Sherpa Cho Oyu jacket review
Here’s a handy wee companion piece for the afore-mentioned Manaslu, for those occasions when you want to stop and hang about in the snow.
This is the Sherpa Cho Oyu jacket.
Microbaffle down jackets are very ‘in’ at the moment, so you’ve got plenty to choose from in that arena. Apart from being a splendid colour, the Cho Oyu is Pertex Quantum, filled with 800 fill power down which gives you very good warmth to weight ratio. No hood on this one, but two zipped handwarmer pockets and a chest storage pocket. There’s a drawcord at the waist to keep the draughts out and a zip baffle for the same purpose. The collar and pockets are tricot lined for a soft touch and warmth.
Out on the hill, it’s a great little insulator. It’s not going to be suitable for standing around your tent all night in the middle of winter, but it’s very handy for insulation for stops on a day walk, and if you re-purpose it as a midlayer, then you’ve suddenly got a lot warmer for that overnighter. It’s really a down jumper.
It comes with a wee stuff sack and compresses down nicely. My size large weighs 400g exactly, so it’s not onerous to stuff it into your pack. Top tip: swap out the stuff sack for a xxs compression bag and it goes even smaller.
This is now my insulation of choice for spring and early summer high camps, I’ll let you know when it gets too warm…
Hi Michael – nice little review.
Novice question, I know, but is a jacket like this much warmer than a mid-weight fleece? I’m always looking for ways to stay warm sitting around in camping barns in winter and outside tents in autumn and spring. I normally use a merino base and then a fleece (and Gore-tex outdoors for the wind). I do have a very bulky down jacket for when it’s really cold.
Thanks
Quite a bit warmer than a fleece and aided by being windproof. It packs down smaller too.
Great, useful info. Thanks v much. One more quick question (if that’s ok) – are those newfangled grid-patterend fleeces any good for extra warmth, in your experience? The ones with a sort of ‘waffle’ looking inner.
Depends on which ones you mean. Pontetorto do a very good waffle pattern in their Technostretch product, which helps with heat retention. You also get honeycomb overlays for Polartec Thermal Pro which do something similar.
Thanks again – appreciate your help. Have a great winter!