MontBell Superior Down Review

The MontBell Superior Down is an excellent model that also boasts a reasonable price tag. While there are cheaper options on the market, none offer the same level of quality and warmth. It's not the warmest coat, but it is incredibly lightweight and has no trouble standing up to more expensive jackets in a similar weight class. This down is the perfect companion for multi-pitch climbing, ski touring, and backpacking in all but the coldest weather.

Performance Comparison

The Superior Down gives you a ton of premium features at a very reasonable price.

Photo: Buck Yedor

Warmth

This down jacket falls into the category of lightweight insulation, making it an ideal layer for high output pursuits in cold weather or as an easily packable extra layer for spring climbing or backpacking. If you're looking for a heavy-duty belay parka or a layer to keep you warm when the temps really start dropping, this likely isn't going to be warm enough.

An important element of insulating layers is their ability to trap warm air. A key component of this is to have minimal opportunities for warm air to escape and for cold air to come in. The most common culprits for this air exchange are the openings at the waist, collar, and wrists. You'll find a cinchable hood and waist, as well as elastic around the cuffs. While this is standard in heavier jackets, it's nice to see these features offered in such a lightweight design.

Velcro wasn't our favorite type of hood adjustment but it was effective so we can't complain too much.

Photo: Elizabeth Paashaus

The primary reason this jacket has such a good weight to warmth ratio is that it is stuffed with 800-fill down. This is more or less the industry standard with high-end jackets but is much less common in jackets at this price point.

The hem cinch cords are located in the handwarmer pockets, keeping them out of the way and tidy.

Photo: Elizabeth Paashaus

Weight

We tested a size medium, which weighed 8.71 ounces; it is one of the lightest models in the fleet. This low weight was achieved by utilizing high-quality down and simple sewn-through construction. Sewn-through construction means that the stitching used to create the pockets of down goes through the outer shell, directly through to the inner lining. This reduces weight and cost but does come with the loss of some warmth.

The fill-power of a down garment refers to how many ounces of down will be required to fill a specific volume of space or how fluffy the down is for its weight. The higher (800) fill-power found in this jacket means less down is required to fill the same amount of volume than if they were to have used 600 fill, for instance.

The Superior Down offers lightweight, packable warmth.

Photo: Buck Yedor

Water Resistance

The 10 denier ballistic nylon ripstop used on the shell has an effective DWR (durable-water-resistance) treatment that repels a light precip, but the vulnerable sewn-thru baffles and standard, non-hydrophobic down keeps us keenly aware that we should always have a rain shell on hand if wet weather may be in the cards.

While it's true, this jacket is left somewhat vulnerable to moisture penetrating its seams; it's also important to note that a light precip won't hurt, and even standard down is naturally hydrophobic to a degree.

The DWR coating won't keep you dry in a rainstorm, but that is not its intended purpose. It will hold up against a light dusting of snow.

Photo: Buck Yedor

Fit

This coat has a classic, if not a little boxy fit. The shoulders are slightly narrow, and the torso tapers ever so slightly through the waist. We found the torso was on the shorter side and would ride up and expose our midriff when performing an overhead movement. The arms, however, are an ideal length, offering enough room to move, but are not obnoxiously long. The boxy torso makes it easy to layer underneath but is still tailored enough to wear under a shell without feeling fully restrained.

The fit wasn't our favorite for climbing on account of the short torso and narrow shoulders but was plenty comfortable for most other activities.

The jacket has enough room in the arms and shoulders to let you perform overhead movements without exposing your torso significantly.

Photo: Buck Yedor

Compressibility

With its thin 10 denier nylon ripstop, basic sewn-through baffle construction, and 800 fill-power down, the Superior compresses quite small and does so easily.

It packs down and stashes out of the way until the sun sets and the wind picks up. While many options in our fleet stuff into one of their zippered pockets, the Superior, unfortunately, does not; it does, however, come with an included stuff sack.

Down is so light and compressible that it makes a perfect choice for those looking for the warmest jacket with the least amount of weight and volume.

Photo: Elizabeth Paashaus

Features

This jacket has one of the best feature sets in our entire review, which is especially commendable considering its price tag.

One of our favorite features is the dual adjustments on the hood, which allow you to custom-tailor the fit, depending on your head size and choice of headwear. The Velcro tabs on the back of the head are intended to pull volume out of the hood, so the built-in visor doesn't cover your eyes. While we didn't love the use of Velcro for this application, it does perform its job effectively. The elastic pulls for the perimeter cinch are found on the inside near the chin and stay inside the jacket tucked away.

The fit is a little boxy but it does make it easy to layer underneath.

Photo: Buck Yedor

Inside the jacket, there are two substantial drop-in stash pockets, which are great for holding your fleece gloves when not in use, or warming up your climbing shoes while your friend takes a burn on her project. While it might add a little extra weight, we would have liked to see the inclusion of an internal zippered chest pocket.

Value

The Superior boasts an incredibly high value and an excellent price tag. It has features galore, a super low weight, and excellent compressibility. When compared to other higher-end jackets, we were left wondering, why spend the extra money when we can have similar performance and features for such a great price. If you need something that has an excellent weight to warmth ratio, a slew of features, and excellent compressibility, look no further.

Conclusion

The Montbell Superior has shown itself to be a serious contender in the down jacket market. Our testers had a hard time seeing the justification for the price gap between this jacket and some of the other higher-end options. It has great features and is seemingly not missing a thing. If you want a fully-featured jacket but don't want to spend an arm and a leg, the Superior is a no-brainer.

This down is ready for everything, from your morning commutes to long backpacking trips.

Photo: Buck Yedor