"Over All Nice But..." - Review of Mountain Hardwear Sub Zero Down Vest - Men's

The Good: The vest looks great and feels great. I am 5'10" and fairly thin. I would normally have bought a Med but I wanted something a bit more slimming that would fit under other layers so I got the small. The fit is very nice and the length comes down to my belt but I would have appreciated another inch in length (I did get the small though so no points off there). The arm holes are a great fit and don't let much air out. The pockets are many and feel great. The primary hand pockets are a warm slightly fuzzy material. The Lacking: I was really expecting a reversible self packing pocket in the vest so that you could pack the thing into its self. It comes with a separate stuff sack but who wants to carry that around? Down leaks out of my vest at a slow but regular rate over time since it was taken out of the packaging. I also worry about the durability of the outer shell fabric. Maybe I am paranoid because it already has down leaking from it but every little branch, shrub, or pricker that I rub against while in the woods just has me thinking about increasing that rate of down loss. It seems like it wouldn't take much to put a small hole in the shell and then I just imagine down continually leaking from its new exit point. Over all I recommend the vest because it feels great. I am going to spray some water proofing on the shoulders and upper back and it will work great as a base layer or with a long thermal shirt on cooler days.
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