Mountain {Hardware}’s Ghost Whisperer UL hoodie has been a well-liked decide amongst ultralight backpackers because it was launched just a few years in the past. It stays the most effective puffer jacket for anybody making an attempt to shave each final ounce off their pack weight. It weighs simply 6.7 ounces for a males’s medium (7.3 ounces for the lads’s massive I examined), packs right down to a tiny little factor (stuffing into its personal pocket), and the 1,000-fill-power goose down presents top-of-the-line warmth-to-weight ratios in the marketplace. The very light-weight shell materials is a mixture of 5D and 7D ripstop nylon, which is a little more fragile than heavier jackets, but it surely has held up effectively to date in my testing. I can safely say that the Ghost Whisper UL is every thing I ever needed in an ultralight down puffer after which some.
What units it aside from another very good puffers on the market are the little particulars. First there’s the 1.9 ounces of 1,000-fill-power down, which is as excessive a fill energy as you may discover in a jacket of this class, that means you are getting the utmost heat and loft that you would be able to for the least quantity of weight. My solely caveat for this jacket can be, in case you are the kind of one that will get chilly simply, you may want one thing with a bit extra fill. The traditional Ghost Whisperer Down Hoody (not the ultralight) has 3 ounces of 800 fill energy and is barely hotter in most eventualities, the trade-off being it is heavier as effectively (about 9 ounces for a males’s medium). Additionally take a look at the Katabatic Gear puffer beneath, which is significantly hotter. I don’t get chilly simply, and I’ve discovered the Ghost Whisperer UL works effectively for me as a heat layer to throw on in camp at excessive elevation is summer season, a mid-layer for mountaineering in chilly situations, and a mid-layer underneath the Rab Glaceon Professional in excessive chilly.
Different particulars that make the Ghost Whisperer UL our high decide for ultralight mountaineering embrace two very good zippered hand pockets with a superb quantity of house to stash little stuff like a three-season hat and a few gloves, together with an adjustable drawstring on the waist to maintain drafts out. I additionally love how small this factor packs down, effectively underneath the dimensions of a 1L bottle (see photograph). It packs into its personal left pocket with a reversible zipper, though it is going to stuff down even smaller when you get a separate stuff sack.
My solely gripe about this jacket is that there is no drawstrings. The hood, cuffs, and waist hem are all elastic. This works fantastic for the cuffs and hood, however I want there have been a drawstring for the waist. For that reason, if I’m anticipating temps beneath 40, I carry a heavier puffer. The remainder of the time, that is what you may discover in my backpack. Be aware that I discovered the match to be slightly small. In response to the match information on the Mountain {Hardware} web site, I’m proper between medium and enormous. I attempted each and located the massive match a lot better.
SpecsDown fill power1,000Fill weight1.9 ouncesWeight6.7 oz.
