Don’t let its name deceive you: Mount Rainier’s ‘Sunset Amphitheater’ is a cold and inhospitable place. A perfect spot for a jacket test.
We were high on the mountain. As the sun disappeared over Seattle, an orange glow casted across the Imax-like canvas, lighting the wall ablaze, and the temperature began its plummet to 10˚F.
On went the parkas. It would be the last we would feel the sun’s warmth until midday the following morning on this shadowy mammoth peak.
Ski mountaineering around Rainier’s slopes, we found a great opportunity to put two high-end down and synthetic jackets to the test against each other. The parkas were of similar cost, weight, and compressibility. The test would weigh the pros and cons of each insulation type.
In the right corner we had professor Chris Minson wearing MontBell’s Mirage down parka. In the left, I donned Mountain Hardwear’s Super Compressor synthetic parka. We traded parkas throughout the week to compare warmth and comfort. Here’s a breakdown from the test.
- Super Compressor: Cold weather enthusiasts, ski-mountaineers, and climbers.
- Mirage: Shoulder season; cold-weather enthusiasts with bias for off-the-slopes fun.
Specs:
- At 13 ounces, the Mirage is the weight class winner.
- Luxurious 900-fill down is baffled between the 7-denier ballistic nylon liner and shell. The hood has 2-way adjustments that sit on either side of the microfleece-lined chin, and a rear draw cord cinches the hood around the head. The waist hem can be drawn shut through the pockets. A simple velcro hook and loop tab protects the wrists from the elements.
- The jacket has a one-way vertical main zipper and two hand-warmer pockets. A large sleeve pocket runs down both chest panels and are large enough to swallow a 1L Nalgene each.
- The Mirage compresses in its stuff sack to about 5 x 10 inches (though it can compress smaller).
- Made in China.
- At 17 ounces, the synthetic Super Compressor is 4 ounces heavier than the Mirage.
- Mountain Hardwear lofts the Super Compressor with its Thermal.Q Elite fill, pairing thick and thin fibers to mimic down’s properties. Through a proprietary baffling construction, the jacket pitches additional insulation space that is cited to ricochet body heat inside the hyper-lofted space.
- The sleeves use a cuff-less design that gently snugs the wrist. Two-way hood adjustments sit on either side of the microfleece-lined chin, and the two bottom pulls can be adjusted at the hem with a single hand.
- The main waterproof zipper has both a top and bottom pull. The two hand-warmer pockets are lined with microfleece.
- A generous chest pocket can swallow the jacket into its own stowable sack, which measures 5 x 8 x 9 inches.
- Made in China.