Opinion on Montbell

I used a Montebell Thermawrap Parka as my insulation layer for the Appalachian Trail this year. It has synthetic fill, exceloft i believe they call it.
The parka held up the whole trip and is still in great shape.
The synthetic fill even held it's loft in the rain using only the parka and my umbrella as "raingear".
My favorite feature is the hood design. Montebell has the best fitting and most comfortable hood of any parka I have ever used.
The one odd thing about my Montebell is that the sizing is a bit on the small side.
It worked out cause i lost 25 lbs but what they call a large is what we (Americans) call a medium.
I recommend sizing up when ordering. Of course that is for the thermawrap jackets and parkas.. not sure about their down jackets.

I just bought a Mont-Bell Down Inner jacket. I'm pleased with the fit and construction quality. The gusset of stretchy fabric at the wrist, positioned right where you'd tug on the sleeve to take the jacket off, is a particularly nice touch. Minimal hand pockets and full zip are just the right feature set for me.

As everyone has said, Mont-Bell products run small, and the fit is athletic. I'm 5'6" ~150# and usually wear a small–the Down Inner in medium fits me perfectly, and is slim enough that my rain shell (Patagonia size small) layers over it with no problem.

I bought the Down Inner from a shop in Portland, and was able to try on both it and the Ex Light. Both seemed to fit the same, but I preferred the fabric on the Down Inner (a bit tougher, not so shiny) and liked having pockets.

My jacket weighs 6.7 oz on my scale, in the included stuff sack–less than spec. (I hope the weight drop was shell and not down). Haven't had it out on a hike yet, so can't comment on warmth. For me, the jacket will replace the 200 wt fleece pullover I've always used for three season backpacking and downhill skiing. I run pretty warm–a fleece plus shell and beanie has always kept me comfortable, even sitting on a slow chairlift in the mid-twenties. I expect the Down Inner to be somewhat warmer that a fleece and more wind resistant, for close to half the weight and bulk (and at least 6 X the price). I don't expect to wear the jacket while actually hiking, unless conditions are very cold.

Here's a video review by Chad Poindexter ('Stick'): http://sticksblog.com/clothing/jackets/mont-bell-ul-down-inner-jacket/

I think that most of the comments you will garner are that Montbell is good. I got an EXL last year and it fits true to size, but note that is an atheletic fit. I am 5'9 or 5'10 (on a good day!), 150 lbs., and the jacket fits quite good. As others have indicated, the garment comes in under published weight. This is a very typical observation on this site. Always better IMO to be under than over. The down will be warmer than a fleece. Richard Nisley has explained that in some depth on this site. I'm not sure how to find the exact thread, but the generally accepted fact is that the down jackets are allot warmer than a fleece. And the weight savings, as you've noticed, are very substantial. Many will recommend that you wear a wind jacket or rain jacket over these very light weight jackets when sitting around a camp fire. Finally, I like my down to fit fairly close over a lite base layer or two and then size up one on the rain jacket so it doesn't hurt loft.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=18950

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=9378

I initially got the Down Inner Jacket, and loved it. However, I did swap it for the Parka simply because I cannot have both, and figured if I were to only have one I would be better off with the Parka (just in case).

IMO, they are the same in fit and quality. The only difference is that the parka has a hood (and a cinch cord around the bottom hem which I removed).

It seems that I am right between large and XL in most jackets, so I usually go a hair big and get the XL. In these I got the XL because of this, but also because when I tried on a Ex Light in a store the XL fit better and I felt it would be better since I would layer other clothing under it. The XL is about as perfect for me as I can imagine. I can wear it with only a t underneath and it fits fine as in not too baggy, or I can wear a Cap 2 long sleeve and a R1 underneath and it doesn't seem to restrict my movement. Sweet! Also, I am able to layer my XL GoLite Tumalo rain shell over it without compressing the jacket.

The details are really nice. Like has already been mentioned, the cuffs are nicely made and actually fit around my wrist comfy. The pockets are big enough for a few items and the material is very soft and comfy against my skin.

The only thing I don't like about the parka is that it is not offered in black like the jacket…Well, I will mention that the Down Inners seem to leak a few feathers too. More so whenever pressure is applied to the jacket. Such as when I am leaning back in a chair with a back. The don't seem to leak through the material, but rather at the seams.

I liked these jackets so well, I decided to pick up a Alpine Light Parka to use mostly around home/town/work but also for those trips that I may need a little more than the UL Down Inner. Although, here in the SE, I don't think I will need to bring the Alpine Light along (which is great cause in the XL it weighs 17.7 oz in the stuff sack).

The Parka is a little different in that it has 2 large inner pockets and the hand warmer pockets have a micro fleece liner inside the pocket. Of course this parka uses a heavier 30D shell and more down than the Down Inner (4.3 oz vs 2.5 oz).

I was shocked at how heavy I thought this parka was when I got it. The Down Inner jacket weighed 7.6 oz, the Parka 9.7 oz and this one is 17.7! Wow! But that is ok with me, I am really happy with these jackets. Very nice… I am not sure about the other items, but I am really happy with the MB items that I have handled so far. I plan to add a pair of the Down Inner pants to my arsenal sometime soon…

Anyway, that is my spill.

I've owned and heavily used quite a few Montbell products….I would guess about 6-8 of them.

In general, Montbell makes awesome stuff. They use cutting edge fabrics (probably their strongest suit) and quality insulation. For a large company, they are quite innovative (ie. their 7D fabrics) and they understand minimalism/simplicity/function. They make a lot of great products for the UL hiker like their down jackets (ex-light, down inner, alpine light), synthetic jackets (theramwrap), down and synthetic pants and some great wind jackets and pants. I would say that Montbell is my favorite UL hiking clothing manufacturer. I use the ex-light vest and UL wind jacket in the summer, and I swap out the ex-light for the alpine light jacket in the shoulder seasons.

What really makes Montbell great is the pricing. I don't know if it's the currency conversion or something else, but Montbell stuff is super cheap for what you get. The Alpine Light down jacket is about $175 and if you look at any other company you'll see that you need to spend at least $100 more to get something similar (ie. 800 fp down jacket).

The only thing that I'm not always happy with is the fit. For pretty much every Montbell jacket, it will fit pretty short in the torso. I virtually always wear a medium (I'm 5'11, 165 lbs) but Montbell mediums are pretty much always too short in the torso, so I need to go with a large and then the torso length is adequate (although another 2" would be nice) and its a bit baggy in the chest. Montbell stuff works better for shorter thick people than it does for tall skinny people. My current windjacket is a large (Japanese XL) and the torso is still a bit short. The ex-light vest also is quite short in the torso, but I don't mind this as much because it's usually an inner layer. The only Montbell item I've worn a medium in is the UL Down Inner parka. When they updated it for 2010 they added an inch or two of length to it. It's still borderline, but a medium was acceptable.

Large Montbell windshirt on 5'11, 165 lbs me.

I haven't been impressed with the Montbell inner jacket. Stitching is loose, feathers leak like crazy, one of the baffles wasn't sewn all the way across, and the fit isn't quite right. The affordable price is what attracted me, but I've found Western Mountaineering down garments to be superior in every way, although quite a bit more money, but worth it.

I have Montbell jackets and vests. I consider them top quality goods. I would recommend to size up a bit.

Last winter there was a "State of the Market" report on down jackets and pants, which I strongly recommend you read before making any purchases of these items. These articles are well worth the price of BPL membership and will help you make a much better-informed purchase.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/ultralight_3-season_down_jackets_sotm_2010_part_1.html

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/ultralight_3-season_down_jackets_sotm_2010_part_2.html

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/ultralight_3-season_down_jackets_sotm_2010_part_3.html

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/ultralight_down_pants_light_warm_and_versatile.html

My experience with Montbell has been favorable. I own the women's UL Thermawrap jacket, women's UL wind shirt, men's Ex-Light down jacket. All are excellent quality. Montbell does warn, for the Ex-Light down jacket, that these ultralight fabrics do require TLC. You don't want to go brush-bashing with it! You can often find Montbell items on sale (that's why my windshirt is the color of wine vomit, a case of half-price sales overcoming my color aversion!). Montbell has recently (or so they claim) adjusted many of their sizes to be a bit close to the American physique than the Japanese. However, I still recommend, as do the other posters here, getting a size bigger than you normally wear.

I'd read those State of the Market articles first, though!

I've owned several MB jackets of various levels of warmth. My opinion is that they are cut slimmer on the lighter ones and sized for going over layers on the thicker, warmer ones. I do like the thoughtful features like the huge inner pockets on the Alpine model jackets.