{"id":1077,"date":"2014-09-08T20:41:09","date_gmt":"2014-09-09T02:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/?p=1077"},"modified":"2022-12-23T22:42:59","modified_gmt":"2022-12-23T22:42:59","slug":"mountain-hardwear-ghost-whisperer-hooded-down-jacket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/mountain-hardwear-ghost-whisperer-hooded-down-jacket\/","title":{"rendered":"Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer Hooded Down Jacket"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer line of clothing are pieces that are designed with the overall goal of providing protection with the least possible weight and bulk. \u00a0I own the hooded down jacket and the hooded windbreaker. \u00a0 \u00a0This review is of the hooded down jacket<\/p>\n

Ghost Whisperer Hooded Down Jacket \u00a0 8.8 ounces (size X-Large) \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ve owned the Ghost Whisperer Hooded Down Jacket for about 9 months now, and it has become one of my favorite and most used pieces of clothing. \u00a0It weighs only 8.8 ounces and is filled with water resistant 850 fill power down. \u00a0The quilting on it is of sewn through construction, rather than box baffled. \u00a0The hooded down jacket provides warmth and wind protection that is greater than a fleece jacket, at considerably less bulk and weight. \u00a0It’s an excellent light “puffy” for climbing, or any backcountry activity where you need some lightweight warmth.<\/p>\n

I’ve been taking this jacket with me on backcountry ski trips, on “shoulder season” rock climbs in the spring and fall, and summer alpine climbs. \u00a0It fits easily into a small daypack, and provides me with warmth for chilly belays or cold evenings. \u00a0For how light and compact it is, it provides a remarkable amount of warmth.<\/p>\n

\"Cold<\/a>
Cold day in the desert: Ghost Whisperer down jacket on Castleton Tower<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The hood fits nicely over a helmet, and the elasticized cuffs and simple elastic cord at the hem keep out drafts. \u00a0The Ghost Whisperer fabric is water resistant, and I’ve had no issues fending off light drizzle and mist. \u00a0The 850 fill power down is treated with something called “Q-Shield” which is supposed to make it more water resistant than normal down. \u00a0I can’t really comment on the effectiveness of this down treatment because I haven’t ever soaked this jacket.<\/p>\n

\"Ghost<\/a>
Ghost Whisperer Down Jacket on the Lower Saddle, Tetons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are two zippered handwarmer pockets, and you can stuff the Ghost Whisperer into a pocket for storage. \u00a0There is a loop so that you can clip the stuffed jacket onto a carabiner.<\/p>\n

\"Ghost<\/a>
Ghost Whisperer Down Hooded Jacket stuffed into its own pocket<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The jacket does have some limitations due to its light weight design. \u00a0The fabric is extremely light weight. \u00a0I haven’t managed to rip it or wear a hole in it, even after climbing in it a bit, but it really isn’t made to take much abuse. \u00a0If you’re looking for a jacket for groveling up chimneys and off-width climbs, this is probably not a good choice. \u00a0The zipper is very lightweight and it doesn’t take a whole lot of pressure to pull it apart. \u00a0I’ve had several occasions when it has separated from the bottom and come undone. \u00a0 So far, this hasn’t been a big issue, as I’ve been able to unzip it and then zip it back up again. \u00a0The zipper coils haven’t seemed to have been harmed by this.<\/p>\n

Regarding warmth, this jacket is very warm for its weight, but it’s not a substitute for a thick insulated jacket for really cold conditions. \u00a0For cold winter ice climbs and high alpine bivis, I would still want a thicker, heavier belay jacket, but for most other situations, the Ghost Whisperer is sufficient.<\/p>\n

Sizing on this jacket is a little on the small side for an over-layer. \u00a0 I tend to wear a size large in most jackets, and a size large would have fit me, but I wouldn’t have had much room with a size large to layer clothing underneath. \u00a0An X-large size gives me room to use this as a top layer. \u00a0 If you’re planning on using this jacket as a mid layer, then I’d suggest you get your normal size. \u00a0If you want to use it to layer on top, then I’d suggest going up a size.<\/p>\n

Here’s a list of other insulated jackets to give some perspective and comparisons of weights: \u00a0The only other jacket I’ve used that is close to the same weight class is the Montbell UL thermawrap jacket, which is not as warm and which doesn’t have a hood.<\/p>\n

Insulating Layers \u00a0(Size Large unless otherwise noted)
\n<\/strong>Montbell UL Thermawrap jacket 9.2
\nMontbell Thermawrap parka 16.2
\nArcteryx Atom LT Hoody 14.9
\nPatagonia R2 pullover 13.3
\nGolite Coal Jacket w\/hood 19.5
\nJeff Lowe Cloudwalker Papillon Sweater 22.5
\nArcteryx Dually Belay parka 29 oz (XL) 26.5 oz (L)
\nBrooks Range Alpini mountain anorak down hoodie (XL) 13.6
\nPatagonia Encapsil Down Belay Jacket (XL) 20.6
\nMontbell Mirage Down Jacket (XL) 14.7
\nMountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer Hooded Down Jacket \u00a0(XL) \u00a08.8
\nPatagonia Nano Air Hoody \u00a014.5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer line of clothing are pieces that are designed with the overall goal of providing protection with the least possible weight and bulk. \u00a0I own the hooded down jacket and the hooded windbreaker. \u00a0 \u00a0This review is of the hooded down jacket Ghost Whisperer Hooded Down Jacket \u00a0 8.8 ounces (size […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[198,3],"tags":[114,310,311,207,309],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1077"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1163,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077\/revisions\/1163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/larsonweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}