Japanese brand Mont Bell is now available in the UK and one
of the first garments we've seen from them is an insanely light down
jacket.
The brand is huge in its native Japan, but has recently expanded
to take in the US market as well. Alongside a range of clothing from
expedition mountaineering kit to ultra-lightweight backpacking togs,
the company also produces sleeping bags, with an interesting stretch
fit concept, shelters and packs.
The UL Down Inner Jacket that turned up on our doorstep the
other day, is the result of the company's mission to produce - and we
quote - 'the lightest and warmest insulation layer possible without
compromising on fit or features'.
That means a phenomenally light and silky 15-denier nylon shell
fabric wrapped around a small quantity of 800 fill power
hypoallergenic goose down. Construction is stitched through to save
weight and the jacket uses press-studs rather than a zip for the same
reason - easy to undo, slower to do up.
It really is ridiculously light - a Japanese market large,
equivalent to a UK medium weighed in at a genuine 204 grammes
on the OM scales, or 211 grammes if you include the stuffsac
supplied. To put that in perspective, it's around the same as a
medium weight baselayer top... It's also very small when packed down,
making a cylinder about 20cm long x 10cm in diameter.
Mont Bell says that it's 'warmer than most heavy fleece jackets'
and is also suprisingly wind resistant. Obviously it's more of a
ultra-lightweight fleece substitute than a conventional down jacket
and it's best suited - like all down - to a cold, dry environment.
There's also a similar synthetic jacket which we also have on
test.
We'll bring you a proper test soon, but if you're after
super-lightweight, super-compact insulation, it should definitely be
on your list.
At the moment available only from OM shopping partner hikelite at
www.hike-lite.co.uk
more details of the Mont Bell range at www.montbell.com.
