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Reviews > Clothing > Jackets and Vests > MontBell Extremely Light Down Vest > Test Report by Shawn WakefieldMontbell Extremely Light Down Vest - Men's
Reviewer Information
Backpacking Background: I started camping and backpacking about 25 years ago as a teenager in the Boy Scouts. I am enjoying backpacking again, and I really like going lightweight now and covering a lot of miles. My wife and I take frequent backpacking trips together, and our kids (all under 13) go occasionally. We like to hike in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas for short trips, but enjoy Wyoming and Colorado for longer trips. My current pack averages 16 lb (7.3 kg) including water and three days' food. INITIAL REPORT: November 27, 2009 Product Information
Other Details from Manufacturer Website
Product Description
The Montbell Men's US EX Light Down Vest is described as the "ultimate in minimalist design" on their website, and once I saw the vest and held it in my hands, I can certainly agree. The 900 fill power goose down should provide warmth with little weight, and the super light shell fabric is just that. The vest does not even include pockets in an effort to reduce the product's weight. In addition, the lightweight 3C YKK zipper is much smaller than that I have seen on other jackets and vests. The product does include a tiny stuff sack for storing and protecting the vest when not in use, made of the same material as the jacket shell. Initial Impressions The vest is amazingly light. It is hard to imagine much insulating power in a garment that weighs so little, but having worn another lightweight down jacket before; I know that it is possible for a garment to be light and warm. The dark navy color is an accurate description, as it is somewhere between navy and black in color. The arm openings have elastic around them that allows some stretching. There is a short collar on the vest to give some coverage around the base of the neck. The shell material is very light and thin, and the inside of the vest appears to be of the same material as the exterior. Upon very close inspection, it does look like it is reinforced or ripstop type nylon. The down is held in place between the two layers of nylon by sewn through stitching (single quilting) which creates individual pockets of down in rectangular sections all over the vest. The photos show this more clearly. The zipper pull includes an attached cord and plastic tab which should make it easier to grab with gloves on. There is a small flap of material behind the zipper that may prevent wind or moisture penetration. On the front left side of the vest, "mont-bell" is embroidered onto the outside shell fabric.
Having read other down care instructions that washing may be possible, I went to the Montbell website to see if any additional information was available. The website talks about down garment care and states that it can be washed in a front loading machine, on cold, gentle cycle, with a down specific soap (ReVivex recommended). It recommends tumble drying on the lowest heat setting while checking it often. The website also says to see the DWR care instructions. The most interesting statement is this: "If your care label indicates Dry Clean Only it may be incorrect. Please follow the online care instructions or contact customer service for more information." If find it odd that the vest instructions and the website are almost opposite in their recommendations. I plan to contact customer service to check their response time and to get further clarification. Further down the care page, the DWR instructions recommend washing and rinsing in warm water, not all hot or all cold. It also gives information about replenishing the treatment, again recommending ReVivex products. This is a bit confusing, since the down instructions say to wash in cold, but the DWR instructions say to NOT wash in cold. The compressibility of the vest is remarkable. It easily stuffs into the included stuff sack and reduces the size to a cylinder approximately 3.5 in (8.9 cm) diameter by 6.5 in (16.5 cm) tall. The stuff sack is made of the same material as the shell, and has an exterior black tag with "mont-bell" on it. The sack cinches closed with a cord lock. I wondered about the water repellency of the material, so I filled the stuff sack with water. Other than a slow drip at one or two places on the seams, the material itself seemed completely waterproof. I know that down loses its insulating value when wet, so a water repellent shell is very important in a vest like this.
I think the sizing of Montbell products is accurate. I have a Montbell jacket in a size large that fits well in the arms, but is a bit roomy around my torso. My arms are long, so I usually need a size large jacket or long sleeve shirt. Since this was a vest, and my waist and chest fit within the Montbell size chart for medium, I ordered the medium and it fits just right. I can wear a shirt under the vest and not be too constricted. The advantage of the more fitted vest is that I can wear a rain jacket or wind shell over my shirt and vest and still not be too tight to move. It looks like this vest will fit my layered approach very well. Initial Likes:
Initial Concerns:
This concludes my Initial Report. The Field Report will be appended to this report in approximately two months from the date of this report. FIELD REPORT: February 2, 2010 Field Use
Field Performance The vest has performed extremely well for me. I really like the lightweight aspect of the vest, and it compacts extremely small in the stuff sack. Since it is so light, and very small, I am able to carry it with me anytime there is the chance of cold temperatures. It is not quite as warm as a down coat with sleeves, but it weighs less than half of what my Montbell down coat weighs. When hiking, I am able to stay warm down below 32 F (0 C) with the vest as part of my layering system. When I am in camp at night or in the morning, I can wear the vest to keep the chill off. I also like being able to wear it when sleeping, which allows my down quilt, which is usually good down to 32 F (0 C) to be used in even colder temperatures. I was concerned that the zipper may snag or not work well, but it has performed flawlessly. I have not noticed any down escaping from the jacket, even though the shell material is very light and thin. When zipped completely up, the collar comes around and covers the front of my neck as well, which helps to keep in my body heat. My only complaint would be that the elastic for the arms makes it a little snug when wearing 2 base layers under it. This would not be a problem if I had ordered a large, but the rest of the fit for the medium is just right. I may very carefully (after the test period is over) cut the elastic on the arms to make it less constrictive. This is really not a design issue, as I may be right between a medium and large as far as the sizing is concerned. The vest has not gotten dirty or needed washing, but I intend to do that as part of the long term report. I planned to email Montbell to ask them to confirm the care instructions, but it appears that their website has been down for maintenance the last couple of days when I tried to access it. My field report seems a bit short to me, but I really can't find any problems or issues with the vest. So far, it has performed just as I had hoped. Likes:
Concerns:
This concludes my Field Report. The Long Term Report will be appended to this report in approximately two months from the date of this report. LONG TERM REPORT: April 5, 2010 Long Term Use
Long Term Performance I continue to be impressed by the warmth and compressibility of this vest. As part of my layering system, it does a very good job of keeping my core body warm down to freezing and slightly below. On cold nights, it adds good warmth inside my sleeping bag or quilt. The vest is extremely small when packed in the stuff sack, so I am much more likely to carry it in my pack, even on trips that may not see really cold temperatures. Since the weight of this vest is less than a light short sleeve shirt, I plan to carry it on any trip that may have cool weather. Around camp in the evenings, I can slip on the vest to keep from getting chilled before I turn in for the night. I like how the vest provides warmth, but does not add any extra weight with features that I do not use. The shell fabric does a good job of repelling light rain and mist, although it is not designed for extended wet exposure. There was some confusion about how to care for this vest. The garment indicates dry clean, but the website does not. I emailed Montbell on February 27 and asked them to clarify the recommended care instructions. They replied on March 1 with the correct care information - essentially what was posted on their website. I washed the vest just before this report was written. I washed in cold water using a front loading machine. I used ReviveX down cleaner, as that was one of the products they recommended. I dried it on very low heat with three tennis balls in the dryer. I have done this with other down jackets, as the tennis balls tend to help break up the damp clumps of down and dry it faster. Always use new, clean tennis balls. After removing the vest from the dryer, it seemed completely dry, and all of the down had fluffed up very nicely. Each compartment of down in the vest was 'puffed' up, indicating the down had a lot of loft. The vest still looks like new. My only complaint would be that they really need to correct the care instructions printed on the vest. I don't know that all consumers would check the website for the correct instructions. For cold weather trips where a full down jacket is not needed, I really can't think of a better option than this Extremely Light Down Vest from Montbell. Likes:
Dislikes
Thanks to Montbell Co. Ltd. and BackpackGearTest.org for allowing me to participate in this test. - Shawn Wakefield
Read more reviews of MontBell gear Read more gear reviews by Shawn Wakefield Reviews > Clothing > Jackets and Vests > MontBell Extremely Light Down Vest > Test Report by Shawn WakefieldAll material on this site is the exclusive property of BackpackGearTest.org. BackpackGearTest software copyright David Anderson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
