Part of Backcountry’s touring collection, the Murdock 850 Down Jacket is a midlayer informed by feedback from the most experienced Backcountry Gearheads. We know the intense cold inherent in setting the Wasatch’s skin tracks before sunrise—a day at the resort can't compare to skiing sans daylight—so the Murdock not only keeps us warm during these frigid dawn patrols, but also packs away without taking much room in our ski packs. Its down insulation has the highest fill rating in the puffy business, meaning you’d be hard-pressed to find an insulator that compresses better.

We designed the Murdock to pair with the Backcountry x Flylow Grizzly Gulch Jacket perfectly, but it still boasts enough weather protection for you to wear without the shell when it’s snowing on the skin track. Its durable, downproof face fabric boasts resilient water-resistance and YKK Vislon Aquaguard zippers to shed snowflakes and powdery spray alike. Unlike most down jackets, the Murdock also features ventilation zippers that amplify airflow when the temperature finally rises with the sun, and the zippers correlate with the Grizzly Gulch’s ventilation zippers to provide better airflow even while wearing a shell.

All of the adjustment points—cuffs, hood, and hem—have glove-friendly tabs so you can seal out cold drafts without taking your gloves off and exposing your hands to the pre-dawn chill. The jacket is also finished with two internal pockets. One has a headphone port for smartphones, and the other is large enough to fit frozen climbing skins, ensuring the glue will be warm and adhesive again when it's time to transition back to the skin track.