Originally designed for the US Special Forces, The Alpha Air Jacket from L.L.Bean is a sturdy, functional, fully windproof jacket that’s designed to take a beating and provide stubborn weather protection when it’s needed the most. Instead of being built light and fluffy, it’s built with a robust soft shell body, Polartec insulation, and wet weather protection … More L.L.Bean Alpha Air Jacket
There once was a time when down was the only option for light weight winter insulation. This is no longer the case. High performance synthetics like Primaloft have changed the game, and even offer benefits over down fill. The Odin Insulator from Helly Hansen is tangible proof of this. The Odin Jacket outer and inner body are both … More Helly Hansen Odin Insulator Jacket Review
It’s not always summer or winter, sometimes you land in those shady seasons in between when it’s too hot for a full jacket, but it’s too cool for a shirt. This is where the PrimaLoft Superlight Jacket comes in. It’s an ultra-light, packable jacket that provides a mild amount of insulation for those cool, but … More L.L.Bean PrimaLoft Superlight Jacket Review
A windbreaker is something I don’t quite see enough of in the backcountry. Often times it’s too warm for an insulating layer, but the wind chill can still cut right through your bare skin. The Granite Creek Windbreaker is a light weight solution to this problem. The jacket is built from a lightweight rip-stop nylon … More Mountain Khakis Granite Creek Windbreaker Review
The Elite Cagoule and Chaps from Sierra Designs ditches the concepts of traditional gear, and instead reaches deep inside their pocket of ideas for something lighter, breezier, and completely zipper free. Tradition is a strong force in backpacking, but sometimes different truly is better. The Cagoule and Chaps are sold separately, but are designed to … More Sierra Designs Elite Cagoule and Chaps Rainwear
The Packaway Fuse jacket from L.L.Bean is a lightweight, highly breathable packable jacket designed to fill that need for light weight warmth in the spring, summer, and fall. It’s a quite straight forward jacket, made of a thin PrimaLoft chest, back and upper arms, with a very breathable, vent like, stretchable nylon panels under the … More L.L. Bean PrimaLoft Packaway Fuse Jacket
The L.L.Bean PrimaLoft Packaway jacket is a light weight, highly compressible mid layer garment that challenges fleece for year round usability and comfort, but can it replace it? Let’s see how it holds up. About the jacket The Packaway is built from light weight rip-stop nylon, with a thin layer of PrimaLoft One synthetic insulation. The … More L.L.Bean PrimaLoft Packaway Jacket
When old man winter rolls in, keeping my core warm and comfortable becomes my top priority when backpacking. A solid, lightweight mid layer is vital to staying warm. The Hooded Jacket from L.L.Bean provides a good balance of warmth, weight, comfort, and looks. About the jacket The Ultralight 850 is a fairly straight forward designed … More L.L.Bean Ultralight 850 Down Jacket
Odin, the furious one. A bold name for a bold performance jacket from Helly Hansen. Can a jacket with such an epic nomenclature live up to its name? About the Jacket The Odin is built from high quality, ultralight Pertex Quantum nylon, and filled with Primaloft insulation, a synthetic insulation. The jacket has a full … More Helly Hansen Odin Insulator Jacket Review
The Verglas Down Insulator from Helly Hansen is a light weight, down jacket designed for staying warm in low activity times around camp, or for being out and about when the weather turns. About the Verglas The Verglas comes loaded with 700 fill down to provide loft and warmth. It’s constructed from a lightweight Pertex ripstop … More Helly Hansen Verglas Down Insulator Review
