Mountain Hardwear Nitrous Down Jacket - Men's

Hey Jake, depends on your size as well, I'm 6'3" 190( i wear large), MH stuff in my opinion is one of the best fitting lines for lean athletic builds, have tried several rab stuff and like the stuff but cant ever get any of there stuff to fit like some US brands. I have last years model, and only complaint I have is cuffs don't seal tight around the wrists, but it looks like they might have fixed that. Between the two I definitely recommend the MH, its been awesome for me.

I think the Rab is actually stuffed with 750 down, weighs a bit more and like you mention, is shorter. I'm a big fan of a longer cut down sweater, especially if they have cord lock hems, which for me would be a big plus and an advantage over the Rab Microlight jacket. I like Rab stuff, but in this case, i think I would go for the best fit, longer cut and hem drawcords. Also, make sure you look at the seal around the neck and wrists. Hope it helps, Jake.

Yep, thanks. If so, that's pretty impressive. The Patagonia Sweater Jacket only has 3 oz. I was about to buy Patagonia, but this looks like a better option.

According to customer service at Backcountry.com, the fill weight is 4.2 ounces.

Hope this helps.

As per MH site, duel hem drawcords. My personal favorite as elastic tends to ride up on me.

They're both ultralight down sweaters, and are basically the same jacket. MHW is cut as a layering piece, so size up if you want to wear it on the outside. Diez is a tiny bit lighter.

70e. I would pick up a large if I were you. I am 5'9" /155 and wear a medium. The body may be a little loose but the length will be just right. Cheers!

i would say that at 6'2", regargless of how the body fits, the sleeves on a medium would be too short. i only have an inch on you and wear an XL in similarly cut mountain hardwear jackets.

I completely agree with Jon Webb.

The compressor jacket has all the benefits of synthetic insulation. If you're layering for a higher-intensity activity where it is cold enough to warrant such insulation, the synthetic may do a better job with the moisture (dissipation/insulation/drying). (Disclaimer: I don't own the compressor jacket. I do have the pants.)

As for the nitrous (which I do have), what it does is deliver incredible heat-to-weight and heat-to-packed-space ratios to keep you warm. It's made of the highest quality down at the highest fill power, but it packs to almost nothing (it packs into its own pocket, and you can tighten that even smaller with rubber bands if you want). It's truly a very high-end, high-quality piece of equipment worthy of the MHW name. Since its so small and light, I bring it with me everywhere in the winter. It's pretty much part of my back pack (just like my rain jacket is during the summer). Whenever I find myself too cold, I can pull this layer out and it fixes the problem. I've also been real popular for having this to lend to others who dressed too lightly for a winter adventure.
Not to sound too "promotional" but the Nitrous is awesome. I love it.

dtjdvm. Thanks for the call out and the question. So, the Nitrous Down jacket is insulated with the finest 800-fill gray european goose down. The Compressor is insulated with 120 grams of Thermic Micro which is our synthetic insulation. This is the reason for the overall price difference and gets to what I consider the real question... down vs. synthetic? I would say that the Nitrous is warmer for its overall weight being a down coat than the Compressor but both are warm jackets and do their jobs perfectly. Depending on what or how you plan on using the jacket will ultimately dictate which one will work the best for you. I have both and wear both often! So, I might not be the best one to ask :) The argument for down over synthetic basically boils down to the fact that synthetic is warmer when wet (not true as the only thing that is warm when it is wet is a hot tub) but it will maintain its insulative or 'R' value even when wet. Down is warmest for is overall weight and has a greater range temp-wise... but, again both do their jobs perfectly. I hope this answers your question! Cheers!

Thanks for your input!

Hi! I'm not Jon Webb, but would recommend the Nitrous out of personal experience.

JRice. In '10 we used the same 15D Ripstop that we've used since the jacket existed in our line. It's the same fabric used in the Phantom Sleeping bags and was a little shiny. For '11, we are using a slightly different ripstop called Sensor Ripstop. It's a 100% Polyester Ripstop that combines 20 by 30 denier threads woven together in to a very soft, fine, and ultralight Ripstop weighing only 1 oz. per yard of fabric! It's down proof by construction and has an durable DWR to keep the weather out.
As for the fit, the fit has been tweaked a little and I don't think you'll find it to be as tight fitting as before. Just about all of our patterns for the coming season have been digitized through out our line which is absolutely HUGE! This will greatly improve the tweaks we are able to do during production in order to get fit as perfect as possible. I have your same dimensions (5'9" and about 150) and I wear a medium for sure.
An additional update that I really appreciate is the fact that we moved to zip pockets instead of the flap pockets for the main hand pockets we had on last years jacket. Zip pockets look better and are simply more functional.

With the fabric, fit, and pocket updates I feel like this is one of the nicest down sweaters on the market today. Enjoy!!