Outdoor Research Helium Down Jacket Is Featherlight But Takes a Thrashing
Review Rating
12.6 ounces
$172
Outdoor Research
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Outdoor Research’s Helium Down Jacket is an ultralight (12.6-ounce), 800-plus-fill hoodie made with Pertex’s Diamond Fuse technology, which uses interlocking diamond-shaped filaments for abrasion resistance. As a mountain guide among our testers noted, “The heavy shell held up to rigor I’d never subject many a lightweight down jacket to”—including skiing through tight trees and thrashing up the topout chimney on ENT Gully (WI 2) in Vermont. The waterproof hood and shoulders repelled sleet nicely, while the fit was roomy—great for layering, though it did create some ballooning during athletic moves. Still, the Helium was “a breath of durable and sustainable air in the lightweight-puffy genre … ” where many such jackets shred all too quickly.