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Mountainforce Park Down Jacket
- Mountainforce Park Down
- Mountainforce Park Down Rear
What It Is
A full-featured snowsports jacket with a stretchy shell and insulated with 800-fill down.
Retail Price: $900.00
86
- 95-100 Extremely high recommendation.
- 90-94 Enthusiastically recommended. Exceptional.
- 80-89 Highly recommended - few reservations.
- 70-79 Recommended. Standard performance.
- 60-69 Fair. Recommended for certain uses.
- 50-59 Poor. Not recommended in general.
The Good |
The Bad |
The Verdict |
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If you don’t mind paying for a double-dose of luxury with your top-level performance, the Mountainforce Park Down delivers. It was the best performing jacket we tested, but it’s triple the cost of average jackets. The stretchy fabric is exquisite—as elastic as a rubber band. It keeps the down from being compressed and allows for a snug fit, yet never feels constrictive. It’s the best fitting ski jacket I’ve worn, and the 800-fill down keeps it light. |
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Materials
The outer shell is an amazingly stretchy and durable waterproof breathable fabric. It’s thick enough to resist the compression that makes a lot of down jackets look like a deflating balloon at high speeds on the slopes, which saps the insulating qualities. The fabric is so elastic that Mountainforce is able to make the Park Down’s cut fairly snug without risking it become constricting. That means the jacket is warmer without a lot of extra air to heat up. Impeccable tailoring means it’s the best fitting jacket in the batch, particularly with the stretchy fabric.
The insulation is top-shelf 800-fill down, the insulation with the highest warmth-to weight ratio. The Park Down’s baffles are welded—rather than sewn—into geometric patterns, which looks cool but more importantly ensures that the jacket is totally waterproof.
Features
The Park Down has a full compliment of snowsports features—a zip-off powder skirt, wrist gaiters, and plenty of pockets. The hood is nicely built, though a little small to fit over some larger helmets. It does zip off, however. There’s no mechanical venting, pit zips or otherwise, so be sure you get your layering right.
How We Tested It
Six different testers skied slopes from Whistler to Utah, to Jackson Hole. Wet weather testing went down at Oregon’s Mount Hood Meadows.
The products featured in this test have been loaned to the Gear Institute. For more on our policies regarding editorial objectivity and sample returns, see here.
About the Author
Frederick Reimers
Frederick Reimers was the editor of Canoe and Kayak Magazine from 2007-09 and has been writing for Outside, Men's Journal, Skiing and Powder ever since.
Ratings
Durability
10
10
Weatherproofness
10
10
Bells & Whistles
8
10
Fit
10
10
Breathability
5
10
Value
3
10
Gear Institute Rating (Total Score)
86
100
Specs
- Pit zips: none
- Waterproof: Yes
- Powder skirt: Removable
- Wrist gaskets: Yes
- Gender: Men's
- Fall 2012
Weight
2 lbs , 14 oz
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