of this coat and all the colors available are rad.
The Montane Featherlite Down Jacket is good buy and recommended.
Disclosure: Montane provided the author with a sample jacket for this review.
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from Section Hikers Backpacking Blog http://ift.tt/2loiME7
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