Those clever Japanese

By Barry Blalock Ranked #147 - Men's Synthetic Insulation Jackets January 9, 2009

Friends, Family, Countrymen... to truly perfect this great piece when the temps are sub 30's layer like this; baselayer = merino wool / capilene / polyester / etc., Midlayer = MontBell UL Thermawrap. Now if you have a hardshell make sure you have another barrier over your Thermawrap because as I found out the hard way when going fast and hard and pumping sweat, there was too much body heat (condensation) on the inside of my shell so whenever the winds blew, I was uncomfortably chilly. To fix this, put another wicking layer over the Thermawrap and your hardshell and your body heat will dissipate just fine and you can tell the wind to kiss your ass. What can I say that hasn't already been said by others? It is super light, it is surprisingly durable, it does block about 87.349% of the wind, and finally, keeps me warm when stopping for a break on the trail and I've drenched this piece in my sweat. Very, very nice!

Upon seeing the 3 thumbs down, I had to reassess my review and look at what negative factors contributed to a misunderstanding or dislike of this article. It could be that my review just wasn't technical enough so let me try...

This jacket only has two front hand pockets which are not fleece lined or zipped. It has an elastic waistband that does fit snugly around your waist if you are even a hair overweight. The only zipper is the one on the front that goes both up, and surprisingly, down. It is extremely packable, stuff sack is probably 3.5"x6", but even when in it's stuff sack in can go smaller if needed to. It cuts decently through the wind, give it a 4 out of 5 stars and has no factory DWR applied to it so the 15D material gets wet very easily. In bitter cold, (0-20 degrees F) do not expect this to keep you warm if you are not moving. You will get hot while moving if the temps are (21-+ deg. F) It could afford better stitching so it would last longer. It feels super light, slightly cheap, but it's from the no extras added design. Once again, super packable.

View Details: MontBell Ultralight Thermawrap Insulation Jacket - Men's

Helpful Votes: 15 Yes