Outdoor Research

Helium Down Jacket

Name: Outdoor Research Helium Down Jacket
Brand: Outdoor Research

Manufacturer list price (MSRP)

$279.00

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Overview

The Helium Down is Outdoor Research ultralight 800-fill down jacket, built for cold, dry conditions where warmth-to-weight is everything. A Pertex Quantum shell keeps the down protected at minimal weight, and the whole jacket stuffs into its own pocket for easy packing.

Specs

Brand: Outdoor Research
Weight: 275 g · 9.7 oz
Insulation: 800-fill responsibly-sourced down
Fill power: 800
Shell: Pertex Quantum ripstop
Packable: Stuffs into pocket
Type: Down insulated jacket
Material: Nylon
Season: Winter / alpine
Seasons: All

Weight vs. category

This product9.7 oz

Category average10.1 oz

4% lighter than the category average.

How it measures up

Against every one of the insulated jackets in the RidgeNote register with a published figure. Manufacturer-listed; sources and dates are on this page.

Weight: 9.7 oz (275 g); Lighter than 60% of 5 weighed · #2 lightest; -14% vs the median 11.2 oz
Price: $278.95; Cheaper than 64% of 11 priced · #4 cheapest; 0% vs the median $279.00 · $28.76/oz (median $33.55/oz)

The lightest of the insulated jackets on record is Zpacks Zpacks Down Jacket at 6.1 oz — 101 g less for $96.05 more.

The cheapest is Arc'teryx Atom Hoody at $210.00 — $68.95 less.

See every one of the insulated jackets measured →

RidgeNote verdict

For cold and dry, down is still king, and the Helium Down is Outdoor Research ultralight take on it: 800-fill down under a whisper-thin Pertex shell, packable to nothing and warm for its weight in a way synthetic cannot match in dry cold. Know the flip side of that coin - down loses loft when it gets wet, so this is a jacket for crisp alpine mornings and dry winter cold, not for damp, drizzly days where a synthetic like the SuperStrand pulls ahead. The thin shell also wants care around abrasion. For gram-counting alpinists and anyone layering for reliably dry cold, it is a superb warmth-to-weight buy.

Similar — lighter or cheaper

Zpacks

Zpacks Down Jacket

6.1 oz · MSRP $375.00 · lighter

Outdoor Research

SuperStrand XT Hoodie

11.2 oz · MSRP $275.00 · cheaper

Rab

Mythic Ultra

11.6 oz · MSRP $525.00

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