 This Product
Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer | |||||
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| Awards |  |  Best Overall Down Jacket |  An Affordable Trail-to-Town Jacket | | Best Value for a Versatile Jacket |
| Price | $250.50 at Amazon Compare at 3 sellers | $249 List $89.83 at REI | $285 List | $191.75 at Backcountry Compare at 3 sellers | $100 List |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | An ultralight jacket that excels in fast and light mountain missions while disappearing in your pack when you're not wearing it | This puffy is the best option if you only want to buy one jacket; it's versatile, warm for the weight, and surprisingly affordable | This all-around performing model can handle whatever you throw at it | This midweight down jacket features excellent weather resistance and solid warmth in an affordable package | Be sure to size up when buying this stellar deal for a lightweight and versatile puffy jacket |
| Rating Categories | Mountain Hardwear G... | REI Co-op Magma 850... | Stio Pinion Hooded | Rab Microlight Alpine | Decathlon Forclaz M... |
| Warmth (30%) | |||||
| Comfort (30%) | |||||
| Portability (15%) | |||||
| Weather Resistance (15%) | |||||
| Breathability (10%) | |||||
| Specifications | Mountain Hardwear G... | REI Co-op Magma 850... | Stio Pinion Hooded | Rab Microlight Alpine | Decathlon Forclaz M... |
| Down Fill | 800-fill-power goose down | 850-fill-power goose down with bluesign-approved DWR | 800-fill-power AlliedFeather down with HyperDry hydrophic finish | Recycled 700-fill-power down with Nikwax hydrophobic finish | 800-fill-power down |
| Responsible Down Standard (RDS) Certified | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Outer Fabric | 10D recycled ripstop nylon | Recycled ripstop nylon | Recycled Pertex Quantum shadow 20D ripstop | Recycled 30D nylon Pertex Quantum | 15D polyamide |
| Measured Weight | 9 oz (M) | 12.5 oz (M) | 13 oz (M) | 14.9 oz (S) | 10.3 oz (M) |
| Hem Type | Drop hem (small) | Drop hem (small) | Drop hem (large) | Drop hem (large) | Drop hem (small) |
| Fit | Slim | Standard | Relaxed | Standard | Slim |
| Pockets | 2 zippered hand | 2 zippered hand, 1 zippered external chest pockets | 2 zippered hand, 1 zippered internal chest, 1 internal slip in pockets | 2 zippered hand, 1 zippered external chest | 2 zippered hand pockets |
| Hood | Yes, hoodless option | Yes, hoodless option | Yes | Yes | Yes, hoodless option |
| Cuff Construction | Elastic cuffs | Elastic cuffs | Elastic cuffs | Elastic cuffs | Knit elastic cuffs |
| Adjustment Points | Hem drawcord | Hem shockcord, hood shockcord | Hem shockcord, Hood shockcord | Hem shockcord, hood shockcord | Hem shockcord |
| Stow Option | Zips into pocket | Zips into pocket | Zips into pocket | Stuff sack | Zips into pocket |
| Features | Recycled shell materials, harness compatible hand pockets | Articulated elbows, internal draft tube. Made in Fairtrade Certified factory, REI is Climate Neutral Certified | Recycled shell materials, available hooded, non-hooded, and as a pullover | Stiffened hood bill, recycled hydrophobic down | N/A |
As one of the best lightweight down jackets on the market, the Ghost Whisperer takes a technical approach to ultralight warmth. It's stuffed with high-quality down and made of lightweight yet durable recycled ripstop nylon. This jacket is the lightest jacket I've seen but is surprisingly warm considering the weight. It's simple yet effective, fits well, and moves even better. This is a no-brainer when considering what to pack for your next lightweight backcountry adventure.
The Ghost Whisperer packs significant warmth for its minimal weight. This isn't as warm as a big, puffy, down jacket, but it's plenty warm for summer nights in the mountains and shoulder season adventures.
The jacket's strong warmth-to-weight ratio comes from its high quality down. It is stuffed with 800-fill RDS-certified goose down. So even though there isn't a lot of down insulating this jacket, it still lofts enough to keep you warm in mild to moderate cold.
This jacket works best while moving. I've worn this everywhere, from challenging alpine climbing routes in Rocky Mountain National Park to thru-hiking long-distance trails during shoulder season. Despite cold early morning temperatures, this jacket has always kept me warm enough. If you combine this jacket with a lightweight fleece and a shell on top, it is more than warm enough for most conditions while you're moving.
It has a drawcord at the bottom to trap the heat that adjusts easily with a single pull. It has no other adjustment features to help seal in the heat, but the hood fits snuggly around your head and neck. The jacket only has a single zipper. If you're standing in sub-freezing temps, then make sure to layer with a few more pieces of clothing. But for such a lightweight piece, this jacket offers plenty of warmth.
The Ghost Whisperer is an extremely comfortable jacket overall. It's made of soft material that feels good against your bare skin, and the light weight of the garment adds to the overall comfort. You won't feel weighed down while wearing it.
Having a comfortable fit in a technical jacket is crucial, as it allows for mobility in the mountains. The Ghost Whisperer fits close to the body without any extra space or excess material. But even with this alpine fit, it still allows for a full range of motion.
I find this jacket provides adequate mobility. If you're between sizes, I recommend getting the larger sizer you're considering, though. Every other person I've known to wear this jacket, even those men with wide shoulders, found it allows you to move any way you want. The sleeves don't ride up too much when I put my arms overhead, and the jacket doesn't expose much torso when reaching above, either. This makes it a great jacket for ski touring, hiking, or climbing, where freedom of movement is essential.
I've worn this jacket in both small and medium sizes. I find the medium is more comfortable overall because it's better for layering underneath. If you're between sizes and you opt for the smaller size, you'll likely only be able to fit a very thin fleece, a base layer, or a t-shirt underneath. So, I recommend getting a larger size if you plan to wear a thicker sweater underneath.
While the jacket lacks much in adjustability, especially in the hood, I find a reassuring comfort in its simplicity. The no-frills features, as well as the quality of its construction, make it a go-to jacket for backcountry adventures or multi-pitch fun.
On my home scale, the Ghost Whisperer weighs a mere 9 ounces in a men's medium. A men's size small, which I previously tested, weighs 8.3 ounces. This is the lightest jacket I tested and the lightest down jacket I've seen. It packs into its own pocket to a size that is the smallest of any jacket as well.
The Ghost Whisperer is as packable and portable as it is because it is a simple jacket. There aren't extra zippers, pockets, or extra adjustment features that might help you dial in the fit. It has two hand pockets, a waist hem cinch cord, and nothing extra. However, this minimalist design approach makes this jacket the unquestionably best choice for ultralight missions.
It is made with thin 10-denier recycled ripstop nylon. This ultralight fabric choice is durable enough, but I definitely recommend carrying a stick-on patch for longer adventures with this jacket. While I've never had any major mishaps while bushwhacking through brush on less-maintained trails, I definitely have a couple of small snags from desert backpacking on the Arizona Trail.
The Ghost Whisperer fits inside one of its zippered hand pockets. When compressed, it easily stuffs into a backpack or suitcase. This is the smallest compressed jacket I tested. The high-quality 800-fill down and the lightweight features of the jacket make it very compressible. This is a great piece to toss in and forget about until it gets cold.
The Ghost Whisperer has a DWR coating on the exterior shell material. This makes it relatively water resistant but not as weather resistant as a few other down jackets.
I've gotten caught out in afternoon storms while wearing it and, unsurprisingly, ended up drenched. The DWR treatment helped keep the jacket dry in heavy rain for a few minutes, but this isn't a rain jacket, so it gets soaked pretty quickly. I find it dries quickly if it does get wet, though.
This is common with DWR coatings on down jackets, though. Most DWR coatings help with keeping a jacket dry in light precipitation, and this jacket does well to make the initial sprinkles of the summer alpine thunderstorms just bead on the coat. However, a deluge of any kind will soak through most down jackets, and the Ghost Whisperer is no exception. If there's serious precipitation in the forecast, bring a rain shell.
In the spray and rub water-resistance test, the Ghost Whisperer performed better than many jackets. It wasn't the most water resistant, but it performed just above average in this test.
It also does a fairly good job of blocking the wind. I regularly use this jacket in lieu of a windbreaker while backpacking. It also performed better than most other jackets in wind resistance lab tests.
The Ghost Whisperer is one of the most breathable down jackets we've worn. I regularly hike long distances and climb hard in this jacket, and it doesn't cause me to overheat nearly as quickly as other jackets.
Most of its breathability comes from the simple fact that it isn't as warm. A thin layer of down is more breathable than a thick blanket of it, after all. It has no other breathability features other than the full-length zipper, which is easy to operate thanks to an ultralight cord zipper pull.
The warmer a jacket is, the faster you're going to overheat when you start a high-output activity. This model is perfectly insulated for moving. In fact, you'll likely get cold if you stop moving. This is breathable enough for uphill skiing or heavy hiking in moderately cold temperatures. And it's breathable enough to wear as your only layer for summer alpine missions, too.
The Ghost Whisperer takes the cake in terms of being a light, compressible, warm jacket with decent weather resistance. This is one of the best overall down jackets on the market. While it's a bit thin for extreme cold weather, it excels for high-output cold weather activities like winter hiking or backcountry skiing. If you're looking for a technical piece for lightweight mountain adventures, the Ghost delivers.
If you're shopping on a budget, the Decathlon Forclaz Men's MT100 Hooded Down Puffer and the even less expensive Wantdo Packable Down Hoody are worth a look. If you need something lightweight but don't care as much about weather resistance, check out the more affordable MontBell Superior Down.
