User Review: Feathered Friends Icefall Parka

Reviewed August 3, 2007 by JTroxell

Rating: rated 4 of 5 stars
Fabric: eVENT
Fill: 800+ down
Price Paid: $375

I have yet to push the temperature limits of the parka, but I wore the IceFall in heavy winds on the upper slopes of Cotopaxi this past year and it kept me comfortably warm. My IceFall Parka is made with the eVENT fabric and has the 800+ overfill also - I intend to use the IceFall on Denali in the future.

Features that I like: the well-designed hood fits over a climbing helmet, and I really like the design of the outer hand pockets. Also, this jacket packs up small for the warmth that it provides. For a comparison, this jacket in a size Large packs just a little larger than a Mountain Hardwear Subzero SL Parka (size medium), while providing significantly more loft and warmth. I believe the IceFall also weighs less than the Subzero Parka.

Features that I'm lukewarm on: the double zipper in the front of the parka. In high winds wearing mitts, getting the zippers done on the IceFall was not a trivial task, and it was necessary to remove my mitts to get the zipper closed. I think I probably would prefer an inner zipper with an outer velcro closure mechanism instead, but the two zippers used on the IceFall still do their job adequately.

Things to improve: my only real complaint about this parka is that there is minimal protection against zipper snagging. I already have one tear in the eVent fabric from the zipper catching that has prompted me to run tape the length of the zipper to prevent another snag - so far so good. On a down coat of this quality, I'd really like to see Feathered Friends add fabric-stiffening tape, or its equivalent, to minimize this problem.

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