Companion forum thread to:

Brooks-Range Alpini Mountain Anorak Review

Will,

Nice review as usual but there is one statement in it that I question. You said, "The jackets most similar to the Alpini are the PHD Ultra Down Pullover, Minimus Down Pullover, and Nunatak Skaha Anorak."

My data shows both the WM Flight and the FF Hyperion are less weight, fractionally warmer, and providing the feature set you desired. Are these competitive jackets in your pending SOM report?

Regards,

Nice review Will!

Excellent article as always. Your previous state of the market on bags helped me decide on my most recent acquisition. I have a question that is a bit of a tangent. This is the second time you have shown the picture of you in the Hex 3. I was wondering about the ski as centerpole, it is a great idea. Anyway How do you set it in the snow so as to adjust the height correctly? Also do you cover the ski tip with anything or just use it as is? Any insight into your technique would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi All, here's my responses to comments and questions:

Richard: Of course the FF Hyperion and WM Flight are also similar to the Alpini. I chose to narrow it a bit by listing the MOST similar jackets. Since the Alpini is an anorak, I chose to list other anoraks with similar insulation.

Gerry: I went on the winter camping trip with BPL Senior Editor Mike Martin, and we used Mike's Hex. Here is Mike's response on how we set it up: "The ski tip is used without any special padding. I know from experience that the Hex pole needs to come up to my chin on level ground. My skis are a bit longer than that, so I knew I would have to dig down a bit. I used a stuff sack filled with snow under the bottom of the ski. If the tent is a bit droopy, just shovel a bit more snow under the sack. Finally, I leave
the tiedown straps (or cords in the case of my modified Hex) loose until after the center Ski/pole goes up. Then the final pitch can be adjusted by cinching down the straps.

All that said, we had a pretty sloppy pitch when we used the tent. We should have spent more time grooming the site, and the deadmen could have been located a bit better. But, we were cold and tired, and there was no wind that night, so it was "good enough".

Best, Will

Thank you very much for the response. I will definately experiment with that next winter.

How warm is this? Does the MB Alpine Light really feel warmer in use? I find that amazing!