MontBell Alpine Light Down Jacket

I hiked the AT from Fontana Dam to Clingman's Dome last October.  Snowed the day before we hit the trail, and got down into the 30's each evening with stiff winds.  I brought the warmest lightweight jacket I own, my Patagonia Nano Puff Jacket.  I froze.  I love my Nano Puff, but it wasn't enough jacket.  I've fixed this problem.  This winter I bought the MontBell Alpine Light Down Jacket.

MontBell Alpine Light Down Jacket

When looking for an affordable down jacket, I narrowed my choices to either it or the Marmot Zeus.  Both are currently about $105 at backcountry.com.  I was able to find a slightly used MontBell Alpine Light at gearswap.com for some additional savings!  The owner said he has owned both and prefers the MontBell.  Several reviews I read said the same thing.  Only issue I saw in reviews was that the MontBell ran a little small, thus I chose the XL (I'm 6.0 x 205lb)

So I'm the owner of an almost new MontBell Alpine Light Jacket.  I will try it out this August when I hike the Wind River Range in Wyoming.  Will update with my findings.

Here's the specs:

Mont-Bell created the Alpine Light Down Jacket for backcountry explorers who want insulation and compressibility. The combination of ballistic nylon and premium 800-fill goose down means the Alpine Light is both warm and durable so you don't have to worry about wrecking this shell when you're really roughing it. You also won't have to worry about uneven insulation or down bunching thanks to cross-stitching.

Material:

 

ripstop nylon 

Insulation:

 

800-fill down 

Venting:

 

none 

Hood:

 

no 

Weight:

 

(medium) 11.5 oz 

Recommended Use:

 

cold weather, casual 

Manufacturer Warranty:

 

lifetime

Note: My size Extra-Large (XL) weighs 16.0 oz.