The MontBell Alpine Light wins our Best Buy award because you get the most down jacket for your money. Its inexpensive but not cheap. It comes with large hand pockets with a soft fleece lining and a wind-resistant outer fabric. It is more durable than the more expensive Nitrous or Down Sweater. It stuffs into a separate stuff sack rather than a pocket on the jacket, which is not as convenient as our Editors' Choice winner, The North Face Catalyst.
All that said, it was hard to make big distinctions between the competitors. For many people it will come down to style, looks, and what is on sale. Half of the down jackets in this review are very similar in features and quality, those being the Patagonia Down Sweater, Mountain HardWear Nitrous jacket, North Face Catalyst jacket, and the MontBell Alpine Light Parka. If you are looking for a lightweight down layer to bring with you into the mountains, one of these jackets will do the job. All four are of similar warmth and have high quality 800 fill goose down, all come with a hooded or non-hooded option, and all stuff and pack easily. Each of these jackets weighs between 10 and 13 ounces, the Nitrous being the lightest and the Catalyst being the heaviest. Prices range from $185 for the hooded Alpine Light Parka to $250 for the hooded Down Sweater and Catalyst jackets.
Check out our complete Men's Down Jacket Review to see how this compared to others.
Hands-on Gear Review |
Street Price:
$195 | Compare prices at 3 resellers
Pros: Lightweight, inexpensive, high quality down, large pockets. Cons: Boxy and big fit, no hang loop in collar. Best Uses: Alpine climbing, belaying, backpacking.
Overview
OutdoorGearLab Editors' Hands-on Review
Likes
The MontBell Alpine Light is a lightweight (14.2 oz.) jacket with high quality down (800 fill) and is on the inexpensive side for such an indispensable piece of gear. The primary fabric is Ballistic Ripstop Nylon, which is fairly wind-resistant and durable. This fabric is slightly heavier than the materials used on the Mountain HardWear Nitrous Jacket and the Patagonia Down Sweater, but is more durable. It also has some interesting features like a small Velcro adjustment on the hood rather than a cinch cord, very large zippered hand pockets with a cozy fleece lining, and a separate stuff sack rather than a stuff-into-the-pocket feature. We liked it that the Alpine Light Parka came with a stuff sack and was a nice snug fit. Despite its weight we were pleasantly surprised by the warmth this jacket provided. You can wear this under your shell if you need too. Dislikes A very minor complaint is that there is no loop in the inside collar to hang this jacket on a peg. It was most likely left off to save some weight, but even the extremely light Nitrous jacket has this feature. This may not even matter to most people, but it did make storing the jacket noticeably a bit more of a challenge. Like other light jackets, it is not that durable. It is more durable than the super light shell material on the Patagonia Down Sweater but much less durable than a jacket with nylon ripstop. Best Application This jacket is great to jam into a climbing pack, carry with you on approaches of any length, and pull out when you find yourself belaying in cold and windy conditions. It would also make a decent puffy to bring along on a backpacking trip because it stuffs down but is very warm for its size. Value For $185 this jacket is a great deal. For that price you get a warm and very functional 800 fill down jacket that stuffs easily into a stuff sack for less than the price of some popular synthetic insulated jackets. It is much less expensive than some of its close competitors in this review, which is why it gets the Best Buy award. MontBell claims this jacket has a high warmth-to-dollar ratio, and we agree. Other Versions This jacket comes without a hood for $30 less MontBell Alpine Light Jacket - Men's ($155). We prefer the version with the hood. There are also women's version MontBell Alpine Light Down Parka – Women's MontBell Alpine Light Jacket – Women's — McKenzie Long and Ian Nicholson
OutdoorGearLab Member Reviews of MontBell Alpine Light Down ParkaMost recent review: March 18, 2010
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 Mont Bell Alpine Light Down Parka Credit: MontBell.us
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