New MH ghost whisperer down jacket, 7oz

Michael, yes, obviously he is trolling. To most of us it's obvious that a jacket with this type of baffling and amount of down isn't going to have as much loft as a MH Absolute Zero. To many of us it's also clear thanks to Richard Nisley and some reviews by BPL that compressed down isn't all that bad. Instead of thinking critically about that aspect, he twisted my words, ie, trolled harder.

I have corresponded with Richard a few times. Please post a link where he indicates that compressed down isn't all that bad (although realistically, what does that mean?).

You are consistently being shown that you have little experience and knowledge to back up what you say both on these forums and Whiteblaze. In fact, that is probably the ultimate in trolling.

I am calling you out. Back up your claims.

found this:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/12505/index.html?skip_to_post=94791#94791

Nice jacket. I gave it the light test and the down was very evenly distributed throughout. Nice sewing job as you would expect. Fits well, though the hood, with no way to cinch it, is a touch loose. You'd definitely feel a good wind all over your head if it was blowing in your face. There is a cinch for the bottom of the jacket.

My medium weighs 7.5 oz. I haven't cut off tags or the extra zipper pull, so the weight could go down a bit (one of the pockets is also the stuff sack, and it's got a zipper on the inside so when the jacket is stuffed in the pocket (which turns it to the outside) you can zip it closed. Nice touch, but if I keep it I won't be using it in that way so I'll get rid of the inner zipper pull).

It's snug around the wrists, but not tight or constricting. The bottom of the zipper to bottom of the pocket is maybe 2 inches, so I wouldn't hike around with things in the pockets and the pockets unzipped. Also, the pockets are right where your hipbelt would be, so the pockets are somewhat useless if you're wearing the jacket and a pack w/hipbelt. (I don't see ever wearing it in this way, but in case you do…).

I've ordered a WM hooded flash as well, and I recently bought a Montbell UL down jacket (no hood), so I'm going to see which of the three I like the best and then get rid of the other two.

Thanks for that but it does come to the conclusion that at some point, compressed down has no insulative value (see the part about the layering with a rain jacket). It was stated earlier that compressed down is not all that bad. At which point does it become 'bad?'

Douglas if yours weighs 7.5 oz then either:

A: yours has more down than mine!
Or
B: our scales are off

What I did was just cut those white tags off on the inside of the jacket. I believe there were like 5 or 6 with wash instructions etcetera. The weight of those would not even register on my scale.

agreed, that's why a quilt makes such good sense :)

I think the point I got was that some compression isn't quite the hinderance as maybe first thought, you'd like to hope that the manufacturers know at what point it does start to interfere w/ clo

Doug- that would be a great a review, worthy of an article IMHO anyways

Mike

"A: yours has more down than mine!
Or
B: our scales are off"

Could be a bit of both. I've got a very cheap scale!

I am just awaiting Doug to sell two of the three for cheap to me.

"I am just awaiting Doug to sell two of the three for cheap to me."

I know, I'm such a gear Slut…

Because the medium was a little too big, even if the small has less fill it will still be warmer because it fits me almost perfect.

Weighs 6.7 ounces.

Could anyone post a pic of the fit? Or at least a description?

I saw the review mentioned at the top of the page, and it looked like it was a fairly baggy fit with short sleeves, slightly surprising as the Nitrous had fairly long sleeves and trim cut.

I got a medium and it was slightly too big, my small (6.7oz) fits perfect though.

The geometry they used makes it form fitting especially in the shoulders and back. It feels like i'm wearing nothing.

Its not baggy at all but not tight, seems just right for warmth.

Outdoorgearlab.com has a video review. Better than pictures.

I live near Columbia's headquarters and took a quick look at the non-hooded version in the employee store today. I just tried it on and looked at it, so no comments about performance.

Subjective "feel" test: The fabric feels similar in weight to the Montbell UL Parka. I'm guessing it is hard to tell the difference between the 15d and 7d by feel alone. No idea about long-term durability, but it doesn't feel fragile (although like any UL down jacket, it should probably be treated with care). It does feel like each baffle has more down in it than the MH Nitrous (a comparison MH jacket that's been out a while) and similar to the UL Parka, although the Montbell baffles are larger so the down might spread out a little more.

My only concern with this jacket would be the smaller baffles vs. larger ones. I'm thinking of Will R.'s nice reviews (SOTM?) on UL down jackets last year. It could be possible to feel more cold spots from all the seams. I was inside a building and it's summer, so take that with the proverbial grain of salt.

Definitely a winner compared to the Nitrous and probably equal to UL Parka, if cost isn't factored.

Is the sizing of this jacket true to fit? more pics would be appreciated.

Fit is true to fit, nothing odd about it.

mine should be here tomorrow, ordered my normal large- will let you know how I fare

>> Also I am reading that the material is 7d x 10d ripstop. So what is it?

70d^2?

7d x 10d ripstop would mean the main threads are 7 d and the ripstopping threads (the 'grid') are 10d.

I'd say the fit is true to size, it's not an slim/athletic fit however

the shoulders/chest fit me just about perfectly (as do the length in the arms)- the lower portion of the jacket is a little boxy (non-tapered), but it has a drawstring hem so you can cinch it up

it's fully featured which is kind of amazing given the weight; consider my large weighs 7.7 oz, my old MB ex-light weighed 6.0 oz, but lacked a hood, lacked pockets (the MH has zippered pockets) and lacked a hem drawstring

anywho nice jacket :)

Just a friendly PSA to fellow backpackers interested in this jacket: Campsaver currently has it on sale for $213.71 with coupon code cart-5849 (shipping is free in the lower 48 USA). At the time of this post, it looks like most sizes/colors are in stock – S-M-L-XL in black (black/black), capri (blue/blue), radiance (orange/blue), steam (gray/blue).

http://www.campsaver.com/ghost-whisperer-hooded-down-jacket-men-s

I'll post again in gear deals for those that miss it here…

thought I'd post a quick update as I've had the jacket for about three months now, pretty darn warm for 7 oz of jacket, my completely unscientific opinion is that it's slightly warmer than my old MB ex-light

I really like having a hood, I also like the fact that it has pockets :) the drawstring hem is very nice to seal out drafts, all jackets should have this feature imo

the shell material is light (as was the ex-light material) so you can't run through the brambles and the briars w/ this jacket (well you could, you'd just end up w/ about 4 oz jacket that wasn't very warm :) )

two thumbs up from me

the Patagonia UL Hoody has 98 Grams of 800 fill (3.5 oz) in 9.3 jacket…..(38%, based on your "calculations")….

The MHW Ghost Whisperer is awesome- but good lord, how can y'all live with non adjustable hood? That would drive me nuts in blowing winds! I bet its a great layering piece.

Properly shaped non-adjustable hoods can work just fine, the Nanopuff hoody is a great example, at least on my dome it is. The Golite Bitterroot elastic hood? Not so much.

I'm attracted to the MHW Ghost Whisperer for many of the reasons I grab my nanopuff hoody when heading out the door. Oh, but the price tag, holy…

If you ever feel generous Mike, think of me.