Marmot Montreaux Review

Insulated with around 221 grams of high-quality, water-resistant down, the Montreaux doesn't waste much of your hard-earned body heat. Weighing 2.2 lbs, it also feels light, unless it's soaking wet, so avoid that. The evenly distributed down makes for a cute and cozy jacket that is one of our favorites in the group.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

This jacket is among the warmest options we tested. The baffle construction gives the 700 fill-power down plenty of room to expand and capitalizes on its light and lofty nature to capture air and insulate you from the cold. Its approximately 221-gram fill-weight (which varies for each size) means you've got a lot of high-quality feathers wrapping you up from the top of your head to your knees. It earned a 9 out of 10 for warmth.

A light but plush fleece liner wraps around your core, cutting wind and holding in even more warmth. All this makes the Montreaux so warm and cozy that we wanted to head outside on frigid nights. We love excuses to look at the stars or stroll around downtown.

The hood is also insulated, keeping your head and ears toasty. The synthetic fur ruff hovers at a great distance from your face, effectively blocking wind without killing your peripheral vision. The fur is removable for warmer weather or those who don't like the style. We love its function. In whipping winds and snowy weather, it keeps our faces noticeably better protected. There isn't much extra room for a beanie underneath, though.

The fleece-lined torso offers instant warmth while your body works to warm up the air pockets in the down. It also keeps your back warm when the down is compressed, like when you're leaning back on a bench. Unfortunately, there's no fleece around your bum. When you sit on the jacket and compress the down, you lose warmth. On the plus side, while our bum and hamstrings got chilly, our quads were happy as could be.

Microfleece also lines the exterior pockets, the collar, and the cuffs. The pockets tuck behind the down insulation, so your hands stay as toasty as the rest of you in this winter jacket, but you still might want a good pair of gloves if you don't plan to have your hands in your pocket 24/7.

Weather Resistance

The Montreaux is water-resistant but not waterproof, and it earned 5 out of 10, which is on the low side for the group. It has two defenses against rain, sleet, or wet snow. The first is a durable water repellent (DWR) treatment on its polyester face fabric. The second is a Down Defender treatment that helps its feathers resist losing loft and their insulating properties when wet.

Water initially beads on the DWR treated exterior and rolls off. In our shower test, water seeps into the fabric after extended exposure to moisture. Here, the treated down resists it for a time. Eventually, the jacket gets pretty soggy.

It still did surprisingly well in our shower test. After standing under the driving water for 2.5 minutes, only our thighs were noticeably wet. Water also splashed through the zipper a bit, despite the storm flap behind it. This jacket does not excel in truly wet weather, but it does buy you some time in a sudden downpour.

Comfort

If you can imagine wearing a stylish, cute sleeping bag around town, that pretty much sums up the Montreaux. Keeping us warm goes a long way to keep us comfortable, but so does a jacket's cut, weight, and soft little details. It's light and airy and has high-quality down that compresses easily, so the coat never feels bulky. It moves well and rarely feels restrictive despite its knee-length. It was near the top of the group for comfort, earning a 9 out of 10.

The jacket is a little snug for our testers' shoulders, which range from broad to standard issue. The thicker the layers you're wearing underneath, the more pronounced the problem. It's only an actual issue when you're crossing your arms to point in opposite directions. As long as you can avoid that, the rest of the cut works well. The lower half of the coat forms a slight bell, but the flair never restricts your stride, even when the jacket is zipped down to your knees. If you need more range of motion, for lunges, say, you can widen the hem thanks to a two-way zipper.

The exterior pockets sandwich your hands in microfleece, and it's terrific. They are also a comfortable size and height for your hands, which is, sadly, not a given in every jacket we tested. You can even sit down with a phone or wallet in them without much discomfort. The torso, collar, and cuffs are also lined with microfleece and offer soft support that helps us face cold and stormy weather.

Style

This warm and lofty parka somehow manages to look sleek and fitted. The knee-length cut and faux fur ruff manage elegance, and the satin finish looks clean and sophisticated. Chevron baffling draws flattering lines. The design managed to land the jacket a top spot for style, with a 9 out of 10 score.

We're still not sure how a down-stuffed, objectively shapeless parka hangs so nicely. It almost drapes… if puffy baffles can do such a thing. We think it may be the high quality down, which keeps you warm with a bit less bulk. Whatever the magic is, we like it. Whether tucked zipped down to our knees or flung open during a spring melt, we always feel a little bit of movie star spark in this subtle stunner.

Fur ruffs, faux or otherwise, aren't for everyone. We used to have mixed opinions about them. After learning how functional they are in cold and snowy weather, we forget that not everyone likes the look. You can always unzip it if it's not for you.

Durability

Over the two-year period we've tested this jacket, we've never had an issue losing feathers through the face fabric, but DWR coatings wear off over time. If this feature is essential to you, you can reapply it at home, but most versions are toxic. So be sure to read about how to handle them properly.

We did inflict one tiny tear in the polyester, which is less robust than fabrics on many competing jackets. It happened when our lead tester packed the coat in a ski bag to cushion her gear. So, maybe don't do that. If you do, a piece of duck tape or a cute NOSO patch will have you fixed up in no time.

Features

The faux fur ruff around the hood is removable, as is the hood itself. Both zip off easily, though figuring out how to zip the ruff back on can be a brainteaser. We hear those are good for you. Fleece features seem to be a theme with this jacket, with microfleece exterior pockets, cuffs, and collar.

As we've discussed, the two front pockets are fleece-lined and great for hands or valuables. There are also two interior media pockets. One has a zipper, and the other is a drop pocket, with no zipper, Velcro, or snap to secure it. Both are big enough for smartphones, and the combination is excellent. Since we reach for our phones often, it's great to grab it without scrapping past rough zipper teeth. And the drop pocket is deep enough that a phone can't easily escape. We can zip credit cards into the other one and be ready to hit the town.

The jacket also has a two-way zipper for mobility. We wish it had a storm flap outside the zipper with snaps or buttons. We love snapping a few buttons instead of futzing with zippers, even if they aren't that hard.

Should You Buy the Marmot Montreaux?

The Marmot Montreaux is one impressive parka, and we love to see it hanging in the closet next to our other favorite jackets. It's exceptionally warm and comfortable while maintaining a flattering look. Despite its lack of waterproofing, the water-resistant fabric and down still perform well in snowy weather. It's one of our favorite winter jackets to wear when bopping around town or milling around the tailgate for apres-ski beers or meteor showers. One of our staff members has been rocking this jacket for five winters now. If you don't need extreme weatherproofing, we recommend this jacket to those who are looking for good value in their winter wardrobe.

What Other Winter Jackets Should You Consider?