Mountain Hardwear Compressor Insulated Jacket - Men's

It's quite a bit warmer man, especially with the hood. I have both and I like the synthetic compressor much better. The nitrous has a poor cuff closure, and it's useless when wet. Guess it depends on what your doing, but for ice and alpine climbing, go with the compressor

It's kind of hard to compare warmth, because everyone's idea of being "warm" is different. I have the Nitrous, and I use it as a midlayer when it gets super cold, and will use it down into the 30's otherwise.

i have seen far shinier jackets than the compressor, but it is pretty shiney. i use this jacket under a variety of different depending on the situation. just the other day i did ten miles at 5 degrees with a -10 to -15 windchill with this jacket under my drystein shell and i was just about perfect.

The outer is shiny. This jacket is designed to layer over a softshell or whatever your outer garment is, so it really doesn't matter. That said, my favorite softshell in the world is the Stoic Welder Lo. It should serve you well.

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Just a guess, perhaps better than a guess - but I would say the Compressor jacket would compare to the warmth of between a 200 - 300 weight fleece. The Compressor excels in packability, wind resistance and low weight. The fit of this years' jacket seems to be a little different, still very close, but perhaps not quite as trim fitting.. but, I think the warmth would be about the same to last years' model in Primaloft Eco. I believe the face fabric is tougher (15D to 20D) this year as well.

no. mine is an older model, but there is not pocket stuff sack.

After talking with a Mountain Hardware rep I was able to find out that they tested their Thermic Micro to have a clo of .76. I believe PL Eco is .74 so they should initially have the same warmth.

Loft retention would play a much more important role when comparing the two since we all know that after being packed down again and again all synthetics loose their loft and insulating values.

Jon, I'm curious. Primaloft unashamedly admits that PL1 has a CLO/oz. value of .92, which is roughly equivalent to 625 fill power down. I talked to an Arc'teryx rep, and he said that after in house testing, their coreloft insulation showed a CLO/oz. value of .82. Despite my trying, I have never been able to get a straight answer out of Mountain Hardwear about the CLO value of Thermic Micro insulation. Any chance you could help me out? Despite your claim that it compares favorably to Primaloft One, Primaloft does a lot of testing to ensure that they can claim to be the warmest synthetic insulation on the market, wet or dry. Can you show some numbers please?

Not to presuade you from this jacket, my thoughts after using a 2007 Model compressor for many years are that the new version has a very clamy feel unlike the smooth as silk older versions. I found a closeout of last years model with Prima loft instead.

Easy Rider. Primaloft Eco is a synthetic insulation from Primaloft that has a certain percent recycled content. Thermic Micro is Mountain Hardwear's proprietary insulation that we use across our line in many different products from jackets to pants to sleeping bags and compares favorably to Primaloft PL One. It has a high silicone content making it extremely soft and packable/stuffable. We have been using it for years with great results.

As for the 'D' in 20D... the D stands for Denier. And if you really wanna know, Denier is a unit of measure for the linear mass density of fibers. It is defined as the mass in grams per 9,000 meters. At least this is what Wikipedia says! The easiest way to understand it is if you stretched one single strand of nylon 9,000 meters, then melted it down in to a spoon, and then weighed it... it would weigh one ounce. This equals one denier. As far as outerwear is concerned the smaller the number used to describe face fabrics of jackets the lighter the fabric. With that said, it is really hard to tell the difference between 15D and 20D fabrics. So, back to your original 2nd question... it is really similar to the old fabric and it would be hard to tell the difference. Hope this info helps and doesn't confuse. Cheers!

Skylar. It does in fact have a DWR and it does a really good job of keeping light moisture out! Hope this helps. Cheers!

Thanks so much Jon! Looks like a great jacket!

One more question: Does it have a DWR on it? Description makes no mention of it on the website and I'm just curious.

Skylar. 120grams of Thermic Micro is stuffed in to the Compressor Jacket. It is the same insulation we use in our Lamina Sleeping bags, has a great soft hand, and is extremely warm. Hope this info helps!