MontBell EX Light Down Anorak
MontBell's minimalist, ultra-light, highly versatile jacket.
Andrew Buskov
Initial Report: November 19, 2014
Field Report: January 27, 2015
Long Term Report: March 27,
2015
 Tester
Biographical
Information:
| Name: |
Andrew Buskov |
| Age: |
39 |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Height: |
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight: |
207 lbs (94 kg)
|
| Email: |
Rescue(at)Corridor9(dot)net |
| City, State Zip |
Madisonville, Kentucky
USA |
Backpacking
Background:
I’ve been backpacking for nearly 25 years, and have slowly started
developing my ideal style. I’ve gotten my pack weight down to roughly
20 - 25 lbs (9.1 - 11.3 kg) before water, and am whittling it down
every hike. Day hiking is nice, but getting out over multiple nights is
really what I enjoy. I like to take my time and view the scenery as
opposed to hiking hard. I also like being comfortable and insist on an
air mattress. I usually tent or hammock, but stay in shelters when
needed.
Product
Information:
| Item: |
EX Light Down Anorak
|
| Manufacturer: |
MontBell |
| Website |
http://www.montbell.us/
|
| Year of Manufacture: |
2014 |
| MSRP: |
$219.00
|
| Listed Weight: |
6.2 oz (177 g)
|
| Actual Weight: |
6.42 oz (182 g)
|
| Size: |
XL
|
| Color: |
Gunmetal
|
| Additional Colors: |
Dark Blue, Green
|
Product
Overview:
The MontBell EX Light Down Anorak jacket is born out of MontBell's
dedication to the minimalist in us all. Using 900 fill power goose down
and Ballistic Airlight nylon fabric, the Anorak provides "sweater
weight warmth" to even the most weight conscious of backpackers. The
sewn-through construction allows for little pockets of down while
keeping down the extra weight associated with baffles and additional
threading. A single pass-through, non-zippered pocket also provides for
hand warmth while not adding additional weight from unnecessary bells
& whistles.
Product
Impressions:
Immediately after opening the package containing the MontBell EX Light
Down
Anorak, I knew this was indeed going to be a warm winter. After
removing the jacket from the package and examining it, I was thoroughly
impressed. Not only did the jacket arrive as described and in perfect
condition, but it fit me near perfectly. This is nice seeing as how
most XLarge items drape off me while most Large items are just a bit
too constricting. The Anorak, in my opinion, is built more like a
sweater than a jacket.
With its half zipper, the jacket needs to be slipped over the head to
be worn. This makes it perfect for an interior layer of clothing, or a
modest outer layer on warmer days.
 The hood appears
to be designed in such a way that it can either be
worn over the head, doubled up to provide more warmth around the neck,
or completely down. There is an elastic ribbon sewn around the hood to
hold heat from escaping around the face when deployed in the up
position. The elastic isn't so tight as to be uncomfortable though, and
the face doesn't feel constricted. The zipper is made by YKK, a brand
synonymous with smooth, error-free operation. It has a small MontBell
pull attached for easier use. At the top of the zipper is a hood that
the pull tucks into to likely prevent chafing around the neck.
Each arm is made from a single panel of the sewn-through down and nylon
fabric. This allows for a single-seam construction that runs from
shoulder to wrist on the bottom of the arm. Each wrist contains an
elastic ribbon that is fairly loose around the wrist but still helps to
retain the heat from escaping by limiting airflow. On the right wrist
there is a small sewn logo indicating that the jacket contains 900 fill
power feathers. The left arm does not contain a logo of any kind. The
torso of the MontBell EX Light Down Anorak does have another sewn-in
logo on the left chest pocket indicating that this is indeed a MontBell
product. These two logos are the only identifying marks on the exterior
of the jacket.
At the bottom of the torso area there is a kangaroo style,
pass-through
pocket. This allows me to clasp my hands together inside the pocket to
keep them warmer. The pocket is rather large, and easily holds my cell
phone, keys, and gloves without feeling crowded or tight. The edges of
the pocket appear to be lined in the same material as the arm cuffs,
but there is no elastic give around the pocket. The interior wall of
the pocket is nothing more than a layer of ballistic Airlight nylon;
there is no down in this panel at all.
 The hem of the
jacket contains a sewn-in elastic cord that runs through
two grommets and a spring clamp. This clamp is sewn to the jacket via
another piece of non-elastic cord, thus making single handed operation
possible. The ends of the cord pass through this clamp and into two
more grommets at the bottom center of the pocket. Attached to the end
are two small pulls that prevent the ends from sliding back through the
grommets. This allows the wearer to tighten and loosen the hem of the
jacket from inside the pocket.
It should be noted that while the Anorak is sewn in a sewn-through
style, there are gaps that allow the down to travel horizontally
throughout the torso, arms, and hood. Instead of creating a number of
enclosed squares containing down, these squares now have spaces in
their vertical edges that contains no stitching. This did create a
noticeable problem to me though. I'm not sure if it is related to how
the down is placed inside the material, or if the down just shifted
greatly during the process, but there are a number of lightly filled
squares. There are also a number of heavily filled squares as well.
It's as if the down wasn't evenly distributed during construction. This
can easily be seen when donning the jacket in a lighted room. The
lightly filled squares will allow much more light to pass through them
than the heavier filled ones. In addition, a number of stitching holes
can be seen during donning / doffing as well. These occur mainly near
the gaps in stitching where a reverse stitch is necessary for strength.
While I was able to use this a couple of days when running errands, I
did not take temperature measurements. As such, at this point I'll
restrict my comments to fit. In short, it was amazing. I felt as if I
had a second skin on. At no point did I feel as though I was
constricted in my movement, nor did I feel bunched up when wearing an
outer layer over the Anorak. I definitely look forward to testing this
throughout the coming months and will have more pictures to add during
the next testing phase.
Field Report: January 27, 2015
Testing Locations
& Conditions:
 During
this testing phase I wore the MontBell EX Light Down Anorak numerous
times. In total, I've probably worn the Anorak more than 15 times.
These
uses have ranged in duration from five minutes during my trips to check
on the rabbits to 12 hours when we were hiking in the woods and running
errands. It was worn during various temperatures that ranged from 9 to
55 F (-13 to 13 C). While this was worn on the hiking trips I took, I
also was able to wear this during hunting, dressing, and quartering a
deer when there was considerable snow on the ground and temperatures
were hovering around the 18 F (-8 C) mark. All use was
local and elevation ranged on average from 350 to 550 ft (105 to 165 m).
Performance:
It is simply quite amazing to me how something so small and
compressible can provide such great warmth! This little jacket provides
such an effective barrier between my base layer and the harsh weather
that I often find myself wearing it with just a long-sleeve t-shirt
underneath even when I know I'm going to be outside for an extended
period of time. Even though there are a few light spots where the down
has pocketed as mentioned above, just the simple heat generated by
moving around is often enough to keep me warm for extended periods.
During the times when I have used the Anorak as more of a base layer, I
usually find myself overly warm unless I'm sitting still.
 The fit of the
MontBell Anorak continues to be nice and comfortable.
Even though I've put on a few pounds (kilograms) over the Christmas
holiday, I've not once found the jacket to be tight or constricting in
any way. I am still able to move around, twist, and use my arms without
any feeling of tightness or restriction. The exterior / interior wall
material is still smooth without any pilling or snags despite being
worn though thick woods and pine trees. I have found that at times the
elastic hem can become a bit uncomfortable though due to the limited
material between the elastic cord and the wearer. This isn't so much a
problem when I'm wearing a couple of base layers, but can be
problematic if I'm only wearing a t-shirt.
I haven't found the Anorak uncomfortable to wear in snow, sleet,
or
very light rain. However, due to the extreme lightweight of the shell
material, any sort of significant rain will penetrate the outer shell,
mainly through the needle holes, and wet the down. This can and does
indeed lead to a very cold wearer. In fact, I was cold enough that it
only happened once during the testing phase. I made sure that anytime I
even thought there was a chance of watery precipitation I was prepared
with a raincoat or other top layer. I didn't want to go through any
more miserable walks.
So far, as mentioned above, the Anorak has been quite durable. It has
been worn through thick brush, pine trees with sap, and thorn bushes.
In addition, it has seen mud and dirty conditions during other uses.
The jacket still doesn't show much sign of wear, and definitely no
damage. It also has not retained any smells to date. I have not washed
it at all, and have worn it without any base layers at times, but can't
smell any odor or smell of any kind emanating from the usual areas.
In short, so far the MontBell EX Light Down Anorak is a very compact,
very useful, very warm, very comfortable little jacket.
Long Term Report: March 27, 2015
Testing Locations
& Conditions:
 During the last
testing phase I had mentioned that I had the
opportunity to wear the Anorak jacket while quartering a deer in some
considerable snow. I need to retract that statement a bit; I had
forgotten what considerable snow was until this testing period. During
the long-term report phase of the MontBell Ex Light Down Anorak jacket
test I was able to get approximately 40 days' worth of mixed use due to
the considerable snow that this area saw. For this part of Kentucky to
receive over 14 in (36cm) of snow twice during a three week period is
rather unheard
of. This coupled with the fact that the temperatures for the latter
half of February hovered mostly on the low end of between -7
to 45 F (-22 to 7 C) meant that this snow hung around longer
than I'd seen in quite a while. Throw in approximately seven days of
on-and-off freezing rain, coupled with at least five days of pure rain,
and I was rather glad to have the Anorak to keep me warm. I even had
the opportunity to wear this jacket on a fire scene due to the extreme
cold when I was outside managing operations. As far as the times that I
wore the Anorak jacket while backpacking, camping, and hiking I would
estimate that day
hiking trips alone accounted for upwards of 25 miles (40 km) of
use. On my overnight trips I was able
to log another 15 miles (24 km) of use through rain, sleet, and even
freezing rain on the way back to the vehicle. As with above, all use
was local and elevation ranged on average from 350 to 550 ft (105 to
165 m).
Summary:
I'd like to reiterate the last statement from my field report with the
emphasis and finality that has been shown over the past two months: the
MontBell EX Light Down Anorak is
most definitely a very compact, very useful, very warm, very
comfortable little jacket! Throughout the entire temperature range
posted above, I have been able to wear the Anorak as either a base
layer or as an only layer depending on the amount of exercise and
physical exertion that I put forth. For example, there was one day
during the cold spell where the wind was not blowing much and the
temperature was around 5 F (-15 C) that I was able to wear just a
t-shirt and the Anorak as long as I was walking on the trail. This was
simply walking without much physical exertion, yet enough to keep
producing heat. On the days where it was simply windy I was able to
wear a wind blocker over the Anorak and stay warm without adding
additional insulation. During the freezing rain spells, I needed a bit
of additional insulation and shell, but at no time did I feel that I
needed excessive layering.
I have had the opportunity to wash the Anorak 4 times now in total due
to the conditions it has been exposed to. On the overnight trips I took
the family dog, whom I love to death but he sheds more hair than any
other animal I've seen. I literally have to turn my tent inside out and
shake it vigorously to get all the hair out of the cracks and
crevasses.
As such, when we go overnight somewhere it gets in the sleeping bag,
coats, shoes, packs, etc. Not to mention that he's a dog, and well.....
dogs can stink. So I needed to wash the Anorak more than once. I
generally use Tide on all my clothing and down equipment because it
doesn't irritate my skin and has fairly little scent as compared to
some of the other detergents out there. After each of my washing
cycles, the MontBell Anorak smelled clean and fresh without retaining
any sort of sweat or pet smell. At no point in time did I feel like the
jacket shrunk after washing or that the down material needed to be
redistributed.
I am very surprised, and also very pleased, to announce that throughout
the entire testing period I have managed to stay snag and rip free.
This, in my opinion, is a big accomplishment for the Anorak as I tend
to wear my gear hard and get myself into situations I shouldn't at
times. Not once did the jacket snag on the brush that I had to hike
through, or when I was sleeping in it and rolling around next to the
dog's paws / claws. However, the real shocker was when I was building
new rabbit cages. I must have scraped myself 25 times with the cut wire
ends, drawing blood at least 5 times, but never did the jacket snag,
rip, tear, etc. I honestly don't know how I got through the last two
months without damaging the coat somehow with all the use it received.
I foresee this jacket being my primary down jacket for many seasons to
come.
Pros
|
Cons
|
Lightweight
Durable
Comfortable
Stylish
Very warm
|
Waist hem
causes irritation when
tightened due to lack of padding
|
I'd like to thank MontBell and
BackpackGearTest.org for providing me with the opportunity to test the
EX Light Down Anorak jacket.
Read more gear reviews by Andrew Buskov
|
