Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

At 5.7 oz this jacket never stays home on any outing. It is just the right warmth to take the chill out of the air. On everyone of my trips lately (aside from day trips in the middle of summer) this jacket has been worn. on a chilly night on a mountain top in the summer it adds just enough insulation to make me feel like I am in my warm bed at home.

It is a great addition to any pack and worth having based on its weight and function alone. My wife says i look like i am wearing a trash bag, but at least I am warm!

Rating: 4 / 5

MB just barely missed the mark w/this one.
What is nearly a perfect rendition of the UL jacket, is missing some sort of waist hem retention. Whether it is an UL drawcord hem or elastic (like on the wrists - doh!), I feel that the jacket would perform a bit better. The current cut is pretty boxy IMO.

That being said, the EX Light is an amazing coat for its weight. It now comes w/ me on nearly every 3+ season trip.

Truly a 9/10 on the UL Richter scale.

Rating: 5 / 5

this is w/o any doubt a no frills no jacket- no pockets, no adjustable anything- it does have a zipper though! :)

mine is a size large and is right at 6.0 oz, packs into the size of a baseball

lofts quickly and the high quality down warms more than you'd think looking at the jacket

great around camp and has been used several times to give my quilt a little boost

I have a Patagonia down sweater and it's a nice piece of gear- w/ lots of little bells/whistles, but at almost twice the weight- when your trying to pare oz's- this is the insulating jacket to have IMO

Rating: 5 / 5

So Santa brought me a men's small for Christmas. The fit for me is perfect. I'm 5'6" 130 pounds and typically wear a 14.5 32-33 dress shirt. I have full range of motion in this size but there is no superfluous material. The weight without the stuff sack is 4.79 oz. The stuff suck bumps this up to 5.01 oz so still considerably lighter than the 5.7 oz that Mont-Bell's website states.

Rating: 5 / 5

the key to using this jacket is to use it under a windshell or synthetic jacket like a nanopuff

by itself the shell is fairly fragile, there are no pockets, there is no waist string ...

however once you put it under a shell, not only is it warmer, it also protects the jacket

at 5.5 oz for a medium it provides enough insulation down to freezing with a shell

pair it with a 10-14 oz lightweight synth jacket and i'm good to around 20F ... and the setup is pretty bomber shrugging off PNW weather with ease

Rating: 5 / 5

I'm a big guy and have the Ex Light in XXL - weighs 7.8 ounces. In addition to being a great piece of insulation to wear I've found that I can use it in my hammock as an extra top quilt by opening it (not wearing it) and draping it over myself and tucking the arms under me.

Since I'm carrying the jacket for in camp anyway it allows me to carry a lighter top quilt for sleeping. I don't like sleeping in it because temperature regulation (I get hot easily) becomes too challenging, but using it as a short quilt works really well.

Rating: 5 / 5

I have the Ex Light in a large and I am 5'7" 175lbs (16.5, 32/33 dress shirt). The fit is great. As was said before, this jacket is meant as a layering piece, and it does its job very well. Warmer than it looks, and the Sunset Orange is a very pleasing color, not too shiny.

I agree it could possibly benefit from a draw string, but the lack of it is not a detractor for me. I know I will have to be a bit careful because of the light weight fabric, but that is a price we often pay for UL gear.

I paid $140 for is from backcountry, and it is worth every cent.