Marmot Zion Jacket
Phil ice climbing in his Marmot Zion Jacket
Size Large
Catalog weight: 18oz
(probably a medium, maybe a small)
Scale weight: 28oz (large); Really, Marmot? Really? 10oz difference? I guess maybe if they measured a small.
W.L. Gore and Associates patented their first WPB fabric circa 1976
and revolutionized the outdoor clothing industry. Many companies since then
have worked to improve the waterproof-breathable category with some nominal
improvements (mostly in the total weight of the membrane/treatment and the face
fabric that they match it to), but you and I both know that waterproof AND
breathable usually aren’t on speaking terms when you’re out huffing it up some
canyon. Sure some fabrics will lose that clammy feeling within a few minutes or
they may have some pit zips that alleviate the symptoms but unless temps are
really low and/or you are not sweating, feeling clammy comes with adding a
shell.
Well. . . that’s not exactly the case anymore. Polartec’s new
Neoshell membrane has come a long way from our old and beloved Gore-tex partners.
Hiking uphill, 20 degree weather, comfortable in t-shirt and Zion Jacket
For disclosure purposes, I sweat. I sweat a lot! When hiking
up to our usual ice cragging area with temps in the 20’s and only wearing a
t-shirt, I drip sweat from my brow,
my back, my legs, and usually have some beading up on my forearms. I know that
is gross. I understand; my wife tells me about it occasionally. However, you
need to know that in order to understand how great Neoshell is. This past
winter I have used Marmot’s Zion Jacket (featuring neoshell) almost exclusively
(I have dabbled in dry-Q elite). With
the Zion Jacket I make that same approach wearing my usual silkweight
long-sleeve tee, plus the Zion! The
results? I still sweat a ton…. But now it gets moved outside the jacket like
I’ve been promised it would by so many other fabrics for so long! I dump my
pack to get racked up and I’m already dry. Literally.
But enough about the fabric (which is awesome), the jacket as a whole deserves some consideration.
6'3", 185lbs, Zion Jacket in size Large
Hood is a little tight across the mouth/lips with helmet on
I am 6’3” 185lbs. and I have the Zion in a large. The medium
fit well, ridiculously well in fact, but had one drawback: on the official
harness/jacket untuck meter it was a 9 (totally un-tucked from the harness
within 2 ice moves and moving over my gearloops). So I compromised by going with
the large that bellows out a little above a harness or hipbelt because of the
additional volume (not too much of a compromise in my opinion). Dave Searle's un-tuck meter: http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-2-pence-on-midlayers-by-dave-searle.html
Marmot paired the neoshell membrane with a super comfy liner
fabric (think brushed suede or butter-jersey) and a burly shell fabric that
will probably hurt the rock more than the rock will hurt it. It is a soft-shell
format that most other companies aren’t doing with neoshell. At first I was a
little disappointed with the heavy-handed construction, but have found solace
in a few key facts:
First and foremost, the Zion has impressive insulative
properties. Good enough in fact to help eliminate a mid layer piece in your
layering system. This helps compensate for the heavier nature of this shell
without sacrificing too much versatility (more layers can usually handle a
broader temperature range) because of how breathable it is – it acts like your
midlayer, with the benefit of being stormproof. For example, a normal layering
system could be MHW’s wicked lite long tee (5.6oz), Patagucci’s R1 Hoody (12.8oz),
and Arcteryx’s Alpha Lt (super sick and 12.9oz); total weight 31.3oz. A
layering system with the Zion that will easily handle upper teens and low 20’s
while climbing is as follows: MHW’s wicked lite long tee (5.6oz), and the Zion
(28oz). That’s it. Simple, and with a total weight of 33.6oz. I figure for 2oz more I have a broader range of comfort without having to stop and remove or add
layers. That's pretty sweet. The best part is, when the jacket is on, I really don't notice the extra weight; and this jacket rarely comes off. If you are venturing
into colder climes take the R1 and the Zion (40.8oz for an action suit that
will take you to around 0˚ F).
Second, the face fabric has and will continue to stand up to
my abuse. I have scuffed this jacket against Ogden quartzite and SLC granite
without any sign of wear.
Lastly, the combination of fabrics is exceptionally
stormproof and doesn’t make that awful hardshell noise. ‘Nuf said.
The Zion includes 5 pockets: 2 handwarmer pockets, 1
napoleon pocket, 1 sleeve pocket, and 1 internal pocket. All are fleece lined
and very comfortable. The two handwarmers are spacious enough for keeping your
lead gloves warm and dry and to stash your skins in, while the napoleon is big
enough to hold a 12oz drink along with your lip balm and has a headphone portal. I have found that the
sleeve pocket works great to hold GU packets or chomps and the internal pocket
never gets used. The Velcro adjustment at the cuff
works very well for the wrap-around tab configuration they used. The hood is helmet compatible, and has two
adjustments: the usual hood aperture pulls and a rear circumference pull cord
help you batten down the hatches and take out volume.
Harness/Hipbelt-compatible pockets with water-resistant zips
One internal zip pocket and soft brushed lining
Now for everyone’s favorite part…the nitpicking!
The two handwarmer pockets that are purported to be hipbelt
compatible have a problem I find happens a lot among climbing jackets. The
upper portion of the pocket is visible and usable above a harness; still, the
lower offending portion is cut off – effectively making the pocket opening
smaller. Such is the case with the Zion’s pockets. Though to be fair, the
zipper pull is at the top in the closed position so the pockets really are
usable with a harness on.
In my opinion, and for my head, the hood is a little
low on volume. With the hood up over a helmet and fully zipped, my chin and
lips abut the zipper area forcefully enough for me to usually keep the zipper
slightly undone. If it were a perfect hood, it would fit over my helmet, fully
zipped, with some room inside to make adjustments or at least offer some more
stretch in the fabric.
The last thing is the fit. Like I said, the medium
offered a much more trim fit which I usually look for, but the angel-wing
technology failed a bit and it would come untucked. The large has extra volume
in strange areas that l notice when I’m at home critiquing the jacket, but
actually really don't notice when I’m out using it. However, the angel-wing mumbo-jumbo still fails compared to my standard - the Arcteryx Alpha. The Alpha's hem moves about 3" from arms down to arms up. In contrast the Zion moves at least 5". When pinned under a harness the stretch of the fabric helps in this area. In Marmot's defense (I really like their products), many of their other jackets that I own don't move nearly as much as the Zion.
At least 5" of lift in the hem when arms are raised. I guess they forgot the angel-wing on this one.
All in all this is a very nice jacket. As with all pieces of
gear, it could be improved upon. Anyone can take their favorite piece of kit and say, "if this small problem was fixed, this would be perfect." This jacket falls under that category. Yet, even the way it is made right now, it does what I want all
gear to do: go unnoticed. I don’t ever have to think, “I’m starting to overheat
I’d better fiddle with my pit zips/take off a layer,” or “this is way more wet
than I expected, I wish I had brought my hardshell.” And that is well worth its
few short comings.
Overall I would give the jacket 4 stars out of 5. I love everything about this jacket except the minor hood issue and that I had to get a large to keep it tucked into my harness. It easily establishes itself among the best winter ice and alpine climbing jackets available.
