Insulated Jackets
Product 2020
Woman, Man
The Mountain Hardwear Ghost Shadow Hoody is a thin insulation jacket that can be used for many situations: mountaineering, climbing, trekking, fast hiking, etc. It can be worn under a protective jacket for significant performance. But despite its high thermal capacity, the Ghost Shadow Hoody does not replace a large down jacket. On the other hand, the fact that it’s thinness/warmth/breathability ratio means you can use it in many activities when there is no need for very high insulation. It can also come as a complement to other layers: polar fleece, etc.
We really liked this Mountain Hardwear Ghost Shadow Hoody. It would’ve won the Test4outside.com FIRST award if it hadn’t been for one detail: our testers found it incomprehensible why the hood is not fitted with a drawstring, even a basic one? Worn alone, with its large openings, the hood catches the wind, which is a shame because its insulation is really well-designed. A part from the fact that you lose heat, the hood also falls off. Worn under a helmet, it obviously stays in place.
The Mountain Hardwear Ghost Shadow Hoody’s major positive point concerns its fabric: Primaloft®. In this version, it is semi-recycled. The insulation is very linear all over the jacket, the insulation doesn’t clog up in chunks in places and leave other areas empty, like a lot of jackets do. Here the Primaloft® is very even ensuring very good thermal efficiency (compared with the jacket’s thinness). There are a few miniscule gaps at some seams, but really nothing to worry about.
So with this Mountain Hardwear Ghost Shadow Hoody, you can’t lose any down, and it doesn’t hold water because the Primaloft ® is hydrophobic.
There is of course the question of weight. A feather down Mountain Hardwear, like the Mountain Hardwear Phantom Hoody weighs 271 grams compared to 360g for the Ghost Shadow Hoody. The price (like the heat) is also not the same, €375 compared to €124.98.
The zips are big, easy to grab with gloves, doesn’t get stuck, and looks very solid. The sleeves descend very low at the wrists and ensure good insulation, but you lose a bit of precision when you handle ropes and other carabiners. A large GPS watch fits underneath without any problem.
We liked the two real large hand pockets, that you can use even when wearing a harness. The waist is adjusted on the right-side thanks to an elastic: you have to remember to put the excess elastic under the jacket because the loop can get caught.
The collar rises up under your chin, sufficient height if you wear a protective jacket over it (it doesn’t squeeze your neck) but we would have liked a few more centimeters higher for solo use.
The jacket compresses and stores in the right-hand pocket with a small strap to hang it up.
Well-cut, fairly fitted to the body but not too much, the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Shadow Hoody is slightly stretchy, so it doesn’t interfere with arm movements. Its fabric produces a characteristic, not unpleasant, rustling sound.
The Mountain Hardwear Ghost Shadow Hoody made with Primaloft® is a thin insulation jacket that has good thermal performance. Too bad that the hood has no way of being adjusted.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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