Montbell Tachyon Hooded Jacket Men’s Windshirt

A good windshirt provides possibly the most value per unit weight of any gear in a hiker’s kit. The Montbell Tachyon is an excellent windshirt.

I often spend the better part of the day (including the night) in my windshirt. It excels in regulating temperature under variable conditions of cloud, sun, wind and various forms of precipitation — in other words, the usual conditions of winter/spring in the desert and 3 seasons in the high country.

The Tachyon is far from waterproof, but it fends off a few minutes of light to moderate rainfall – enough to pitch my poncho tarp when transitioning it from rain gear to shelter mode. Worn under a poncho, it provides protection for my arms and keeps condensation off my clothes when hiking in cold rain. It dries extremely quickly.

Around camp it amplifies the warmth of a mid-layer. It is a very comfortable sleeping garment and the hood keeps drafts off my head when sleeping in a quilt.

This is the second generation of this windshirt. My first, which lasted about 6 years, was a pullover. The current version is offered only as a full zip, and with two handwarmer pockets at a very modest 0.2 oz increase in weight. The self-stuffing pocket of the old version was undersized and a pain to stuff. The new one can be readily stuffed in about 10 seconds.

It is surprisingly durable for such a light fabric, rarely punctured by normal brush. Catclaws and mesquites are a different story, but the fabric holds Tenacious Tape well for field repairs.

The only knock keeping it from a 10/10 rating is the lack of a strap or hook-and-loop button to restrain the hood in the wind (when not wearing it over my head). It flaps annoyingly, and my attempts to mod it with stick-on hook-and-loop buttons have failed to hold.

Montbell has gotten better at sizing for Americans. I’m on the border of M and L with most gear; the L Tachyon fits me just fine.

The Tachyon keeping me comfy in the Sylvania Mountains on the Desert Trail. Nevada, Apr 2023