I've had one of these since 1995 and it's a real workhorse of a down jacket. The best test I've ever put it to was an early April expedition to the St. Elias Mountains. It was bitterly cold, especially higher up, and this was my main down jacket. Others in the group had full-blown expedition jackets with massive hoods and all the trimmings. Don't get me wrong, there were times when I was envious of all that extra down. But surprisingly, the only times I felt that way was sitting around camp waiting for that last boil. Higher up we brewed in our tents and/or vestibules and I was never uncomfortable. Wearing it all day on summit days to over 16,000 ft. worked great. I do tend to be a warm person, so take my story with that grain of salt.
This jacket's down chambers are fully baffled, so cold spots are non-existent. The shell is water resistant so when Mr. Spill shows up with his soupy surprise (as he always does) you won't lose loft. And if you are a NW user you will surely find a wet snow outing where this feature is a necessity.
The Volant is, in my mind, a classic item of gear.
KB
1 comments:
A Volant in 1995; wow. I wanted one of these, but as a broke college punk, I couldn't swing it. My big investment for the decade was my Pati Super Alpine jacket, which was like taking out a mortgage as a 20YO. Anyhow, sounds like a nice piece of kit...
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