Norrøna Men's trollveggen down800 super light Vest 26/27

The vest version of the trollveggen down800. Core warmth, arms free, and it packs down into a corner of a ski bag.

Underrated piece, and the one we end up recommending most in this part of the range. A vest under a shell keeps your core warm without the sleeve bulk that makes reaching overhead annoying, and it's the layer that gets worn most across a Vermont shoulder season — October hikes, November bike rides, March mornings.

800-fill down means high loft for very little weight, which is why this compresses so small. That's the whole argument for down over synthetic when you're carrying rather than wearing.

Where it struggles is wet. Down flattens when soaked and stays flat for a while. For consistently damp conditions, the trollveggen warm3 vest uses synthetic fill and handles that better at a small weight penalty.

Cut to layer under a shell rather than over one. Size it to your mid-layer, not your jacket.