Best Powershield Lightweight Jacket for the Money

[Keith Franchois]

Hey Everyone,

I’m considering putting down some money on a powershield lightweight jacket and am not sure what features I need to be looking for. I see that REI has started making their Mistral jackets out of Powershield Lightweight and the weight is supposed to be 14 oz. Anyone have any experience with this. They’re going for $139 and with a 20% off member dividend it’s not that bad of a price. I know others love the Golite Kinetic and Momentum- is there a reason I should stick with one of them rather than the Mistral? Thanks.

[canyon steinzig]

I tried it on and thought is was really nice. I have never tried on the cloudveil inertia stuff but the REI jacket was the nices lightest soft shell I have seen. It’s gettng near Marmot windshirt functionality I think with way more weather protection. Up to nw i can’t justify carrying a 20 oz softshell over a smartwool and windshirt. It may be getting near the time when I can. This is a very encouraging new fabric.

[Anonymous]

I own the MEC Pamir jacket, which is also made from powershield lightweight. I like it a lot and it’s cheaper than the REI jacket at 140 Canadian dollars (116 US). It’s a very well designed jacket and fits very snugly. In general, I’ve been very happy with MEC designed products and I find it worth paying the shipping to the US to get their products (plus you don’t have to pay tax on them).

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=675623&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=613509&bmUID=1110609886634

[Keith Franchois]

I’ve looked at the Pamir before and it is, indeed, very similar to the REI jacket. The main difference looks to be the placement of the pockets- the MEC Pamir having pockets that are better placed for wearing with a backpack. Overall, though, I can get the REI Mistral II for about $112 with no shipping and tax at their PA store (thanks to a 20% off membership coupon)whereas the MEC one will run $128 if you add in a $12 dollar shipping charge for mailing to the U.S. If I’m honest with myself, I think that I also prefer the looks of the REI one over the MEC one (I know, great reason for getting one over the other). Thanks for the input though.

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