Mountain Hardwear MicroChill Jacket

Summary

A plush, lightweight jacket that looks great and performs well.

The hunt for another "perfect jacket" yeilded a great one this time. I was looking for a full-zip lightweight fleece jacket that I could wear on cool mornings walking the dog or hiking. Mountain Hardwear delivered again.

The Mountain Hardwear Microchill Jacket is the perfect combination of warmth, light weight, and plushness. It's not heavy at all (a mere 11 oz.), including chest panels inside to cut wind (not sure what the material is). And this thing is so soft (Velous Micro Fleece) it feels like wearing bunny fur—yes, it's that soft!

It does a good job of wicking sweat and breathes well. As with all fleece, it is only water resistant and is NOT totally wind-proof. As mentioned above, it has hem drawcords to snug it up at the bottom; however, there are no such adjustments or elastic on the sleeve hems (which in my opinion is a good thing). The collar can be zipped up to cover the neck for extra warmth and it has zippered handwarmer pockets.

The fit is standard—and true to size, which is one of the reasons I keep coming back to this brand—it consistantly fits well. I'm 5'6" and 185; I found the sleeves about 2" too long for me, but I had someone tailor it for me and now it's perfect.

This jacket will also be a great layering piece come winter. It's light weight and thinness will make it a great combination under a shell for all the the coldest days. And the Mountain Hardwear Micro Dome beanie would be a nice compliment to this jacket as well (I own three of those).

The jacket comes in some wonderful colors: Russet Orange, Sapphire, Backcountry Green, Black, Graphite, Blue Ridge, Otter, and Cypress (some colors may be discontinued, depending on where you buy it). The styling is nice and it looks good enough to wear out as a casula jacket. Mountain Hardwear logo on chest, 'nut' logo on left sleeve and back of collar in subtle contrasting color.

Sales can be found at Mountain Gear, Backcountry, and a couple others, with prices ranging from $54.98 (what I paid at Mountain Gear) to $89.95 at other vendors, and $90 direct from Mountain Hardwear.

After I got paid one day, I popped into one of my favorite climbing store, and saw this jacket. My evil shopping side told me it'd be a perfect baselayer to wear under my poncho, or softshell! So i bought it, and it does not disapoint! I've worn it a ton now. Plus it is so light to pack! I dig it!
-Pirate