On test: Mountain Equipment's Hooded Xero Jacket, £220
Written by Brynnie
Tuesday, 13 December 2011 16:59
Mountain Equipment celebrated its 50th birthday this year, and meaning the company’s been manufacturing quality mountaineering gear for use in the world’s most extreme environments for half a century. Its submission for this review is the Xero Hooded Jacket, a down jacket that breaks the bank at £220.
The Hooded Xero Jacket offers top quality components throughout and is as warm as an oven. If you’re going to be hiking in some seriously cold weather or if you just get cold easily this jacket’s for you. It uses a 750-fill Hungarian goose down, reputed to be one of the best quality and warmest downs around. This would help to explain the high costs, and the fact that the fill is 93% down and only 7% feather (the highest in this test, with the other jackets ranging between 80% and 90%) will no doubt have something to do with it as well.
At close to £200 the Minim Down jacket is going to have to offer something special for it to be worthy of a purchase. The jacket’s name hints at its main selling point: the minimal weight and ridiculously small size. At just 391g the Minim is the lightest in this test by 25g, so if you’re a serious lightweight hiker you should love it. Fitting in with the minimal theme it’ll take up less space in your pack than a small bag of pasta, yet once it’s out of its stuff sack it’s surprisingly lofty and puffy.
The light weight of this jacket is in part down to the use of the light and thin (so thin you can see the feathers inside) Pertex Quantum outer fabric as well as light weight 800 fill down. However, you get the feeling that in order to decrease the weight of the jacket some features have been left out. For example, the jacket doesn’t include a hood (so make sure you pack a hat) and the two hand-warmer pockets don’t have zips (the chest one does though).
On test: Outdoor Research Transcendent Hoody, £155
Written by Brynnie
Tuesday, 13 December 2011 16:40
American company Outdoor Research (OR) has been around since the 1980s and its first product was an insulated gaiter. Now OR has a huge range of outdoor clothing and equipment and we’ve got the Transcendent Hoody in for review. The hoody, which is part of the Transcendent range that includes an insulated gilet and smock, is a lightweight down jacket that’s been designed for use in the mountains.
The Transcendent Hoody, like the Transcendent Vest (which we tested in the last issue of AT), is impressively warm for its weight. The jacket weighs in at 461g, not the lightest on test, but still light enough not to put a strain on your back. Thanks to the 650-fill down the jacket is also incredibly packable; it doesn’t include a stuff sack though so if you want one you’ll have to source your own.
Rab was started up by a Scottish mountaineer called Rab Carrington, who made sleeping bags in Patagonia before setting up in the UK in the 1980s. The company soon became known for its quality down products and here on test we have the Microlight, a lightweight down jacket.
The Microlight is designed to be used as a lightweight mid-layer or throw-over in cold, alpine conditions, although that said, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t be able to shove it in your pack and take it on a hike with you. It uses a high loft 750 fill European goose down with a Pertex Microlight shell.
If you thought that all insulated jackets were the same, think again. Instead of your standard insulated top, which uses the same material all over, the Zonal is a hybrid and uses a mixture of Mountain Hardwear’s own synthetic insulation, Thermic Micro, and high-stretch panels. Mountain Hardwear calls this system MicroClimate Zoning which all sounds very technical, but it basically means that the Zonal offers warmth around your core, but under the arms, where freedom of movement is generally preferable to insulation, you get stretch panels. So the Zonal isn’t going to be as warm as a fully insulated jacket, but it would be an ideal choice for a climbing/ice climbing over-layer as it allows you to get the full range of movement in your arms but still have a decent amount of warmth.
Gear 
Mountain Equipment celebrated its 50th birthday this year, and meaning the company’s been manufacturing quality mountaineering gear for use in the world’s most extreme environments for half a century. Its submission for this review is the Xero Hooded Jacket, a down jacket that breaks the bank at £220.
At close to £200 the Minim Down jacket is going to have to offer something special for it to be worthy of a purchase. The jacket’s name hints at its main selling point: the minimal weight and ridiculously small size. At just 391g the Minim is the lightest in this test by 25g, so if you’re a serious lightweight hiker you should love it. Fitting in with the minimal theme it’ll take up less space in your pack than a small bag of pasta, yet once it’s out of its stuff sack it’s surprisingly lofty and puffy.
American company Outdoor Research (OR) has been around since the 1980s and its first product was an insulated gaiter. Now OR has a huge range of outdoor clothing and equipment and we’ve got the Transcendent Hoody in for review. The hoody, which is part of the Transcendent range that includes an insulated gilet and smock, is a lightweight down jacket that’s been designed for use in the mountains.
Rab was started up by a Scottish mountaineer called Rab Carrington, who made sleeping bags in Patagonia before setting up in the UK in the 1980s. The company soon became known for its quality down products and here on test we have the Microlight, a lightweight down jacket. 
If you thought that all insulated jackets were the same, think again. Instead of your standard insulated top, which uses the same material all over, the Zonal is a hybrid and uses a mixture of Mountain Hardwear’s own synthetic insulation, Thermic Micro, and high-stretch panels. Mountain Hardwear calls this system MicroClimate Zoning which all sounds very technical, but it basically means that the Zonal offers warmth around your core, but under the arms, where freedom of movement is generally preferable to insulation, you get stretch panels. So the Zonal isn’t going to be as warm as a fully insulated jacket, but it would be an ideal choice for a climbing/ice climbing over-layer as it allows you to get the full range of movement in your arms but still have a decent amount of warmth.