Warning, this post written by a Dilley

First of all let me say that many people have said the material seems fragile. While I have not rock climbed in it yet, I did poke a Morsel Spork XL through the material when I packed the jacket in it’s own pocket. I could see the fork tine poking through. When I unstuffed the jacket I could not find a hole though. It’s like this material is self sealing or something. I was impressed. Sorry I do not have a picture, or the budget to do this again and potentially ruin my jacket. 

Why did I get this jacket? Well I’ve had my eye on it for a while. Trying it on in the store the medium was a pretty spot on fit, especially considering no adjustable waist, cuffs or hood. It also felt like I got warm quickly. I think they shine a heat light on you when trying on a jacket in a store as this doesn’t always translate to the wild in my opinion. (It is pretty warm though I think partially because of the VBL effect as it’s not very breathable).

I loved the blue, I think it’s called Balkan Blue, which I purchased in a medium. I’m 6’2” tall and about 160 lbs with narrow shoulders. The length is fine. The sleeves are slightly short, but close enough. The hood fits great. Of course without large pecs or a big belly there is some extra in the front, which I hate, but that is true of all jackets I’m aware of except Arc’Teryx and maybe Dynafit. 

Everyone who backpacks talks about the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer. I tried it on and yes, it does seem to heat up nicely. My thinking though is that If I’m going to be sleeping and backpacking in this jacket, I’d rather have synthetic to deal with all the moisture. Bulletproof in other words. The weight difference is like 2oz, which was not a big enough deal for me to justify the cost difference. 

What I mean by cost difference is I got this jacket for less than $100 with a special sale, combined with customer loyalty benefits. Yeah me! Would I pay full price for this? Absolutely not because there is so little material in this I don’t know how this piece isn’t manufactured for like $10 in China. 

Honestly though, I of course want the Ghost Whisperer too, but that’s because I like the looks of it and I’m a jacket whore. I would get the golden metal orange color of last year. Alternatively the Phantom is the same thing with a more durable nylon for ~1oz penalty and a rad purple color! Seems like a no brainer to me.

After going on a few backpacking trips and just traveling, I love the jacket. The only gripe I have is with the hood up. It is very loud with the nylon noise, even while wearing a hat. It’s a bit atrocious actually when trying to sleep. When in the middle of nowhere and everything is quiet I can’t discern if that’s a bear crashing through the woods or just my jacket, and I’m definitely a jumpy sleeper in the backcountry. Perhaps ear plugs would help this. I know a combination of my airpods and Slayer negates this quite a bit. 

Lastly this jacket underneath a gore tex shell is pretty darn warm. Once you get warm it does not breath super well, but no puffy that’s at all warm does unless you get the Nano Air, which I have and it is brilliant. So this uses the Vapor Barrier concept to gain a slight thermal edge IMHO.

If you’re into not worrying about moisture, a nice slim streamlined fit and a cool look for a relatively lightweight jacket I highly recommend the Patagucci Micro Puff Hoody. 

Love Dilley