Our lightest down jacket, the Helios is the warmest 15 ounces you can pack. The cut is close, yet still allows a full range of arm movement without riding up. The 1.6oz nylon taffeta shell is sewn through and filled with 750+ goose down. It can shrink to the size of a softball when packed in its stuff sack, yet when you pull it out on chilly evenings, no pile jacket will come close to being as warm. Wear it under a shell or by itself. Cozy lycra bound down filled pockets warm your hands, while lycra trim at the waist and cuffs seal out drafts. A draft flap backing the zipper as well as a zippered inside chest pocket round out the features. The Helios gives you all the warmth you need at the lightest weight possible.
At a mere 11 ounces and compressing to about the size of a baseball, the Helios Vest will go unnoticed in your pack until you pull it out for instant warmth. Like the Helios down jacket, the vest is cut to fit closely and unobtrusively under a shell jacket. Elastic along the arm holes and waist seal tight without binding. The puffy handwarmer pockets are covered with lycra bound flaps. The short collar snugs just right without getting in the way of other layers. Small enough to easily fit in a fanny pack, the Helios Vest will quickly become an all-season essential in your backcountrylayering system.
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William Marler - Mar 27, 2002 7:43 am - Voted 5/5
Untitled ReviewIt is an inexpensive way to make your wind shell a down parka in seconds.