Hands-on Gear Review |
Street Price:
$295
Pros: Warmest synthetic jacket we tested. Cons: No dynamic properties, expensive. Best Uses: Alpine climbing, ice climbing, ski touring, any time its cold and you don't want to be.
Overview
The Wild Things Belay Jacket is the most expensive synthetic jacket we tested but it was also the warmest. Its six ounces of Primaloft is significantly more than the Patagonia DAS Parka and theNorth Face Redpoint Jacket - Men's. Wild Things manufactures all of their jackets in New Hampshire and this was the only synthetic parka we tested to be made in the USA. Wild Things also uses Epic fabric on the outer shell, which we found to be one of the more weather resistant materials but still fairly packable. It is a warm but simple parka with no extra frills, great for alpine or ice climbing and ski touring.
 OutdoorGearLab Editors' Hands-on Review
Likes
The Wild Things Belay Jacket is 100 percent made in New Hampshire. The hood is big and easily fits over any climbing helmet. Also, the hood is easily adjusted with one hand to help seal out the cold. This was the warmest synthetic jacket we tested and also one of the more weather resistant jackets, being slightly more water shedding than the Patagonia DAS. The Belay jacket has one internal water bottle pocket and one internal zippered pocket that was big enough to accomodate our favorite candy bar and keep it from freezing. Dislikes We liked how the cuffs sealed better than others we tested but in the wet Pacific Northwest climate snow would stick to the Velcro and disable it from closing properly. Best Application Alpine climbing, ice climbing, ski touring, any time it's cold and you don't want to be. Not as good a choice for more moderate temps, like summer alpine rock climbing in the Sierra or the Cascades. Value The most expensive synthetic belay parka in our review. — Ian Nicholson
OutdoorGearLab Member Reviews of Wild Things Belay JacketMost recent review: November 9, 2010
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 Wild Things Belay Jacket down jacket Credit: WildThingsGear.com
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