Mont Icicle Down Jacket Review
Photos from Allie Pepper via Mont Facebook Page - Aconcagua in Las Cuevas, Mendoza, Argentina
So, I wanted a really warm jacket. Because sometimes layering isn’t enough. Or I'm sitting still, no fire nearby. Belaying a friend who is dogging their way up an ice climb while I stand in a sunless gully feeling my beard freeze. Sleeping in a snow cave. Chatting to friends until late. Walking around in the Arctic circle looking at the Aurora Borealis at minus 29 degrees Celsius. That sort of thing.
I admit in an unpatriotic moment I looked around at what the international market had to offer. Quite a few impressive suggestions there on the internet. Light, functional, and apparently compact when packed up. Many were made with goose down. Which ramped the exponentially high price up again by x to the power of x.
Ironically the down jacket which met all of my criteria was from an Australian brand. Durable water resistant outer fabric - tick. Detachable hood - tick. More than 800 loft - tick. YKK zips - tick. Weighs less than 900g - tick. Has more than 300g of down - tick. The Mont Icicle Down Jacket.
I use it to augment a light summer sleeping bag when ski touring to sleep in. When I stop for a hot meal, I'll put it on over the top of my Goretex outer shell. If it hasn’t been raining, which makes for quick efficient work of warming up with the said meal when sitting still for a few minutes in sub-zero conditions, wind chill or otherwise - there's no need to waste time setting up a shelter.
It has its limitations. Like all down jackets in conditions hovering just above freezing, humidity can still make things bone chilling if I sit still long enough. I remember putting it on under my drysuit while in an open ocean sailing race (Melbourne to Hobart) thinking I was smart, to find after sitting on the rails for 5 hours at 10 degrees Celsius or less, I was groggy with borderline hypothermia.
But in colder conditions, sub-zero, no humidity its awesome. For anyone considering using any down jacket UNDER a shell jacket, take heed. They are not exactly fit for purpose, you will definitely need a much larger raincoat/outer shell to fit an Icicle underneath, and the only ideal environment for this situation is if perhaps you are taking a ride in a zodiac in Antarctic or Arctic sub-zero conditions at sea, where salty sea water is not frozen, but precipitation will be.
Obviously some clothing underneath all helps, especially base layers with a fine weave. For those of you who like to read books and maps while horizontal in bed, it’s a real blessing to have some to keep your arms warm during those cold nights or mornings.
I cant really fault my Icicle jacket from Mont. I can see no collapse in the down with my jacket compared to the new ones I see on the shelf at work. If you feel the cold and love to venture outdoors a lot - stop procrastinating and buy one.
Questions?
