Montbell UL Down Inner Jacket

[Sumi Wada]

Anyone have experience with this jacket? (Specifically the "UL Down Inner Jacket") Would like to hear how it compares with the Patagonia Nano Puff for warmth. TIA

[Samuel Kau]

I bought mine on sale at campsaver a little while ago and so far i really like it. I use it when i see temperatures around freezing and for that, it is a nice jacket.

[James holden]

warmer than the nano poofay …

[William Zila]

Then the nano poofay

[R S]

than a Nano Puff. And it is also not covered by a "oh you were drunk, tripped and fell in the fire and burned half the arm off of your Nano puff? We'll fix it. No, we'll just give you a new one" guarantee. =)

[Eric Thompson]

i just got one in gear swap. psyched to try it out this weekend, if i'll even need it. trying to figure out if it can replace my fleece, or if it will be too warm for that

it's lighter and more packable than a nano puff. just don't get it wet…

[James holden]

pfft … youre gonna wear your windshirt over it anyways for more warmth … not that MB has a bad warranty, but if you want jackets with the "my pet bear ate it, digested it, and then pooped it out" excuse … buy any jacket from REI …

as to wet … thats the price you pay for down and its light weight … only YOU can make that decision

note that the weight is very significant … my EXL is 5.5 oz and is "twice" as insulating as 60g/m primaloft jackets at half the weight according to richard's clos (use the tested clo of primaloft, not the theoretical which richard has found to be a tad off) … think of it as 3-4 times as "efficient" … simply put a 60g/m is synth is roughly equivalent to a mid-heavy weight fleece … a 2 oz 800+ down jacket is roughly equivalent to TWO such jackets … my personal observations seem to comfirm this … the exceptions are if the down is compressed, or in high humidity, then you lose some OMMPHHH

at the end of the day its what youre going to use it for … i have both a dead bird atom lt and a exl (and many others) … if rain is likely i bring the atom or both … if its low probability, the exl … with the weight savings i can easily carry 1-2 extra small cams, or another jetboil canister, or a rain jacket

etc ….

[Stephan Doyle]

For such a guarantee, Patagonia now has their own version of the SUL Down Jacket: the Ultralight Down Shirt. It's even on sale for $175 at several online shops right now.

[Brad Rogers]

I bought mine about three years ago and it is the best clothing purchase I have ever made. Incredible warmth for the weight.

[Mark Hudson]

I still maintain that the wm flash is warmer for the same money

I have seen them side by side and the flash has twice the loft

[CW]

The Flash is 250 where the UL Down Inner is 175 with a hood. Not exactly the same money. The Flash does have an extra 1/2 ounce of down and should be warmer though.

[Brad Rogers]

What Chris said plus Mont-Bell can often be found on sale (I got my UL Down Inner for $80 brand new) where as WM never goes on sale. I have seen the Flash in person though, and it is one sweet jacket, probably better overall than the Equivalent Mont-Bell UL Down Parka.

[Mike M]

not only cheaper @ MSRP, but you can OFTEN find MB stuff on sale, you can SELDOM find WM stuff on sale

for $100 difference, I'd go MB all day long :)

[Greg Mihalik]

WM: "There are no cordlocks on this garment because we have finished the hood and waist with lightweight elastic piping to seal out the cold."

No thanks.
I like adjustable hoods.
I'll stick with Montbell.

[Ken Bennett]

My wife has the Montbell UL Down Inner Parka — the hood makes a nice addition. Great jacket, and after selling my Patagonia pullovers I was going to buy one for myself. Then I saw the WM Flash hooded jacket at an outfitter, and bought it right there. $260 was a little spendy, but it does have more loft than the MB and it fits me better than any MB garment I have owned. The WM is simple, light, and looks like it should be very warm.

[Mike M]

I'm certainly not poo-pooing the Flash, just that for a $100 I'd have a hard time justify purchasing it over the UL parka

[Scott Truong]

Yeah I tried on both, in person, at a Seattle store and for me it was really clear cut. The WM hands down for fit and finish.

The hood on the WM fit great, like a balaclava. Material felt nicer and the loft was great. It looked, felt and fit great on me. Nice nice piece of gear if you got the cheddar.

Size small in the WM and size M in the Montbell though. 36-38" chest, 19" torso, 5'7-8" 155 lbs.

I ended up with the MB Ex-light and the EB Downlight jacket, but if I ever break down and need to get Visa high, the WM hooded flash would be it.. in blue.

The WM Flash is comparable to the MB Alpine light and not the UL inner, no? I haven't checked out the newest MB versions yet though.

[Mike M]

much closer to the UL parka vs the Alpine light IMHO – UL park 9 oz w/ 2.5 o of fill, Flash 9.3 oz w/ 3.0 fill, the Alpine Light has 1.5 times the fill as the Flash (4.5 oz)

[Warren Greer]

The flash is a nice looking garment, but at 9 oz, its a bit heavier than the UL Down and allot heavier than the EXL. Really, it just comes down to how much warmth you need. Where I live, and for three season use, the EXL will do just fine. And the WM piece is expensive, no way around that. But if the shoe fits……..

[Colin Krusor]

The current version of the Montbell UL Down Inner Parka has cordlocks in the hood and hem. I've used them to cinch mine around my face on cold early morning bike rides many times. The first version, several years ago, had elastic instead of cordlocks and wasn't adjustable but that's changed.

[Ryan C]

I have an Alpine Light parka and it does not leak feathers (30D fabric helps). A while back I saw some UL down inner pants. They leaked feathers like crazy. My Rab Microlight vest is very warm but leaks feathers like crazy too.

After some use, how bad does the UL down inner jacket leak feathers?

[simon hackett]

Glad someone else mentioned this, I have the pants and inner jacket and always end up looking like a plucked chicken after sleeping in them. As a UK hiker I'm currently saving up for the PHD minim ultra pullover and minumus pants.

[John Mc]

IMHO I'd pick up the Daybreak Jacket over the Montbell UL Down Inner Jacket. It weighs a tad more, but you get 3.1 oz fill of 850 down for $199. That's a full ounce more. That adds a lot of warmth. They advertise the jacket at 7.5 oz. I weighed 2 mediums in the store and they both weighed 8.3 oz.
Montbell advertises their jacket at 7.3 oz with 2.0 oz of 800 fill. I don't know if their advertised weight is correct.

[Sumi Wada]

>> IMHO I'd pick up the Daybreak Jacket over the Montbell UL Down Inner Jacket.

I would love a Daybreak but it's more than I want to spend. I have a FF bag that I love and I like the company but their "unisex" jackets are sized for men. To make it fit me, it would mean custom sizing, which FF will do, but it's annoying to have to pay a premium considering I can wear "normal" women's sizes.

I'm just looking for something for those 35-40 degree spring/fall evenings at camp. The nano puff is just on the border; I'd like it to be a tad warmer but don't want it to weigh any more since it spends most of the time in my pack. I did look at the WM and FF jackets but the MB Inner jacket is less than half the price.

Anyway, I ordered one and will check it out. I appreciate all the feedback.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Will Reitveldt's extensive review of light down jackets (or "sweaters") is a great comparison tool when shopping for this category of clothing. Maybe he could do a follow-up of light synthetic jackets.

It's apparent that a light shelled, sewn-thru insulated jacket or pullover has become a necessity for many backpacking trips. Most of us have learned that this type of (shelled) insulation is lighter and far more compressable than pile/fleece jackets of the same warmth.

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