Alot of great reviews about the Patagonia Down Sweater. How does this compare? Anyone know? Thanks,

This is a great piece, but in a different category, I think, than the Patagonia jacket. The Patagonia Down Sweater has 3.0 ounces of 800-fill down covered by 22-denier ripstop polyester, while the mont-bell has 1.8 ounces of 900-fill (equivalent to 2.1 ounces of 800-fill) covered by 7-denier Ballistic Airlight calendered nylon. The Patagonia lists at 13 ounces, the mont-bell at 5.7 ounces. Neither is necessarily better, just different jackets for different purposes, needs, and preferences. Interestingly enough, though, BPL did an in-depth test and analysis on down jackets, and this tested within one degree of warmth of the Patagonia Down Sweater, which is an imperceptible difference. Very impressive, given the weight difference between the two pieces. They also concluded that, contrary to popular conception, there is not necessarily a direct correlation between fill weight and/or loft, and jacket warmth. Down quality, jacket materials, design, and construction all play into the warmth factor. Lesson: don't judge a book by its cover. Find out how a jacket actually tested for warmth, and the Ex Light did extremely well.

Also, Patagonia does not publish their fill amount for the down in the sweaters. This makes comparison more difficult, but just based on sheer weight comparison the Pat. is going to be warmer. Sorry, no hard numbers for you.

Montbell uses 900 fill, while Pata uses 800 fill down. Montbell is probably not as warm - it weighs 1/2 the amount. Its also a tight fit and has no pockets, and utilizes sewn through construction. I use the ex light as a summer alpine jacket where it will probably dip to 40 degrees. Size up - I wear a M in most montbell jackets and I needed a L in this jacket.