Mountain Hardwear Super Compressor Hooded Jacket & Compressor Pant

There have been very few moments in my lifetime when I wished I had a pair of down pants. The exceptions have been skiing at Mont Tremblant in Quebec during a -30°C spell and snowshoeing in Manitoba in -40°C weather. I suppose if I was scaling Everest or mushing dogs in the Yukon then I’d purchase a pair but usually a good set of thermal long john’s and a shell will see me through most backcountry excursions. A down jacket on the other hand is a part of my daily wardrobe in the winter months and for a lot of the shoulder season too. I’ll wear one belaying, skiing, hiking, climbing in the alpine, walking around town and, inevitably I’ll stuff one in my backpack for a mt. bike or fat bike ride as well, just in case. Needless to say I was excited to try out the Mountain Hardwear Super Compressor Hooded Jacket, with it’s Thermal Q Elite insulation that the company says is “designed to mimic the structure of down to create the highest warmth-to-weight ratio available in synthetic insulation.” (In other words it’s supposed to be as warm as down but will retain its loft and perform well in damp conditions.) As for the company’s insulated Compressor Pant that were also sent to review, well, let’s just say I wasn’t as keen to try them out. But, wow, was I ever surprised.

The combo of the Mountain Hardwear Super Compressor Hooded Jacket and Compressor Pant work well together.

The Mountain Hardwear Compressor Pants have reinforcements on the knees and butt where things tend to get roughed up more.

Features:

Features of the Mountain Hardwear Super Compressor Hooded Jacket
- 20D Nylon Rip body fabric
- Thermal.Q™ Elite insulation (100g)
- Single interior toggle hem for easy adjustment on the fly

- Two front pockets that are pack and harness compatible

- Single Napoleon pocket for small items

- Invisible cuffs keep heat in and cold out

- Helmet-compatible hood with a single adjustment for customized fit

- The Mountain Hardwear Super Compressor Jacket stuffs into it's own pocket for compact storage in your pack when not in use.

Features of the Mountain Hardwear Compressor Pant
- 20D Nylon Rip body fabric
- Thermal.Q™ Elite insulation (80g)
- Adjustable elastic waist with attached webbing belt
- Reinforced seat and knees to protect against abrasion

- Articulated and reinforced knees with full side-zippered legs for ventilation and quick changes

- Two hand warmer pockets and a zippered fly for whenn nature calls

- Adjustable velcro cuffs to fit a variety of footwear

Verdict:

There are people who swear by real down insulation and would never be caught wearing synthetic but I’m not one of them. Although down offers more insulation per gram and is generally lighter, it can also be finicky. Try going out in a freezing rainstorm with your down hoodie on and see just how well it performs. Or watch what happens when you accidentally tear your down jacket on a protruding tree branch and don’t have any duct tape to seal it up. (This actually happened to me once and by the time I was at the bottom of the run, half the jacket’s down feathers had escaped and floated away.) Synthetic insulation does not have this problem. Granted, it tends to be a bit bulkier, but it also retains its structure when damp. In the case of Mountain Hardwear’s Thermal.Q™ Elite insulation, the company says “it uses stiffer fibres to create a unique 3D grid structure and finer fibres to fill in the gaps the structure creates. The result is a warmer synthetic whose structure gives it better compression rebound.” It also claims that Thermal Q Elite insulation is 20 percent warmer than the industry standard for synthetic insulation but without a proper laboratory I have no way of proving that. What I can say is that the Mountain Hardwear Super Compressor Hooded Jacket and the Compressor pants keep you warm when skiing in -20°C weather. The latter packs up to about the size of half loaf of bread while the jacket compresses to the size of a full loaf of bread. Neither are the lightest insulation pieces on the market but they do have some excellent features.

The Compressor pants were the ones that impressed me the most. They were extremely comfortable and were easy to ventilate thanks to the full side zips on each leg. They have a reinforced seat and knees, a style that was in fashion in the early 1990s, but they’re definitely effective at resisting wear and tear. The only problem with the seat fabric is it tends to be slippery, which can be problematic on the chairlift or when trying to sit on a bench in a backcountry hut. The elastic waist has adjustable Velcro tabs allowing you to adjust it after that third pitcher of beer at the lodge bar but I wish the cuffs also had more adjustability, as it was difficult getting them around my ski boot. The zippered hand pockets are lined with micro-fleece making them super warm and every zipper toggle has pulls that are easy to grab with mitts on. Another nice touch is the crotch zipper, which I normally wouldn’t think is important but when layered up in -20°C weather, I definitely saw its value.

As for the Mountain Hardwear Super Compressor Hooded jacket, in my opinion it’s a decent middle-of-the-road synthetic piece that keeps you warm but it isn’t the lightest or most compressible on the market. Last year I reviewed the company’s Ghost Whisperer down jacket and was blown away – it’s still a favourite because of its warmth and light weight. The costs of the two jackets are comparable (within $50) but, despite its name, the Compressor definitely isn’t as compressible or light (it’s over twice the weight). Like the Ghost Whisperer, though, it is a minimalist jacket: there’s one chest pocket and two front pockets that are high enough to not interfere with a harness. There’s also an easy-to-use drawstring system for the helmet-compatible hood (something the Ghost Whisperer lacked) and an interior toggle for cinching the hem. Like all synthetics, it works well in damp conditions and is more resilient than a down jacket and, like all Mountain Hardwear jackets I found it large – I’m 5’11” and 165 pounds and a size medium was a bit too bulky for me.

All in all I thought both garments were good quality but was pleasantly surprised by the Mountain Hardwear Compressor pants – they actually make me want to go skiing/climbing in -20°C.

SPECS:

Mountain Hardwear Super Compressor Hooded Jacket
Price: US$295
Size: S, M, L, XL, XXL
Colour: Shark or Azul
Weight: 479g / 1lb 1oz

Mountain Hardwear Compressor Pant
Price: US$175
Size: S, M, L, XL, XXL
Colour: Black
Weight: 505g / 1lb 2oz

PROS:

Mountain Hardwear Super Compressor Hooded Jacket
A good middle-of-the-road garment with two high hand pockets that are harness friendly and a helmet-compatible hood with easy-to-use draw strings.

Mountain Hardwear Compressor Pant
Comfortable, compressible and easy to ventilate with full side zippers. The zippered crotch and fleece-lined hand pockets are a nice touch, as are the two Velcro waist adjustments.

CONS:

Mountain Hardwear Super Compressor Hooded Jacket
It’s not the lightest or more compressible insulating jacket on the market but its cost is comparable to down versions. The fit tends to be bulky so be sure to try one on before purchase.
- Cuffs will eventually wear
- Not the most exciting design or colour

Mountain Hardwear Compressor Pant
The reinforced fabric on the seat is slippery and the cuffs could be wider to accommodate ski boots.
- Cuffs will eventually wear
- zippered fly could be larger for imrpoved access

Rating: 7/10 & 8/10

Mountain Hardwear Super Compressor Hooded Jacket: 7/10
Fit                   1/2
Packability       1/2
Warmth            2/2
Features           1/2
Quality / Price  2/2

Mountain Hardwear Compressor Pant: 8/10
Fit                   2/2
Packability       1/2
Warmth            2/2
Features           1/2
Quality / Price  2/2

This is only our opinion. Do you disagree? Did we miss something? Are we totally out to lunch? Join the discussion in the forums here, and let us know what you think. People like/dislike gear for different reasons so chime in and we'll get a well-rounded evaluation.

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