Montbell Mirage Down Parka Evaluate

Specs at a Look

• Insulation: 900 fill energy down
• Weight: 12.8 oz (medium); 14.4 oz (xl, examined)
• Down fill weight: 5.3 oz
• Development: Field baffles
• Helmet appropriate: Sure
• Shell cloth: 7-denier Ballistic Airlight rip-stop nylon shell & lining
• Pockets: 4 (two outer, two inside)
• Zipper: YKK, one-way

Parkas or Jackets?

The Montbell Mirage is a down parka, which implies it’s meant to be worn as your outmost layer, not as a mid-layer like many light-weight down or artificial insulated jackets. A parka weighs extra and normally has rather more insulation since you’re normally not energetic while you put on it, however standing round, sitting, or sleeping. For instance, I normally pull out a parka once I cease for a break on a winter hike after we summit a mountain peak and wish to relish the view once I’m in camp melting snow or to reinforce the insulation in a hoodless quilt once I fall asleep.

Parkas at all times have hoods and so they’re normally loaded with heat-saving options like wrist cuffs and hem drawstrings. Up to now, parkas had been normally longer than jackets and subsequently hotter as a result of they coated extra of your physique. However nowadays the road between parkas and jackets has been blurred and the time period parka is inconsistently used. The one good approach to inform them aside is to have a look at the quantity of insulation a jacket has, however many producers nonetheless don’t publish down fill weights, despite the fact that it could profit customers.

Absolutely Adjustable Hood

The very first thing I search for in any down jacket is to see whether or not it has an adjustable hood. A non-adjustable hood is mainly nugatory as a result of you possibly can’t block out warmth robbing wind or scale back the air area that your physique has to warmth up. The proper hood ought to have a quantity adjuster so you possibly can match it to your head measurement and neck toggles so you possibly can shrink the face opening. Your neck and decrease face ought to be coated to maintain them heat and block the wind. A zipper storage, just like the one beneath, is particularly good when you have a mustache or beard, as a result of it retains them from getting caught within the enamel. The Mirage doesn’t have any face lining, however the jacket’s shell cloth could be very smooth, so it’s not an issue.

The Mirage’s hood quantity shrinks sufficient for my small head, despite the fact that it’s mountain climbing helmet-compatible, which ought to offer you some sense of how good the hood controls are. Helmet compatibility is normally a sign {that a} hood will probably be too giant a hiker’s head, however the Mirage hood may be lowered sufficient in measurement to encase your head comfortably with out further quantity. It’s additionally wonderful simply how a lot insulation the hood holds. I personal down-filled balaclavas which have much less down fill in them, making the Mirage an superior accompaniment for a down quilt sleep system.

Wrist cuffs

The Mirage has velcro wrist cuffs on the finish of its sleeves so you possibly can seal the ends to forestall physique warmth from escaping. Blood flowing by your wrists travels very near the floor of your pores and skin and having wrist cuffs helps you stop chilly wind from blowing up your arms and chilling you. I normally tighten the cuffs round my arm after which put gloves with gauntlets over them, however some individuals shut their sleeve ends over the gloves. No matter works. For those who’re too heat, the jacket wrists are vast sufficient which you can pull them up your arm to launch warmth.

Pockets

The Mirage has 4 pockets, two on the surface of the jacket and two on the within. The outside pockets are on the edges of the coat and shut with zippers, so stuff gained’t fall out. They’re huge pockets and insulated so you possibly can put your fingers in them to heat up or stuff gloves and hats inside. Every pocket additionally comprises a hidden hem adjuster, so you possibly can cinch the waist tight with out taking your fingers out of your pockets.

There are additionally two pockets on the inside sides of the jacket. They’re fairly deep and good for storing heavy gloves or meals. You possibly can even match a Mountain Home dinner into them if you wish to use your jacket to maintain your freeze-dried meal sizzling whereas it’s rehydrated.

Field Baffles

The Mirage is made utilizing field baffles as an alternative of a sewn-thru building. Field baffles are cloth chambers that maintain down clusters in place and forestall them from shifting and creating chilly spots. The chambers give the clusters area to completely develop and attain their most loft, so that you keep hotter. In sewn-thru building, the down clusters are additionally prevented from shifting however have much less area to succeed in their most loft. Sewn-thru building is quicker to fabricate and cheaper, which is why it’s so prevalent. However the warmest jackets have field baffles.

Comparable Down Parkas and Jackets

Advice

The Montbell Mirage Parka is a superb down parka that’s ultralight however nonetheless loaded with options. Insulated with 900 fill energy down, it’s tremendous snug to put on and has a completely featured hood adjustment, so you possibly can resize it to suit completely. My solely actual concern with Mirage is the thickness and sturdiness of the 7 denier ballistic nylon used for its exterior cloth. The shell is simple to puncture and can abrade in high-friction areas extra rapidly than jackets made with thicker supplies. That’s not a deal-breaker, offered you fill up on Tenacious Tape and are proactive about patching holes and thinning cloth.

View at Montbell

Disclosure: Montbell donated a jacket for overview.

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