Is the Montbell inner parka much warmer than the inner jacket?

I ask this question because I just received the inner jacket, wore it around the house and did not find it warm at all. This was very surprising to me given all the great reviews. My intended use for this jacket is as part of a layering system (tee shirt, button down shirt, inner jacket, versalite shell) which needs to work down to around freezing. I get cold easily–so maybe I need to go for the parka or the ul tec down jacket or the WM flash jacket (if I can convince my wallet to agree).

The Parka should be warmer if for no other reason than you're mitigating heat losses from your head, drafty collar, etc. The hood on the Parka is nice, but the question is whether a decent hat with the Inner be sufficient? To me the answer was no because your neck is still exposed and the hood on the Parka is more robust than most fleece or generic hats that hikers use in 3-season temperatures.

Some people love the Inner/Parka and find it ideal. I found it sufficient for a while, but later learned that gaining weight negatively impacted the thermal properties of the jacket. In a nutshell, the fatter I got, even though the jacket isn't tight or anything like that, I degraded the ability for it to be as efficient as it could be as I lost the gaps between by body and the jacket or caused the jacket to fit in a less than ideal manner. I'm not sure if that's an issue with you, so I figured I'd mention it.

Oddly enough, to me the BPL Cocoon which should be LESS warm (according to Richard Nicely's careful research and posted on these forums) is actually warmer to me than the Inner/Parka possibly because of the fit.

I agree – I have (strangely) found the BMW Cocoon Hoody much warmer than my MB Inner Parka. Maybe it has to do with the sewn through baffles of the MB creating cold spots. I haven't had a lot of luck with MB insulated gear – I found their sleeping bags under filled for the expected warmth rating. YMMV.

I chose the inner parka as warmth to weight is what I was after and believe the hood covering the neck and head adds very high value to overall warmth.

I'm considerably warmer with the hood on and front zipped up than without the hood and a fleece beanie. It's kept me warm enough down to the high 20's with high winds and rain/snow (Ibex indie hoodie, Inner Parka, windshirt, and light merino gloves) standing around coaching lacrosse.

I purchased the inner and had the same thoughts. I returned it for the parka and believe it to be much warmer. The drawstring along the bottom makes for a tighter fit, as I felt the inner jacket to be a little loose. The hood fits nicely and definitely adds warmth. With a nice base layer and a warm hat I think the parka is the way to go.

…since I found the inner jacket so cold and the inner parka is only .5oz more down. The UL Tec jacket has 3oz down like the Western Mountaineering Flash jacket.

If you found the inner parka and jacket both cold, you might consider the Montbell Alpine light, excellent warmth to weight ratio, compresses down real small in the pack, and is affordable.

Yes, that's a possibility. I thought about trying the ul tec jacket which is between the ul parka and the alpine light. If that's not sufficient, yes, then the alpine light would be next (if I stick with Montbell).

thanks.

The Tec jacket adds a lot of weight in heavier materials though which is a bit of a bummer.

I owned the UL parka and it was fine but I didn't like having a hood. It's just a pain to keep dry when you're trying to wear the parka under a rain coat (ie. sitting around camp in cold wet conditions). I prefer no hood for this reason. I'm now using the Ex-light vest for summer hiking and the alpine light for the shoulder seasons.

2.3 oz heavier 0.4 oz of which is down fill. If it's warm enough, that extra weight is not the end of the world. It's so hard to gauge how well these pieces would perform for me in the field, and it's so expensive to just buy them, evaluate them, and (possibly) re-sell them….

I initially bought the Inner jacket a while back and found it to be quite warm. Wearing only it and a T shirt underneath, I was fine in the mid 20's as long as I was moving around at least a little. However, I did decide to exchange it for the Parka simply for the hood. I felt like the hood would keep the drafts out from around my head and neck area and would ultimately keep me warmer. Since I recently changed the jacket for the Parka I have not had a chance to test this out, but it does seem to make sense.

They both fit me exactly the same throughout the body, only difference I could tell is the Parka has a hood (and upsettingly, the parka is not offered in black…)

I did cut the drawcord out of the bottom of the parka though. I felt that it was unnecessary for me. Both seemed to fit a little snug, yet unrestricted, around my waist so I did not feel I would need it. Plus, it saved me 0.2 oz!

I have both the down inner jacket and the alpine light jacket– I love the down inner for mild temps, but the alpine light is a lot warmer while still very light and compressable.

Hi Kimberly,

Thanks for your response. When you say "mild" what do you mean? Interestingly, I just tried on a WM flash jacket. It was so, so much warmer than the inner jacket–possibly overkill for my summer Sierra style (30deg F) of backpacking.

In increasing levels of warmth, there's the inner parka, the ul tec, and the alpine light. I tend to get cold easily, so my guess would be ul tec or the alpine light. How low can you take your alpine light?

Thanks again.

I have both the Down Inner Parka and the Alpine Light.
For most of this winter, the down inner over a mid weight base layer and a sometimes a windshirt on top was plenty warm down to about 30 degrees. I tend to run cold. I have not been cold in it except when visiting Chicago, out for a walk in 30 degree weather, and the wind kicked up and I had not brought a windshirt.
The Alpine Light is a much warmer jacket, but so far it has been more than I need except for a few nights.
In terms of the Sierras- I'm leaning towards the Parka/wind shirt combo for late August but will see how cold the nights are the week before we go.

Jennifer –
Is that a Corgi in your pack?

Those are great dogs! Mine is just over a year old, and totally dominates her jindo/shepherd mix house mate! She's like a little rocket (with no legs!)!

Rafi–it's so hard to estimate how warm a jacket is going to be, since we all have such different personal thermostats! I NEVER wear either jacket when actually hiking–I would be WAY too warm– but when I am in camp I get chilled quickly. The UL I would wear in camp when temps are in the 45-55 range. The Alpine Light I would wear in camp with temps in the upper 30's to mid-40's–any colder and I am pulling out the sleeping bag for extra warmth (if I'm just sitting around). I rarely camp anywhere that I would have a campfire, so the down jacket is essential.

Hope that helps.

Yes it does, thanks Kimberly.