Eddie Bauer First Ascent Peak XV Down Jacket - Women's

Summary

For someone who is afraid of cold, I wore this for Mt Elbrus trek in August and have no doubt for its ability to keep me warm during the extreme cold conditions, even though I was blessed with good weather and had no chance to test it to its fullest.

This is a very warm down jacket, you can feel it the minute you wear it with the hood giving added warmth. The exterior has some water repellent function and should be good to handle light rain conditions during the trek. Recommended for people who are going to cold climate for trek.

The fit is good for ladies and feels true to its size. I did not feel any restriction to my movement. Material is comfortable too and the exterior is water repellent and should hold under light rain conditions. It has cords to adjust the hood and tighten the lower part of the jacket to prevent cold air from coming in. The handcuffs can be velcro-ed to prevent cold air from entering.

The main attraction for this jacket is its warmth, 850 down fill. It felt very warm and for a person who is afraid of cold, this is the best deal. However, during my trek, it was really quite hot even for me, but what I did was to zip down if I felt too hot. 

It has a small inner pocket around the right chest level, which is not too functional except for keeping small stuff. It probably should have at least 2 interior and bigger pockets by the sides, so that user can even put water bottle in to prevent freezing. The later version of this jacket seemed to have incorporate this suggestion. Hand pockets with fleece interior are fine and useful to keep hands warm. 

Feathers as per most down jackets, will lose out bit by bit with usage. It is also a bit bulky, and you have to compress it down for packing.

Overall, this is a great jacket with both design and functionality. I like the jacket and will recommend to friends to get it.