Back in 2008 I bought these two garments. A Montbell EX Light Down Jacket and a Montbell EX Light Down Vest. They are identical pieces although one has sleeves and the other doesn’t.
At the time they were probably the lightest down garments on the planet — truly minimalist — all of which doesn’t tell us much at all.
Today, 18 years later, the Montbell jacket is still my “go to” insulation for most backpacking trips, followed by the vest. Neither item is still sold by Montbell. In this article I will explain why these pieces of gear have remained my favorites and also share similar garments that Montbell sells today.
Who Is Montbell?
You won’t find Montbell products in the usual popular stores like REI. Montbell is an independent Japanese outdoor brand that sells its gear primarily through its own online store and a few dedicated retail locations in Switzerland, Japan and the United States. There is only one Montbell store in the U.S., located in Boulder, Colorado.
You can find the full range of Montbell’s “light & fast” outdoor clothing and equipment on their official Montbell America website or visit one of their physical stores, such as the flagship location in Boulder, Colorado.
Founded in 1975 by mountaineer Isamu Tatsuno, Montbell has been in business for 50 years. Isamu Tatsuno is still the CEO.
Per the Montbell website, the company’s design philosophy is:
Montbell focuses on “Light & Fast” and does so without compromising on quality, durability or function.
I have several other Montbell products in my gear closet, and highly regard the quality and function of everything I have purchased over the years.
The Lightest Jacket On The Planet
Okay, so what does this mean? It means my size Large EX Light Down Jacket weighs only 6.1 ounces (176 grams). The jacket is lightweight! This begs two questions:
Why is it so light?
Is it warm?
Minimalism and ultralight gear
If we were to ask most backpackers to describe this jacket, they would probably call it a piece of ultralight gear. But what does this mean? Perhaps they would tell us it is lighter than most other jackets, which provides almost no useful information at all.
Some backpackers would want to take a closer look at it, and after determining the type of down insulation, the amount of loft, the fabric used, and other construction data, they would then say it is a minimalist jacket. That is, for its intended purpose, it fulfills the minimum requirements. Nothing more and nothing less.
Before discussing the attributes of this Montbell Jacket, I must point out that many manufacturers today do not provide detailed information about their insulated clothing. It is uncommon for any of them to include the amount of down used, or the type of fabric used for the shell or inner lining. Instead of a shell fabric description of, let’s say, “20-denier ripstop nylon” we may see something like “100% recycled nylon,” which tells us very little about fabric used. (Some manufacturers will provide this information if you request it).
Why it is so light?
High Quality Down (Fill Power)
When I bought it I knew, from my research, that it was made from 900 Fill Power goose down and had a loft of just under one inch. The weight of the down alone in the jacket is 1.9 ounces, or just over 30% of the total weight.
Above: My Montbell EX Light Down Jacket and my sleeping bag. On this trip the temperature dropped down to about freezing at night. The jacket kept me comfortably warm when doing camp chores and some nighttime star gazing.
Shell Material
The EX Light Down Jacket uses 7-denier Ballistic Airlight ripstop nylon. This an incredibly lightweight material for a jacket. Although the shell fabric is very thin, it’s also very soft to the touch. Because of a tight weave the fabric does not snag easily and is not damaged by Velcro.
Denier is the weight of a 9,000m long thread. A thread of 1-denier would weigh 1 gram. The lower number the denier, the thinner and more fine the thread, and in practical terms, it is a good equivalent of thickness. Today, most down jackets use a 20-denier (or thicker) material for the shell and inner lining of a jacket. So the fabric of a typical down jacket is almost three times as thick as the Montbell EX Light Down Jacket.
The jacket comes with a water repellent finish. The fabric, like any other garment I have ever owned with a water repellent finish, is not waterproof and the finish soon wears off.
Other Construction Details
The Sewn Through Construction keeps down insulation in place.
The jackets uses a #3 (3mm wide) zipper, whereas most down jackets use a #5 or #8 zipper. Other manufacturers often use a #3 zipper for pockets not the main zipper.
The sleeves have elastic cuffs. The jacket has no pockets.
Altogether, the gossamer fabric, 900PF down, small zipper, and no pockets make this a minimalist jacket. In fact, I would call it a sweater not a jacket.
Mine came with a stuff sack made from the same material as the jacket.
What a minimalist garment like the Ex Light Down Jacket means
The fabric will not fare well if exposed to high abrasion situations, sharp objects, or the occasional campfire spark. Ultralight (minimalist) requires extra care and responsibility on the part of the user.
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After 17 years of taking this jacket on most of my backpacking trips, plus the occasional camping trip, not to mention some around town usage the jacket is as good as new. The one exception are a couple of small holes from campfire sparks. This really upset me because I rarely use a campfire and when I do, I wear a wind shirt over my jacket for protection — the one and only time I didn’t — I damaged the jacket. But after a simple repair with Tenacious Tape, it is fine.
Is it warm?
Yes, if we understand insulation loft. The jacket has 800 fill power down, which just under 1 inch of loft for this garment. For more about fill power, see my article Down Fill Power Explained — Is it an Important Measurement?
For me this meant it would keep me warm down to about 32° F when doing camp chores. This is adequate in three season weather, but not for a winter trip in the mountains. The important thing here is the amount of loft (thickness) not the fill power rating.
Montbell EX Light Down Vest
This is identical to the jacket sans sleeves. My size large weighs only 3.84 ounces (109 grams). In colder weather sometimes I wear this under my EX Light Down Jacket instead of bringing a separate heavier down jacket.
Other times when I don’t expect to need any insulation I may bring the vest “just in case.” An example occurred in February of 2012 on a trip to the Anza Borrego desert area. The first day I hiked in shorts and a mesh tank top, the weather was that nice. That night an unexpected weather front came in with extreme high winds and a shockingly cold next morning. Luckily I had my Montbell vest, which I wore over my wind shirt until the morning warmed up.
Bonus Review: Montbell UL Down Inner Pants
When I bought my Montbell jacket and vest I also purchased a size medium Montbell UL Down Inner Pants. I only use these in winter on my backpacking trips in the mountains where the lowest temperature expected is over 20° F. Below that I use them in conjunction with a thick base layer lowers and under a shell of some sort.
Below are the specifications:
- Weight (size M): 6.63 ounces (188 grams)
- Insulation: 800 power fill down (2.0 ounces of down)
- Shell: 15-denier Ballistic Airlight nylon with DWR (twice as thick as my Montbell jacket and vest
The pants have elastic cuffs (no leg zippers). Elastic waistband with drawcord, snap, and a zippered fly. A stuff sack was included.
Compact Size
All of these garments are extremely small when carried in the included stuff sack.
Similar Current Offerings From Montbell
EX Light Down Anorak (Men’s)
This is identical to the EX Light Down Jacket only it has a hood and a single non-zippered pass through hand pocket.
- 7-denier Ballistic Airlight ripstop nylon ripstop (with a water repellent finish)
- 900 Fill Power EX Down
- Weight: 7.6 oz / 215 g
Plasma 1000 Down Jacket (Men’s)
Similar to the EX Light Down Jacket, but has two hand pockets (instead of none) and comes with 1000 fill power down instead of 900FP.
- 7-denier Ballistic Airlight ripstop nylon (water repellent finish)
- 1000 Fill Power EX Down
- Weight: 4.9 oz / 138 g
Light Down Pants (Men’s)
Very similar to the UL Down Inner Pants with a different sewn through pattern. It also has an elastic waistband with drawcord but lacks a zippered fly opening.
- 10-denier Ballistic Airlight ripstop nylon (water repellent finish)
- 800 Fill Power EX Down
- Weight: 6.8 oz / 192 g (size Medium)