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Outerwear... What is in your closet? - Gear Review

Backpacking Camping Climbing Gear Review Hiking

I have to admit that I am a complete nerd when it comes to jackets and outerwear. I am a gear head, and acquiring new gear is just part of what I do. I spent the weekend with my family in Park City, and we ended up doing a little shopping. My wife and I found ourselves in the Columbia outlet, which meant that I was trying on every Mountain Hardwear jacket in the store. Tried on a jacket and now the Mountain Hardwear Android II soft shell jacket is gracing its presence with all of my other jackets, and outerwear.  

If you are like me, layering is super important to staying warm and dry in the backcountry. Base-layers, fleece, synthetic down, goose down, soft shells, and hard shells all make up the different types of layers one might wear. Since we are heading into the season of cold weather, and wet weather, I thought it would be nice to talk about different types of layers, jackets, and such. For someone who does not spend a lot of time hiking, skiing, backpacking, etc, then it may not make any sense to have so many jackets. 

Here is a list of the jackets and pants that I have and use regularly:

- 2 Rab AL Pullover's

- Rab PS Zip Top

- Mont Bell Full Zip Fleece

- Mont Bell Thermawrap Synthetic fill down

- Mont Bell 800 Fill Goose Down Puffy

- Mont Bell Hard Shell

- Patagonia R2 Fleece

- Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody

- Patagonia Soft Shell

- Mountain Hardwear Alpine Jacket

- Mountain Hardwear Android Soft Shell Jacket

- Mountain Hardwear Dry-Q Pants

- Eider Shoeller Pants

- Rab Myriad Hard Shell Jacket

- Marmot 800 Fill Down Vest

So of all of those jackets and pants, there are a lot of options of what to wear when out in the cold and wet. Rab and Mont Bell have been my go to companies as of late. A local climbing shop in Provo called Mountainworks is responsible for introducing me to Mont Bell. I love their gear and the Thermawrap jacket is my oldest jacket and is still my go to! Rab, who I discovered last year around Christmas time has really become my newest favorite. I love the fit that Rab has, and the thought they put into their gear. I recently acquired the Myriad Jacket and it is by far my favorite soft shell i've owned. I love the Polartec StretchNeo fabric, and how well it breathes. I will be doing a gear review on that jacket here soon. 

The funny thing about that whole list of outerwear, is that I surprisingly wear 99 percent of it. Probably 2 of those jackets, I rarely wear anymore due to being worn out, or it doesn't fit me correctly anymore. But having a large selection of jackets to wear when going into the backcountry is super important. One of my favorite combos is to wear my Rab AL Pullover, my Mont Bell Thermawrap, and what was my Mont Bell Hard Shell, not replaced with my Rab Myriad Jacket. This combo is setup for warmth and dryness. I can go into a fall storm at 10,000 feet and know that I will be warm, and stay dry. 

I want to know what is in your closet? Why do you wear the jackets or outerwear that you do?

With my wife, and wearing my new MH Android jacket in Park City

 Mont Bell Thermawrap

Rab Myriad Jacket