Review: Millet down vest from Nepal

Weight - 370 g, cost - $20, insulation - goose down

Ideal additional insulation to the standard fleece + windbreaker set. I take it on all hikes and trips where the night temperature is in the range from -3 to +15 degrees

Advantages: very warm, fits under a windbreaker, fluff doesn’t creep in
Disadvantages: not very presentable appearance

I bought this vest in the fall of 2009 in Kathmandu. This was my first visit to Nepal, my first trekking (we went Around Annapurna) and my first acquaintance with Nepalese equipment. Of course, I understood that this was no Millet and that I was buying a fake with unpredictable quality and longevity. But I was lucky and for 9 years now this vest has wonderfully warmed my back and soul.

Design Features

The cut of the vest is extremely simple. No darts, waists or similar frills. Accordingly, the appearance of the product cannot be called stylish. Its task is to warm, not to decorate.

By the way, despite the “cold” through seams, this vest provides plenty of warmth. It seems to me that it warms an order of magnitude better than fleece of the same weight. The thickness of the insulating layer for this vest is at least 3 centimeters, while for a fleece it will be at most 5 mm.

The vest is relatively long - it covers the lower back and buttocks well.

The outer fabric is thin, but dense and durable. Thanks to this, on the one hand, the vest weighs less and can be folded very compactly. In this case, fluff does not “climb” through the fabric.

Features of use

I have never used this vest while moving along a route (i.e. under a backpack). First of all, it is needed for long rests and evening gatherings in the camp.

When maximum insulation is needed, I put on warm clothes in the following order: thermal underwear, a Primaloft jacket, a down vest, a Pertex windbreaker (parachute). This “sandwich” floats less (and therefore wets the down less) and does not flatten the vest as much (and therefore warms better) as when putting it on under a heavy membrane jacket.

At temperatures below +8, I use a vest for additional insulation in the sleeping bag. Most often, I don’t put it on myself, I just cover myself with a vest inside the sleeping bag.

I take this vest on all trips (not just mountain trips) where the temperature can briefly drop to zero (but not below -10). Thus, he visited Alps, winter Paris (vests are rapidly becoming fashionable there), Norway, Iceland, Wild West of the USA, winter Lycian Trail and Tien Shan.

But the vest has never returned to its homeland, Nepal. Thanks to porters and good infrastructure, you can worry a little less about lightening your backpack. Therefore, on Nepalese hikes, I use a large, full-length down jacket for evening insulation.

Product care

In 9 years of active use, I have never washed this vest. If after a campfire it smells strongly of smoke, then I hang it on the balcony for a couple of weeks and the smell disappears.

Down needs to be protected from moisture. That’s why I always and everywhere wear a vest in an individual hermetic bag. Its weight is about 30 grams, dimensions 20 by 30 centimeters. When you stuff the vest inside and fasten the lock, you get a bun with a diameter of just over 15 cm.

If the evening turns out to be rainy and cold, then I put on a vest under a primaloft jacket, and cover the whole thing with a poncho or membrane on top. At the same time, some moisture still gets into the fluff, but there is nothing to worry about. At night I will take the vest in my sleeping bag and it will dry quickly there.