White Sierra High Camp 3 in 1 Jacket

Materials
The Mountain 3-in-1’s outer shell is a generic polyester twill treated with a DWR coating with a sewn in liner. The zip-out liner is ripstop nylon with a generic synthetic fill. The exterior shell’s stitches aren’t taped, so they eventually leaked through after a day of wet precipitation on a soggy day on Mount Hood. The exterior shell’s liner and the zippers mating the interior and exterior jackets add weight to an already heavy outer fabric, making this a fairly heavy jacket for the warmth it provides. The Mountain 3-in-1’s waterproof breathability isn’t in the class of the other jackets in the test.

Features
With a zip-out liner, the Mountain 3-in-1 is a more versatile parka than most in the test. If conditions heat up, simply zip out the insulated liner. If things heat up from there, on say a sidecountry hike, however, there are no pit zips to further ventilate the jacket. The hood is large enough to fit over most helmets, but there is no powder skirt and relatively few pockets, none large enough to stash goggles, spare gloves or climbing skins.

If you’re shopping for a system jacket, compare this one to Columbia’s Ultrachange Jacket, which offers much higher performance but at a significantly higher price.