For those of you who like Montane gear, there is an outfit, sport-hansa.com, that is the US importer for Montane. They carry a fairly limited range of products in stock, but will take your order for anything Montane makes and combine it with what they call a product consolidation order. This is a big plus, at least for me, as I prefer to order "in country" and have been unable to find a dealer who carries Montane who will do special orders for a product they don't carry. Free shipping on orders over $50 and no sales tax. I just got my Meteor DT 3/4 zip rain pants today and am delighted with the design and features. Review to follow after I get them out in the field. Customer service is excellent.

I like what i see of Montane however i gotta say my first Montane purchase is not making me very happy. So far it looks like it will probably get returned to BC after i have a bit more time with it to make sure it is no just me being picky?

I purchased the North Star down jacket and it leaks down pretty bad. It looks like i have wicked bad dander all over the jacket all the time. It also lets go of very small wispy feathers all over. As if that does not suck enough the zipper sucks and is a PITA to get started. The other zippers work ok so far but i can tell they will cause problems down the road.

Its a shame as i love the fit, warmth, style and cost of the jacket. TBH i am bummed as it will be a real PITA to find something i like as much for the price.

I wont give up on Montane quite yet thought, Probably return the coat if i keep having the problem and have them send me another. If i have problems with that one i will give up.

"I wont give up on Montane quite yet thought, Probably return the coat if i keep having the problem and have them send me another. If i have problems with that one i will give up."

Hi Patrick,

My experience is that different manufacturers have different areas where they excel. IME, that means WM, Montbell, and Feathered Friends for down products, ULA and McHale for packs, Montane/Montbell/ID for outer layers, etc. If you end up not being satisfied with their down jacket, I wouldn't blow off the their whole product line if I were you. They make a lot of other good stuff worth keeping in mind when you're in the market for outer layers. I hope it works out for you.

Well, thanks also for the heads up. I am actually in the market for an ultralight wind jacket in blue -- either the Patagonia Houdini or the Montane Litespeed. This will be for travel purpose, and (dare I say it) a couple ounces make no difference to me. I do like the Montane's "INK" or dark blue color -- versus Houdini's brighter "Bali" blue.

Does anyone have experience with the Litespeed? I've experience with the Houdini and love it. How does the Litespeed compare?

Patrick, I told you the Montane zippers were awful. :o} I've found it to be true on the Antifreeze, Northstar, and Flux jackets. Love the fit of them but fighting with the zippers won't do.

No Crapah... Mt. Adams 5% plus 30-40 mph winds = fing cold!! add arguing with a freaking zipper!! GRRRRRR

Ben, I cannot comment on the Houdini but tried out the Montane Litespeed on a trip last week in the Appalachian Mountains and loved it. Had on a 150wt Icebreaker tee as a baselayer and the Litespeed on top. I was comfortable from 50*F down to 35*F while hiking. The Pertex fabric seemed to breath pretty well and did not seem too clammy against the skin. Having a stowable hood is nice. Mine weighs in at about 5.2oz without the stuff sack, heavy compared to some but worth it to me as it seems more rugged than something like the MB Tachyon. Have not tried it in the rain so cannot comment about that.

EDIT: I also tried out my new Montane Atomic DT shell pants and they worked awesome trudging through snow! Seems to be a good balance of breathability, water resistance, durability, and weight at about 7.6oz.

Edited by radio_guy on 01/06/2011 22:13:06 MST.

Hi Ben. The Litespeed is my favorite windshirt. I use it 90% of the time until the rain just gets too strong for the fabric to keep at bay. I love it so much I have four of them!

Ben, I got my Litespeed in "Ink" for 78$ at www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk , the color is even nicer than it looks on the picture. So far I used it for running at 14F with 2 baselayers, it appears to breathe better than my old microfiber jacket. I was considering the Houdini but couldn't force myself to pay that much for a windshirt.

Patrick, what would be your next choice for a down jacket in the same price range ? I've been looking at the North Star for a while but wasn't sure if it's better than Montbell Alpine Light.

"Well, thanks also for the heads up. I am actually in the market for an ultralight wind jacket in blue -- either the Patagonia Houdini or the Montane Litespeed ....
Does anyone have experience with the Litespeed? I've experience with the Houdini and love it. How does the Litespeed compare?"

I have both: I wear the Litespeed literally every day (and I do mean literally) but the Houdini is in my cupboard in mint condition.

Why the Litespeed? Well, to reiterate what I said in a review here:

- the high collar with hood is way more practical than the loose, collarless Houdini hood, which tends to flap around and doesn't block the wind the way the Litespeed collar does

- the Litespeed has a brilliant zipped chest pocket (which my early model Houdini doesn't)

- the Litespeed is more breathable: I wore the Houdini on a 3 hour walk in London in cold, humid but not wet winter weather and was surprised to find condensation under the shoulder straps

- the Litespeed feels more durable

In terms of aesthetics the Houdini looks expensive and the Litespeed utilitarian, but I still wear the Litespeed.

Edit: forgot to mention, the cut of the Litespeed is brilliant: not too baggy (Paramo), not too tight (Rab) and a really good dropped tail. The cuffs were too tight for me so I snipped the elastic and unpicked part of the seams on both wrists.

Edited by Arapiles on 01/07/2011 03:42:37 MST.

Rab Neutrino Endurance Jacket.

yes it cost about $100 more but it has awesome reviews/awards?

yes it weighs more, but it does have 25 more grams of fill, is warmer and still very light.

And then you have to think about fit/build of the coat. A crappy hood imop is a waste of as hood as i will not want to have it on. And then for me i am small 5-10 145 lbs so boxy does not work very well for me.

Dont get me wrong everything about the North Star is great other than a jammed zipper and leaking down! Fit is perfect, maybe the sleeves are a little short? I'll use the North Star for the rest of the winter and then return it to BC in hopes of them having the Rab coat in my size. If not it will just be returned and i will find the Rab somewhere else :(

Suppose you get what you pay for. I was buying a whole winter kit this year so i was trying to save where i could. I guess we see how that works out!! If not the Rab it will be a FF or WM at a much higher cost!

Patrick, as of yesterday EMS had the Neutrino 20% off in-store... $224. Not on sale online. Prolitegear.com has them for the same price but small and XL only. The RAB Infinity might be on sale here and there also. I opted for the Neutrino after trying several parkas. I even got the EB FA Peak for half price but can't justify keeping it. It's overkill for my needs and so poofy it would be a single-use item anyway. No way I'm running errands in that thing.

Wow, such glowing reviews of the Montane Litespeed wind jacket!! OK, pray tell, how is their sizing? I mostly wear Medium -- although sometimes a Small. But for the Houdini, which was sized smaller than most, I actually had to get a Large! I'm 5'9" and I weigh 150lbs.

Ben, I have a montane marathon, and based on that, I would say size up if you plan on doing any layering. I can only fit a thin baselayer underneath my size small, and im 5'9" ~140lbs. If I wanted any insulation under it, I would have gotten the Medium (which I tried on as well). The small is a lil restrictive when i try to cross my arms across my chest. The medium was more forgiving. Only problem is, the arm length gets a lil sloppy when you're sizing up to accommodate for layers. No experience with the Houdini, but by the way you're describing it, I believe the fit is very similar between that and Montane

Edited by Konrad1013 on 01/07/2011 10:45:30 MST.

Hi Conrad -- we're about the same sizing... Just to be sure, will the Medium work well for me -- either wearing over a tee shirt -- or over a tee shirt and a MB UL down inner jacket?

Edited by ben2world on 01/07/2011 11:08:20 MST.

Ben, I did a lot of research before buying the Litespeed and got to the conclusion that it's supposed to be slim fitting, this way you can avoid flapping in the wind and allow a better vapor transfer, if you need layers you put them on top when you rest. I bought my regular size L (6'2 height,42 chest) and it's comfortable with a baselayer and a microfleece , went as far as wearing it on top of a 300 fleece , it zipped up but just barely. The neck is tight, don't know if it's intended to be so.
Patrick, thanks for the input but I can't buy Rab for moral reasons, I guess I'll be sticking to my 40$ Land's End synthetic jacket (2,2 lbs!) till I have enough money for a Westcomb or something...

Great... thanks to all of you enablers, I just pressed the "BUY" button and purchased the Montane Litespeed jacket - medium.

Thanks to Miguel, ordering from Britain ended up being cheaper (£52 or $81) versus $99 from SportHansa.

Ben, I am 40 chest, 5' 11", 160# and wear a large to fit over a Montbell UL down inner jacket. Also realize they are bike jackets so are longer in back than front.

Hi Ben, sorry I wasn't able to contribute more until after you've clicked "buy" :D But I agree with all others. A medium should fit you well if you aren't layering much (you should be able to sneak in a fleece under there). Definitely no dice on a down inner without compromising loft.

Hello, I am Jake Doxat. I work for Montane.

We only use the very best zippers - always YKK the recognised leader in the industry. The reason some zippers get a bad press is because we use double ended zippers - more expensive and more fiddly - but they do enable you to open your down or other jackets form the bottom of the zip as well as the top. This can be very useful for ventilation or gaining access to pockets or whatever lower down.

As to "down leakage" - we make lightweight/breathable gear and that means we don't have a "down bag" inside the jacket, as some brands do.

There is unfortunately an inevitability that some down will leak out in the early days of use, but I can assure that it does stop.

Our down factory is one of the recognised leaders in the field of lightweight down products.

I hope this goes some way to answering the queries.


Jake Doxat