Mountaineering Gear: Layering like an Ogre

Refining your layering system is a life-long pursuit.

Working toward both the general goal of being more efficient in the mountains and the specific goal of climbing Denali in two years, I have been focused on refining my layering system. To be honest, I’ve only been focusing on the jackets; pants are only so interesting. I have recently been able to find great deals on a few jackets that have taken my layering system to the next level. I’ve also been working on my ability to judge articles of clothing not by their advertisements but by their materials, insulation weights, and types of insulation. Understanding insulation is like not only knowing the type of wine you like, but knowing the regional variations, soil mineral densities, and the number of rings on the oak trees in which the barrels were made all by just taking a sip.

The Lineup

I finally got a day off in which to see how each piece layered together and what things I liked about each piece. Here’s a list of the items in this trial:

1. Red Fox Karakorum Down Jacket (700-fill down belay jacket) | Size L 25oz

2. Mountain Hardwear Kor Airshell Hoody (single layer wind shell) | Size L 5.3oz

3. Rab Xenair Alpine Light Insulated Jacket (60g Primaloft Gold insulated jacket) | Size L 10.6oz

4. Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer /2 Hoody (800-fill down) | Size M 8.8oz

5. Salewa Ortles Hybrid Tirolwool Responsive Jacket (76.8g Tirol wool/thermoreactive synthetic insulation blend [see below for more information]) | Size XL 15oz

6. Patagonia R2 Techface Hoody (medium-weight grid fleece with softshell outer) | Size M 17.5oz

These are in outside to inside order by how they all fit best and trying to make the most logical order of these layers. The belay jacket is surely the outermost jacket followed by my wind breaking jacket that will stand in place of a heavier and more bulky hardshell, 3 different insulators and the super soft fleece closest to my skin. Here’s a little bit about each piece:

1. Red Fox Karakorum Down Jacket

It’s a belay jacket that is a great price though it looks much warmer than it is. I bought it for less than $150, which was a deal for this type of jacket, and for that price, it’s a great jacket. It has 2 big drop pockets inside, two nice zippered pockets outside, an inside chest pocket, velcro to close the zipper flap, and nice elastic pull tabs to tighten the helmet-enveloping hood and lower hem. The two biggest things this belay jacket doesn’t have that others that cost 3x more do have are higher down ratings (800 or 850) and double zippers (better for belaying). I think Red Fox could look into these two things and increase their jackets by $50-100 and still have a great value parka that may at that point be used on Denali (at least late in the climbing season).

Wearing the Karakorum (with the R2 underneath) on top of Mt Shasta

2. Mountain Hardwear Kor Airshell Hoody

This is equivalent to the Patagonia Houdini Air windbreaker. It’s light, wind resistant, and generally awesome. The hood fits over my Black Diamond Half Dome helmet and mostly over my wider Grivel Duetto helmet (though it doesn’t come all the way to the front of the helmet). It has two front pockets instead of the somehow “more technical” single chest pocket that the Houdini has. MH decided it wanted this to fold into a tiny pouch instead of its own pocket, and cleverly hid the pouch into the inside seam of the jacket. It does not have a hem drawstring either, but that’s ok because that would have added more weight.

3. Rab Xenair Alpine Light Insulated Jacket

I shopped around for hours to decide if this was the insulated hoody for me. I looked at the Arc’teryx Atom LT and the Patagonia Nano Air and Das Light Parka and decided on the British company Rab. This jacket gave me all the features I wanted, was both warm and breathable, and was not from a brand with as much pretension as Arc’teryx. The two offerings from Patagonia were made more specialized as the Nano Air is known for its breathability (and is therefore not as warm) and the Das Light Parka was designed to be warmer (and therefore less breathable when active). I wanted something that fit in the middle and I found it with the Rab Xenair. This jacket is comfortable, seems like it should make more noise than it does, comes in a bright but not obnoxious green color, and has high-end features that I love. I find myself grabbing it over my other jackets whenever I head off to work (where it has been below freezing on my way home the last two weeks).

I’m undecided about this jacket in my system because it checks all the boxes at once, making it slightly less versatile in a system that has to span 60 degree weather to -40 degree weather. It does essentially what the R2 + Kor would do, but these two could do other things. Anecdotal wisdom says to use this for Denali, since most gear lists I’ve seen either have the Atom LT of Nano Air as an insulation layer. People seem to really like these synthetic jackets. The Salewa jacket is the Xenair’s strongest competition in my layering system because it is a more technical jacket. The question is: do I need a more technical jacket? Whatever the answer, this jacket is awesome and I will use it a ton between now and Denali.

Doing some official scientific testing of the Xenair.

4. Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer /2 Hoody

This thing is light and packs up small. If it were neither of these things, it would be replaced by the Rab jacket. But this is the perfect piece to store next to the Kor for any inclement weather that may pop up. It’s pretty comfortable and seems to look better the more it gets crinkled. It fits inside its own pocket and is just larger than a 1L Nalgene bottle when packed. The Ghost Whisperer is on every list of the best puff jackets for a reason - MH used 800-fill down to make it warm, light, and easy to layer. I usually wear size L but like to have my down insulation layers be less boxy so I downsized it. I have a 650-fill jacket from REI in size M and have found this works well for me. This jacket is just too light to not take it with me.

5. Salewa Ortles Hybrid Tirolwool Responsive Jacket

The name on this is a mouthful, but there is a lot going on in this jacket. First, Salewa went with a natural fiber mixed with synthetic and natural minerals to create a super hybrid active insulation layer. It’s literally made to increase oxygen, and that’s not just advertising. They chose a material that is being used in the medical field to help people with diabetes heal wounds faster in conjunction with two thermally efficient materials (Tirol sheep wool and a synthetic blend) to heat, oxygenate, and insulate all at the same time. To combat overheating, they put breathable softshell material on the sleeves, underarms, and side panels, creating spaces for the garment to release heat from unnecessary areas and direct heat to the wearer’s core. It’s comfortable, especially over the R2, and has a cool inside chest pocket (for secret things like gum).

Comparatively, this jacket is similar in function to the Rab Xenair above but is better suited for more active pursuits. In the event it releases too much heat and I get cold, I can put the Kor jacket on over the top, creating a similar layer to the Xenair or the Ghost Whisperer for even more insulation. If I get too hot, I can unzip it to release the heat drawn to the core, pull the sleeves up, or stop moving, since movement is what creates more heat in this jacket. I got this jacket in size XL because it runs small (according to several reviews) and because at the time I wasn’t sure where it would fit in my system. I probably would have been fine with a size L but due to its elastic hem and tight sleeves, it fits well over my R2 and just slightly big over just a light base layer. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this jacket works on long days of heavy activity. Two downsides with this jacket are first, that I couldn’t find many reviews on it so it was a bit of a gamble, and second, that it sheds wood fibers (which is mildly concerning).

6. Patagonia R2 Techface Hoody

I still have mixed feelings about Patagonia as a brand (ask me in person and I’ll tell you all about it) but this is probably my favorite piece of clothing that I own right now. Part of what I like about it is the cut of it - the torso and arms are long and slim fitting. I have had a hard time my whole life finding articles of clothing that were long enough to cover my longer than average torso. The Techface version has a sort of softshell outer layer to this grid fleece, making it better suited for inclement weather as well as more durable while climbing. I like the sleeve cuffs with their extra triangle of elastic (something the Rab Xenair also has) and its scuba hood (again, Rab and Patagonia are on the same page). This is just a well thought out and comfortable piece of kit. I wore this to 13,800’ on Mt Shasta without an outer layer and it’s coming with me to Rainier and Denali in the next couple years.

Winter scrambling in the R2.

Features

Cuffs

I love the cuffs on the R2, with their spandex-like triangle. I wasn’t sure about it at first and thought it was gimmicky, but it’s not. To my surprise and appreciation, Rab used the same design with the Xenair. These sleeves work well together too when layered, so that’s a bonus. The cuffs on the Kor are super simple, as expected on an ultra-lightweight wind shell. The Karakorum belay jacket has elastic cuffs with an inner spandex-like cuff inside that keeps drafts out pretty decently. The Ghost Whisperer has a simple, jersey-lined elastic cuff that is soft on your skin and easy to push up to your forearms. The Ortles jacket has a simple and thin elastic cuff that is probably the least impressive part of the jacket, but is functional enough. None of these jackets have velcro on the cuffs (which I appreciate as it can interfere with the elastic on many gloves I own.

The cuffs on the R2 are a dream.

Pockets

All these jackets have pockets. The Karakorum, Xenair, and Ortles have inside chest pockets, all are large enough to hold my phone and are on the inside of the insulation (to keep your pop tarts toasty on the climb). The Xenair inner pocket is its stuff pocket and it is large enough to fit a .5L Nalgene in the chest pocket (though that makes for an odd “uniboob” look and is not recommended). The Ortles and R2 both have an outside chest pocket (yes that makes two chest pockets for the Ortles). The Karakorum and R2 have dump pockets that are functional. All of these jackets have two outside front pockets. The Ghost Whisperer, Xenair, and Ortles all pack into their own pockets, while the Kor jacket hides in its secret pouch. Score one point for Salewa for adding to their design a label to the inside of the pocket so you know what the pouch contains (everyone should do this).

These packed into their pockets in less than a minute.

Helmet Compatibility

I have a large helmet. I switched from the Black Diamond Half Dome helmet to the Grivel Duetto helmet because it is way lighter and I got tired of my neck hurting after a day of climbing and belaying. The Karakorum and Ortles jackets fit over the Duetto just fine. The Ghost Whisperer isn’t made to fit over a helmet, and the R2 fits underneath the helmet. The Kor fits over the Half Dome just fine but doesn’t cover the Duetto fully, so it gets partial credit. The Xenair jacket fits over the Half Dome, and awkwardly fits over the Duetto but in doing so, it makes my traps look huge (because it’s not long enough to fit without lifting the shoulders). The Xenair is a little awkward in this category because it is too small to fit over the helmet but has too much material to fit under it. It works great with a hat though, so there’s that.

Harness Compatibility

Most of these jackets can fit over a harness. The Kor and Ortles seem to do best tucked underneath the waistband of the harness. The Xenair pockets are higher, making it work for tucking in or sitting above a harness and works great with a backpack waist band.

Update:

I just received my Norrona Trollveggen Down850 Parka (click on the link for my initial review) and it fits well over multiple other layers. On Denali it will go in the place of my Karakorum jacket here, but the Karakorum will still be with me on mountains like Mt Shasta where the Trollveggen will be overkill.

Alright, I know that was a lot, but I just wanted to give a quick update on where I am in my mountaineering/Denali gear list. Watch for new articles in the future as I continue to test these layers out on different climbs.