Montbell UL thermawrap, thoughts?

Older, yes. But EXCELLENT, nonetheless. It was my go-to puffy for years. I use down from Montbell almost exclusively, but for synthetic the old Thermawrap is my choice. It is not quite as warm as my UL down versions but as part of my layering system it was always warm enough to keep me happy.

I've got one and love it. It's my go to jacket most of the time. When it gets too cold for it (which it does in the winter) I switch to my Atom SV as my insulation. Overall the Montbell UL is warm, looks great and quite cheap. I got a great deal on mine on eBay.

I'm 5' 9" 165lbs and the medium on me the sleeves were a bit too long and the armpits of the jacket were very baggy. I ended up selling it and getting a Rab jacket instead that I got on sale at campsaver. The fit was a bit too baggy for me. I do have a ton of Montbell gear though and really like what they make.

I wore a combo of a merino 1 shirt, R1 fleece, a MB UL thermawrap and a ARC alpha SL rainshell in AK on the beach in front of a glacier for 4 days and froze my a** off at a low of 40 degrees, maybe high 30's, probably a crazy windchill off Bear Glacier. It was cold and rained the whole time. I was borderline hypothermic one evening shaking uncontrollably. Fire snapped me out of it. It was weird cause I'm usually run hot. When I got home I eventually sold all three top layers and replaced them. I don't trust the UL thermawrap, it is thin and never really kept me warm on several occasions.

After browsing around a bit more I found some MH thermostatic jackets on closeout. They run about 1 oz. heavier. Probably the zippered side pockets and waist cinch adding to the extra. The wife likes zips so she's a happy camper and a waist cinch helps me keep the warm air from escaping my skinny *ss waistline. Not a bad penalty all in all. They have a nice close fit but leave enough room for movement for us. First impression is that they will be perfect in replacing a light to medium fleece layer with even a little more warmth. No wind here tonight so not sure how much blocking they will provide but my guess is again, better than the fleece. Looking forward to some actual trail time with them but until then that's about all I can honestly offer. I would be interested if anyone else has one of these and how's it working for you. jimmyb

I had that MH jacket and it was quite warm.

I've had a couple mb thermawraps, and didnt find them very warm either. The warmest UL synthetic i've owned was a rab xenon. The arc teryx nuclei and mh thermostatic jackets are also some of the warmest in the weight of synthetic, but def not as warm as the xenon. MH's thermal q feels quite warm to me, maybe warmer than primaloft, but the continuous insulation construction of the nuclei offers better protection. The nuclei is on sierra trading post right now for a nice discount and you can take %30 off that with the coupon. Gets you to close to %50 off retail.

Only, Coreloft is not continuous. Still have doubts ? Here's what Dead Bird says about it: "Developed by Arc'teryx, Coreloft™ is a synthetic insulation made of staple fibres in mixed sizes that are crimped to trap air and retain warmth. " BTW, never been cold in my UL Thermawrap and I've been to about 30° and in static conditions with just a baselayer and a windshell on for the rest. Everybody reacts differently :-)