Marmot Guides Down Vest

I like owning winter gear and use my gear to the extreme so I know how good the clothing is and how well it performs. The less clothing you need to stay warm the better. This is a very warm vest. You feel the warmth right away when you put it on. It does behave like any other down product though.

Pros: Lightweight
Very warm (600 down fill)
Inside chest pocket, very big
Two front handwarmer pockets
Good style with the bi puffyness

Con: Feathers occasionally pokes and comes out of the vest
Loses its puffyness after washing (I think you could prevent this if you took it to the drycleaners)

Overall I like this vest very much but can't stand the fact that I'm losing some of the warmth when I see a feather come out.

Update: October 27, 2009

This is my first vest. End up giving it to a friend cause he likes it so much. Overall, a good vest. I feel the warmth right away as soon as you put it on. It's pretty puffy as well.

Specs:

Insulation: Marmot Down 650 Fill
Exterior: Nylon (Soft feel)
Interior: Nylon (more plasticky feel)
Pockets: 2 front pockets that have handwarmer material
1 inside left chest pocket that have nylon feel
(this inside pocket is very big which is good)
Chin gard at the top of the zipper

Handwarmer material around the neck collar portion

Windflap behind the zipper to keep cold drafts out

Can stuff entire vest into it's own pocket.
(inside pocket is used for this)

Elastic draw cords infront under the zipper
(helps keep the heat in)

Pros: The vest is very warm and stylish. Handwarmer pockets is great. Every jacket should have them. Handwarmer material around the neck was a great idea. The inside left chest pocket is huge. I was able to fit 3 sunglass cases in it. Exterior material is very soft and nice to touch. It has a good amount of down which makes it a little difficult to put a jacket over this.

Cons: It's not waterproof so if the down gets wet it becomes useless. It's barely even water resistant I would say. Though the exterior is soft and nice it could snag easily if you were travelling in wooded area. This would cause the material to rip. Like all down products, feathers do sometimes tend to come out. Just a little at the beginning then for some reason it stops.

Overall this is a very warm vest. I like it and did my research before purchasing it. Would like it to be water proof, but that would be expensive. For some reason this jacket is more expensive but with less down fill than the Zeus Vest. Check out "marmot.com" for more details.