backpacking clothing reviews

Gear Review: L.L. Bean Ultralite 850 Down Jacket

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LL Bean Ultralite 850 down jacket
LL Bean Ultralite 850 down jacket

Down Jacket
L.L. Bean Ultralite 850 Down Jacket
$179, 1 lb. 1 oz. (men’s medium), $189 tall
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, tall M-XXL, women’s XS-XL, petite XS-XL
llbean.com

In heavily falling snow at around 9,000 feet on Copper Mountain in Idaho’s Boise National Forest, I felt the cold touch my bones. We had been climbing uphill on skis, breaking trail, for about 90 minutes; I was wet, and now the wind on the exposed ridge where we had stopped for a bite hit us. I pulled this down jacket on over my shell jacket and kept it on while skiing back downhill—I was that cold—realizing the snow could saturate the feathers and thinking, “Well, we’ll see if this water-resistant down works.”

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Gear Review: Marmot Variant Hoody

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Marmot Variant Hoody review
Marmot Variant Hoody

Hybrid Cold-Weather Jacket
Marmot Variant Hoody
$185, 15 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
marmot.com

Whether a fast-forward winter sport like skate-skiing, or a pack-carrying activity like hiking, ski touring, and snowshoeing, many cold-weather outdoor adventures demand a jacket that doesn’t quite fit into the traditional definition of insulation, hard shell, or soft shell. Short story: You need more insulation in front and breathability on your back and arms. Enter the Variant, a hybrid cross between lightweight insulation and a soft shell. I’ve really grown to like it for my two primary winter sports, skate-skiing and ski touring, but it would function equally well for hiking and snowshoeing.

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Gear Review: MontBell Torrent Flier Jacket

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MontBell Torrent Flier Jacket

Ultralight Rain Shell
MontBell Torrent Flier Jacket
$249, 8 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: Unisex S-XL
montbell.us

When a violent thunderstorm caught me on the 9,595-foot summit of Eagle Cap Peak in Oregon, and the skies opened up with booming thunder, lightning, and pounding rain and hail, I was certainly glad to have this shell handy. It fended off strong winds and kept me dry through that tempest, as it did in extended, wind-driven rains in Norway’s Jotunheimen National Park, and when I got caught in a sudden June snow squall a pitch off the ground while rock climbing at Idaho’s City of Rocks.

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Gear Review: MontBell EX Light Down Jacket

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MontBell EX Light Down Jacket

Ultralight Puffy
MontBell EX Light Down Jacket
$190, 5 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s S-XL
montbell.us

Don’t ask: How lightweight can a down jacket be and still keep you warm? Instead, reframe the question: How light a puffy do you want and how does it fit into your layering system? With sewn-through construction to prevent down from migrating, elastic cuffs to seal out drafts, and no hand pockets, this jacket stuffed with just 1.8 ounces of premium, 900-fill down feathers is no fat puffy. But it’s a very light stand-alone insulation piece for mild summer temperatures, or a versatile middle layer in a system that you can customize for a variety of outdoor activities in any season.

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Gear Review: Westcomb Shift LT Hoody Jacket

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Westcomb Shift LT Hoody

Rain Jacket
Westcomb Shift LT Hoody
$400, 12 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL
westcomb.com

Hiking the treeless, completely exposed rock and tundra of Besseggen Ridge in Norway’s Jotunheimen National Park, we started out in a cold rain in temperatures barely above freezing—but as we gained elevation, the rain changed to horizontal, wind-driven snow. On other days during that eight-day trek, we hiked for hours through spitting to steady rain in temps in the 30s and 40s Fahrenheit. When the sun did come out, we still met with strong, chilly winds that had us in jackets, wool hats, and gloves—including on a dawn ascent of the 6,667-foot peak Kyrkja. Almost every day, for several hours a day, I wore this jacket—and in such sustained, severe conditions, I was very happy to have it.

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